Dealing With Credit History on a Job Application

When filling out a job application you may have noticed the trend of employers asking for your credit history information. You may feel outraged at the personal intrusion, how does your credit history affect your ability to perform at a job? However, hiring managers see the credit issue from another point of view and believe that your score can be used as an indicator of job performance.

According to the Society of Human Resource Management, 60 percent of employers conduct credit checks on at least some of their new hires. This represents a significant increase from the last decade when only 25 percent of employers scratched this deep. So, if you are looking to get hiring, you may want to check out your credit score and start fixing any problems that may be on it.

Companies that use credit history as a qualifier for getting the job report that this data can show discrepancies or confirm information found on the resume and also uncover any distractions or personal management problems that may interfere with getting the job done. Some problems with checking a potential hire's credit score is that it sometimes doesn't provide enough information to explain any problems that may be on the report. In this economy, there are many reasons that a person may acquire bad credit that are beyond his control - from unexpected health problems, frivolous lawsuits, divorce and other reasons.

If your credit score is not as great as it should be, this is the time to start turning it around. Correct any mistakes that have shown up on your report and take the steps needed to raise your number. If you know you have credit problems, take the initiative to proactively discuss this with your potential employer instead of waiting for them to dig it up - problems will inevitably be discovered if you've given them permission to investigate. Show your future employer that you've taken steps to improve your financial status and are a responsible and dependable person - get plenty of references on your resume to back this up.

Todd Denning

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Job Hunt Blues - Fighting Job Search Depression

It is common to feel discouraged, even hopeless, during a job hunt that runs longer than you would like. In this financial environment, some people's job searches run for months, others' for years. So here are some tips to keep in mind when the job hunt has you feeling low.

1. As they say, a job hunt is easily a full-time job. Don't make it more than that. Put in your time job-hunting, then be sure to take some time for yourself.

Don't give yourself a hard time for taking time off. If you don't take down-time, the stress will wear away at your mental health, leaving you in no shape for interviews.

2. No stewing over your termination from your last job. Layoffs are ongoing, and these days, you haven't had much of a career, if you haven't been laid off at least once.

Take whatever lessons you can from your last position, looking for areas of improvement, and then move on. Period. You are human, you make mistakes, just like everyone else. Forgive yourself for any mistakes, then work on them.

(And your ex-boss? She's human, too.)

3. If you're really stuck in a rut, take some time to do work around the house that you'd never had time to get around to. Schedule those doctor appointments that you've been missing due to your busy schedule. Think of this as an unplanned leave of absence, and see the benefit in the time that you've been given.

4. Make up a new plan of attack. Plans can be invigorating, and with the time that you've had to reflect, you may come upon new plans of attack. Now may be a great time to head your career in a new direction. With your last job, you gained experience that you didn't have previously.

Really search the market and see what's out there. Look for areas of growth and opportunity, and really try hard to see your skills and abilities as freshly as if you'd never seen them before.

5. Take a class, read a book, expand skills that will aid you in your job search. Take the time to get a certification if it's likely to pay off.

6.When the stress is overwhelming, take a mental health day, and just soak in the tub with a good book and some merlot. Go for a walk. Rediscover the world as it is when you aren't wearing stress blinders.

7. Get out there and meet people. Join clubs, especially those associated with work interests, go to university lectures. Even a hiking club might well provide you with the contact who gets you that next job. Remember, who you know is at least as important as your training. The main thing a boss is looking for is reliability, and they get that assurance from acquaintance, however slight or second-hand, with your character.

8. Don't take it personally when you don't get the job. It's not a personal rejection, you just aren't what they need today

Erin Kennedy, CPRW, CERW, BS/HR,

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Job Search Tips - Group Job Hunting

What is Group Job Hunting?

Many of you may be asking, "What is group job hunting anyway?" No, it is not like group therapy where you want to share as little as possible with a bunch of people you don't really know. It is also not anything like group interviewing, where a prospective employer grills a whole group of job candidates at the same time so that they can compete with one another head to head.

Group job hunting is an alternative channel for conducting a job search that connect job seekers with one another and allow them to share contacts, resources, leads, and other advice.

Does Group Job Hunting Work?

OK. Connecting with other job seekers sounds nice, but does it really help? Simply put, yes! Group job hunting has demonstrated a success rate of 84%. Compare those types of results with the success rates of candidates using job posting sites. That avenue is successful only about 4% of the time. Consider the millions who post their resume to the various sites available today. If this describes you, now you know why you probably have not gotten a response to your resume post. The old tried-and-true method of sending a hard copy of your resume in response to an advertisement in the classifieds of your local newspaper has a better chance of getting you in the door than posting to a job site.

