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Answer the interview question, “what’s your weakness?” with a positive spin (ex: “I’m a perfectionist” or “I work too hard”). Ummm…. I’m pretty sure interviewers can see through that. The best answer I ever gave? “I’m young”. I think it pointed out (the obvious) that because of my age I wasn’t as experienced as the next guy, but also highlighted that I would have a different perspective. But at the end of the day you’re not being honest if you say something like “perfectionist” – it doesn’t highlight your uniqueness and sounds like you’re reading something from a book. Be honest, show how you overcame that weakness and for God’s sake, stand out.
Follow a template. For the longest time I wrote cover letters with this general outline:
- State the position for which you’re applying
- Mention two qualifications and what you know about the company
- Refer to enclosed resume and state when you’ll be following up
None of those cover letters got a reply. I’ve said this a million times already, but be honest, write well, try not to be boring and switch it up so your letter doesn’t get lost in the pile.
Don’t quit your day job. Unless you’re unemployed you a) wont be pressured to get the work done, b) wont have the time to really find another job you love and c) will find a million excuses to stay in your comfortable cubicle. There are a million ways to make money during “unemployment” while you find the perfect full time job. One you actually want.
Spend a lot of time on your resume and cover letter. I don’t know how many times I need to say this, but no one reads that shit. You get a job by knowing people and the perfect resume wont help you with that. This is where your winning personality and go-getter attitude comes in. Spend that new-found time on LinkedIn, making contacts and researching your field.
Check job boards and company HR sites daily. By the time these jobs are posted, the opening has been there for a while. People would rather hire a recommendation from a colleague than a stranger from a site. Get the inside scoop and don’t waste time applying via button click.
Be careful with your web image. Maybe don’t put naked photos of yourself online, but try not to let HR/Facebook horror stories wreck your groove. Make sure that when companies Google you, you’re all over the place rather than hiding under the proverbial rock.
Cold call. It’s annoying, doesn’t work and it’s better to make a few, but great, connections than a lot of random and insincere ones.
A couple pieces of good career advice:
“Hire someone to write your resume” ~Penelope Trunk
“Make your life one giant networking event” ~Dan Schawbel
“Embrace your inner geek” ~Michelle Goodman
“There really never was a career path for you” ~Chris Brogan
“‘Do I Like You” is by far THE most important question you can answer for a hiring manager” ~Joshua Waldman
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Comments
01.13.10
hm. For a while I've had this feeling that CV and covering letter count for s***t, bu I still hoped that if I make it in a way that supports scanning rather than reading, it will grab someone's attention enough to read further.
I disagree with quitting your day job. I'd swap it with getting a part-time job and turn it into one of the sources of motivation to apply yourself to finding something you like. In that way you have your bills and expenses covered (just barely) but you can't really afford normal life (that's the motivating bit). The more sick of this situation you are, the harder you look.
01.13.10
It's so funny you say that because I'm literally just writing a post on why freelancers should take part-time jobs. I think full time jobs make us lazy and complacent, especially when looking for work. A part-time job keeps us stable without letting us get too comfortable. Basically, you're spot on and I couldn't agree with you more... Here's the link to the new post: http://bit.ly/4yBhbP
01.13.10
Great post! I really like the honesty and enthusiasm that comes out in your writing. I think I have struggled a lot with the bad career advice, and have been victim of doing things the traditional way instead of the new way. One thing I have found is that coworkers can also be great assets, building relationships with them can always help in moving forward - so utilizing that to your advantage, even if you may not like your current job, could be great!
Great ideas :)
01.13.10
I think resumes still need to be there but cover letters definitely out. People don't read those. The point of networking can't be stressed enough. Technology has come a long way, but people still want the personal contact to feel trust and confidence in hiring.
01.14.10
I like your comments on the first point about weaknesses. I think that is a difficult one for many people. I agree that age can be a drawback (or at least the appearance of being young) and would be an excellent "weakness" to cite. After all, we will all eventually overcome that problem, right? And it doesn't detract from your work history or skills.
03.01.10
here's another one : Email me your cv & I'll forward it to the relevant person - this doesn't happen ever- the person just wants to see what you've written on your resume & wants to compare it with his/her own cv. If she/he really wanted to help , you would be given the relevant person's email/contact info instead.
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