job candidate

8 Ways To Make An Impact On Your First Interview

November 9, 2011 by Guest Contributor

By Ally Tobias

There’s no question that it’s a buyer’s market out there. Close to 10% of the population is unemployed and who knows how many more under-employed. How can you stand out from the hundreds, sometimes thousands, other job seekers?

Here are 8 steps most job seekers miss to make you stand out against the competition.

1. Do Your Research
Always do your research and find out as much as you can about the company you’ll be interviewing with, the role you’re interviewing for and the interviewer.

As they say, “knowledge is power” and it’s never truer than in this case.

Research is important because it will allow you to laser target all your preparations to that particular employer. For example, most people have one resume that they send out to 100 employers. It’s generic – and therefore weak. Is it any wonder that they don’t hear a reply?

Savvy job seekers tailor their resume for one job and they incorporate their research into it. They include experience that works to their advantage but leave out those that do not. This is crucial because you want resumes to be short and sweet but also deliver everything you want to say. [Read more…] about 8 Ways To Make An Impact On Your First Interview

Beat the Unemployment Blues

April 19, 2011 by Guest Contributor

Unemployment rates are still at decade highs and if you count discouraged workers who have given up looking for a job the rates can be as high as 16%. This means as many as 1 in 6 people are looking for a job. With odd like that stacked against you, you need to find an edge. Take some advice from Stephanie on how to stack the job hunting odds in your favor. ~Tim McMahon, editor

By Stephanie Staszko

With unemployment rates soaring, the local job center has become a cattle market and a survival of the fittest has come into play when it comes to applying for jobs. Humans, as a race, do not take well to rejection and can be left feeling worthlessness and undervalued. Job seekers are often heard saying “I’ll never get a job”. If this mind-set is allowed to embed itself into the brain, job seekers can find themselves sinking into the black hole of unemployment with no glint of light on the horizon. In order to remain a valuable candidate to employers, they must beat the unemployment blues.