Why Does it Work?

Group job hunting is successful because it combines elements of networking with target marketing and strategy development. Think about it. You know people, even if they are not able to help you in your job search. Many other job seekers our there are in the same predicament. By connecting with them, you are essentially tapping into their contact base. And oftentimes, it comes down to you interacting with the brother of a friend of a co-worker of a neighbour of someone you used to go to school (you get the picture).

Like many things in life, it's who you know, not what you know. So what are you waiting for? Start building your network of job seekers today. Happy hunting!

So who am I anyway? Why do I think my advice is so valuable?

My name is Stephen Van Vreede. My company is called No Stone Unturned, and I have spent 15 years on both sides of the corporate hiring experience.

The short story is that I have an MBA in Marketing from Villanova University and a dual B.S. degree in Finance & Logistics from the University of Maryland. I am a certified professional résumé writer (CPRW) and a member of the Professional Association of Résumé Writers and Career Coaches (PARW/CC). As I mentioned, I paid my dues in the corporate world eventually running a large-scale call center for a major truck rental company, and I have spent the past 7 years with No Stone Unturned, assisting job seekers in achieving their goals.

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Small Things Job Seekers Do That Lessens Their Chance At A Good Job

When it comes to younger job seekers, upon looking for a position and sending out their resume, some make terrible mistakes that prevent them from even being considered by a good company. Although most would say these aspects of the job hunt are common sense, you would not believe how many people unknowingly take actions that are not conducive to achieving employment with a solid, reputable and high paying organization.

1. Common Voicemail Mistakes:

When an employer tries to reach a potential candidate, there is nothing more unprofessional than hearing music instead of a ringtone. Nobody cares that you like Kid Rock and nobody wants to listen to music that they may find unpleasant. More likely than not, the employer is just going to hang up the phone and if he or she does not that alludes to two things: either you come into that phone call with an immediate disadvantage or the company is desperate to find somebody because they may not be paying a lot or nobody else thinks the firm is worthy of their time and expertise.

The second mistake younger job seekers make with their voicemail is that they don't have a voicemail at all. When looking for a job, you should always have a friendly, intelligently sounding greeting. They say that it's all about making good first impressions. Well your voicemail is typically going to come in the form of that initial impression. Make sure not to use any slang and sound upbeat and friendly when recording the message.

2. Common Email Mistakes:

Grammatical errors, grammatical errors, grammatical errors. The reason why some people think that a first email to a potential employer can just be lax, informal and doesn't have to be proofread is beyond me. During the first 20 email correspondences you have with anybody who is not a friend or family member, you should treat that email as if it was going to be published. In a way, it is.

Also, make your emails friendly. It sounds a lot better when you open an email with "Hi" then the employer's name rather than their name and a comma. Reading somebody's tone in an email is hard enough. Make it clear that you are coming across as friendly and not dictating the words you are writing. Also, stop with the single sentence emails. If you need a filler to make it two sentences, use the following phrase:

"If I can be of any further help, please don't hesitate to call or write."

Single sentence emails are a common mistake and should be remedied right away. The above referenced closing, when included in your emails sounds a heck of a lot better to the reader than just jotting down a very simplistic answer to an inquiry they may have had. It also alludes to the fact that you spent some time and effort on the email.

Finally, don't always use "thanks," as the final phrase prior to putting your name on the email. Something such as "Sincerely," comes across to an employer as friendly and makes it appear that you are seemingly interested in the open position that the company is attempting to fill.

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Finding 100K Jobs

For finding 100K jobs, the search engines are your best bet as they can provide you with a wide array of results. It is the latest and non conventional way of checking out jobs compared to the age old newspapers and magazine ads against which you sent your resumes. You can straight away get results for only jobs in the 100K category and nothing else. It is a search that is done the other way round and ensures the results are more spot-on.

Resume turns into a live document with specialized search

There are endless possibilities on the internet these days and it is easy to find the job of your choice even if they are jobs in 100K category. The reason why you should opt for specialized search engines is that your resume gets automatically turned into a live document. Visibility of your resume is ensured and there are more eyeballs checking your resume than with other alternative mediums.

With this feature, finding 100K jobs become far easier than ever before. The process is altogether very simple and you don't have to bother about getting them on to places for more visibility with your own effort.

With the help of specialized search engines tailored for 100K employment, your resume and you as a prospective candidate are presented as a brand. To get employment in 100K jobs, you would have to pay a small amount to the specialized search engines.

But this small amount is nothing compared to the specialized search for 100K employment that you can automatically benefit from. If you can back up your supplication with the required qualifications and experience, you can also become far choosier. There could be hundreds of options, but you can always pick and choose the one that is best suited for you in the $100,000 job category.

Tough competition

It is best to think beyond the little green pieces of paper if you are looking for a job in this category. You can pick from any field depending upon your expertise and skills. There are jobs in architecture, business management, engineering and consultancy jobs, healthcare and many more in this 100K category. Instead of relying only on recruiters or fee based searches, you can just look for $100,000 jobs without any fuss.

With a surge in competition, your search may not be easy and getting a job with a grand salary like the one you are looking for may not be an easy deal. With the blowback of the recession there are few jobs that you can pick and choose. Instead, your best bet would be to grab whatever you can lay your hands on. No matter how good you may be, there is always a chance that there could be also someone even better applying for 100K jobs.

Silas Reed

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3 Tips To Improve Your Social Network Job Search

Job search related social networking is an important tool for many job seekers. The value and effectiveness of social networks in the job hunt lies in its ability to reach people-who-know-other-people who are hiring. It is a 'person-to-person' communications method, whose results - if logically organized in advance of the doing - in short time can supercharge a job seeker's ability to identify serious employment opportunities. The same holds true for most social networks, whether LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, YAHOO! or Google groups, or other smaller niche defined groups or forums.

Problem is... not everyone is willing to do the '... if logically organized in advance of the doing' part.

Without clear personal employment goals, all you seek is just another job, or just another business contact; that's okay, as long as you know that 'just another job' is what you'll get in the end.

If you want a career position, it is your responsibility to organize; it's really only a few simple tasks, like create a list of your practical job goals, include preferred industries, job titles, locations, salary range, and other job consideration specifics. The list is for you, not the members you'll reach out to. Then research a second list, too, of web addresses for specific social networks, forums, billboards and other groups, where you can find and reach out to individuals who may introduce you to a great job.

Use common sense. It's easy to get lost chasing multiple 'great job' leads from your new social group members, from people who may mean well, or may be opportunistic. In the end, too often, some leads - as illustrated by statistics below - have little result, or... more likely, simply do not closely match your 'goals' list, so waste time. Don't fall into that trap. Consider the practical nature of the three social networking tips below to help improve your job search results.

THREE KEY STRATEGIES

1 - Know Who You Want - which social members to approach, where to find them on social networks, what to ask of them, and what's in it for them.

2 - Know What You Want - be specific about the job(s) or industry(ies) you seek; create keywords relating to those.

(Do not send members your lists of career, job title, or vocation keywords, or resume type documents, only if requested by a group member replying to your inquiry.)

3 - Moderation - make every member contact positive. Be polite, be brief. Don't be a nuisance to others.

A smart way to start is to begin with people you already know. Consider people with whom you are already acquainted, whether they are directly tied to the job or industry you pursue, or not. People know other people. The hallmark action of social networks is to build a 'network' of friends, or member referrals, with whom you 'connect' to or 'subscribe' to. Sometimes the person who seems least likely to help is the very individual who knows someone who knows someone who can help get you hired. They may not even realize they know someone, until you ask them.

When you ask them, you'll likely do it online. Be brief. Get to the point quickly, and be polite and inviting and thankful, not too direct or demanding or expectant of their obligation to help you. Remember, start with mutual acquaintances. Ask who they know, list and contact those folks, introduce yourself, and name the person who referred you. Personalize each contact. Be brief. Offer to help connect and refer them to people in your own network of members. Inquire about any sort of connections they may need. And above all... be brief! And thank them for their time.

After you run out of known acquaintances and their referrals, if required, research and reach out to group members at the various social networks you have joined, who have similar jobs or duties or industry, or geographic similarities, school, service background, or human interest commonalities, or whatever, as you.

Consider pre-writing communications. Craft messages to cover topics you need to discuss. Save copies. Keep each message simple, easy to understand. Always use polite, mannerly message formatting, "Dear Sir," or "Dear Madam" or "Ms." A "Thank you," or other friendly regard upon parting. Proofread messages for misspellings and mistakes before use. This may seem too overdone for quick web chats or 'off the cuff' group forums, but don't be fooled. U.S. Department of Labor statistics (2009) verified that better than seventy-percent of job applicants are rejected due to poor use of language and misspellings and awkward grammar on hiring inquiries, emails, faxes, resumes, and other written documents. Go ahead, now that you know that, send another chatty, modern, acronymic text message or email, or chat exchange as a part of serious employment outreach, and your chances of joining that 'seventy-percent' mentioned above increase exponentially.

As a caution, also know that sometimes overzealous outreach to social group members, or posting of too many unrelated forum messages, can sometimes result in account suspension by group moderators. Group operators vary, but it's usually good advice to follow their rules.

WORKPLACE REFERENCES

Another ancillary usefulness of business, vocation, and industry related social networks is how they help you organize and mange your professional references. By 'joining' or 'connecting' to mutual social websites where those individuals have professional profiles. You can supply interested employers with an easy way for them to contact your references, and thereby verify statements about your skills, training and work history.

Workplace people who know and can vouch for you (where those individuals give permission to participate as a professional reference contact on your behalf to possible employers and interested parties) can help a job applicant communicate to job prospects specific workplace skills and strengths; and help address, and set minds to ease about, any uncomfortable or embarrassing workplace issues. Those references can address topics and help bridge hiring issues that arise sometimes, like a recent or unexpected resigning from a job or other job resignation issue, or a bad job reference that may have surfaced elsewhere - understanding that in some industries, even the hint of a bad work reference, whether true or not, can have devastating effects upon a job search. Too often, for too many good job applicants, the result of not organizing job references in advance, to support your skills and workplace proficiency, and to address other potential hiring issues, is that the companies you want - won't hire you; and companies you might have settled for - don't hire you.

Consider the ideas presented above if your goal is to improve job search results by generating one-on-one job hunt contacts within a social network environment. Organize your job search goals, and your inquiry messages, remain patient and polite. Follow these common sense techniques and you will increase your odds of getting hired soon.

Mark Baber

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How to Negotiate Salary For a New Job - 5 Salary Negotiation Tips That Work

One of the trickiest parts of getting employed is figuring out how to negotiate salary for a new job. There are just so many things to consider. After all, you want a high salary but you don't want to appear self-important. You're afraid of giving numbers, and yet you dream of increased pay.

Well, you don't have to worry about those things anymore. If you want to know how to negotiate salary for a new job, simply read this article!

Salary Negotiation Tip # 1: Do Your Research.

So you want to learn how to negotiate salary for a new job? Then you must do your research first. Find out what people in the industry are making.

If you're going for an entry-level position, find out what entry-levels are making. If you're going for a managerial position, find out what they're making. This way, you won't sound like an idiot when you eventually negotiate your salary for a new job.

Salary Negotiation Tip # 2: Assess Yourself.

Personal assessment is important; and it's not just so you'll have something to say at an interview! Knowing your strengths and skills helps you become more confident when negotiating salary for a new job.

You might have certain skills that are useful, but not quite common in the workplace. For example, you might be applying for the writer position at the company, but you also know how to design websites or speak fluently in three different languages. I'd say that would give you a better leverage!

Salary Negotiation Tip # 3: Be Confident.

When talking money, it's important that you appear confident. Not arrogant, but confident. Demanding a high salary, especially when you don't have good credentials, will only turn you into a laughing stock.

Salary Negotiation Tip # 4: Refrain From Giving an Exact Amount...Yet.

If you're not yet sure whether they'll be hiring you or not, it would be in your best interest not to discuss salary in detail.

You can give a certain range, but you should also add that it's negotiable and flexible. This way, the company won't cast your resume aside at once (especially if it turns out that they can't afford to hire you).

Salary Negotiation Tip # 5: Be Willing To Walk Away.

Finding a decent job with good pay can be challenging. However, that doesn't mean you have to accept a rate that is beyond low. You might be flexible, but you're not that desperate.

When a company low blows you, be prepared to walk away. There are other companies out there that will treat you fairly.

Learning how to negotiate salary for a new job can be eye-opening, but the actual experience can vary. Learn all you can from what you have experienced yourself, and use those lessons on your next salary negotiation.

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McDonalds Online Job Application Tips

Online job applications can be tedious to handle at times when you are competing against a large group of people and have to present yourself as the better one. When you submit applications online, you don't have the scope to meet the person personally and have to express yourself and your skills on a piece of paper. Mcdonalds have been always on the outlook of hiring some quick and efficient people who can manage the orders and customers well. While filling in a job application, these Mcdonalds online job application tips will come handy:

1. If you are not quite sure of what to enter in the fields, fill the form offline. This can be done by taking a printout of the form and later posting the same on the internet. Ensure that all the entries are filled correctly and honestly. Once the form is filled, run a spell-check to ensure that there are no spelling mistakes which otherwise would add a negative point to your application.

2. Do not include any negative remark or comment about your previous job scenario. This can include: less salary, arrogant boss, unhealthy environment etc. On the safer side it is better to say that you are applying for the new job to broaden your scope and work experience.

3. Most of the job applications would ask you to quote the salary that you expect. Make sure that you act practical and realistic while doing so. Your salary should complement the nature of the job and the job designation.

4. Every job designation requires some skill set that is specified by the company. As you will be applying for a food joint, it is necessary to match the skills they require with yours. A previous work experience in the same field would add stars to your application. Your skills for such a job could be efficiently taking orders, managing customers or supplying the orders within the assured time limit.

5. You can turn your job application to an interview call by understanding and analyzing the wants of the company from an employee. While talking about Mcdonalds, it is teamwork place where you will have to coordinate with different people and moreover, manage time effectively. Your team leader and time management skills could be an added advantage.

These basic tips will help you in getting your application approved and step into the happy work place.

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Tips For Interviews And Resumes

A good resume is the tool that can get you an invitation to the interview for your dream job. If writing a good resume is part of your preparation for the job hunt, performing at the interview is an even greater part. Here are a few tips on how to write a good resume and ace interviews.

TIPS FOR WRITING RESUMES

Select A Format

A critical part of writing good resume is using the right format. Without the proper format, your resume will look like a PhD dissertation that will instantly bore the interviewer. A scattered and cluttered appearance will send the wrong signals about you. One suggestion is to use tables with light grey background for headings and to use bold font for subheadings. Details under the subheadings can be on white background and can be laid out in columns or bullets, if appropriate. You should always start with your name and contact details first. Don't forget your email address. You want the person reviewing your resume to know that you at least have an email address! This sends the signal that you are tech-savvy.

Proofing Your Resume

A resume with lots of grammatical errors, or one that contains lots of typos drives recruiters crazy. Don't forget that your resume is really an index of your abilities. If you can't do this and you are applying for a proofreader's job, you have failed miserably. More importantly, you run the risk of looking incompetent. If you can't proofread your resume yourself, get a friend or a professional do it for you!

Presenting Your Skills As The Employers Would Like To See

This is where you can make the best possible impression, even if your education is not exactly what the employer is looking for. For example, you have applied for a job where the employer wants to know whether you can handle 1ooo payable and receivable accounts. Simply writing a bland statement that you maintained account records will not interest him. You need to make your skills match that of the job description. Put yourself in the shoes of the employer.

Use Power Words

Use power words or phrases such as "managed workflow direction" instead of "gave work assignments to staff". Also use action-oriented words and instead of passive ones. Using high-end industry jargon also immediately creates a positive impression about you, that you are professional and knowledgeable. You want the employer to know that they are looking at a senior-level resume, not one of someone who merely takes orders.

Be Truthful

Quantify your achievements and highlight them in bullets. But being truthful is just as important. Telling a lie now, even if you get hired, could cost you your career later if you are exposed as a fraud.

TIPS FOR INTERVIEWS

Research The Company

In brief, you need to have gathered sufficient information on the organization. This should be information that has the potential to affect your long-term employment, such as ethics, environment and culture, potential for growth for both you and the company, your potential boss and subordinates etc. You also need this information so that you can ask intelligent questions during the interview. You don't want to come off like a robot, or worse, like you were not even interested in the company enough to do come basic research.

Be Polite:

This sounds like a no-brainer, doesn't it? Sadly, it isn't always practiced by everyone. Be polite when greeting the interviewer. Shake his or her hand, and finally ask questions politely, even if the interview has lasted well over 2 hours. This is the time to take particular care to mind your manners. Never try to expose the faults of either the company or the interviewer (if any). Speak in an well-organized, structured manner. Mixing up concepts has the potential to confuse the employer and you potentially lose out if they perceive you as not having clarity of thought.

Present Your Skills

Present your skills separately - close off all other discussions. Before starting on this subject, make them understand what you are beginning to say, so that they are attentive. This is the most important factor they want to know about you after your character. Use concrete examples, and explain how they can benefit by hiring you. Speak about six sigma, justifying your expertise in this area with examples of various companies that are benefiting by implementing the methodology. Tell them that you can implement it in their company as well, or at least become a key player. Let them know that you play to win!

Ask Questions

Any questions should be limited to your work and the company. They should never be personal unless you have a special reason.

Practice, Practice!

Even if you are well prepared, employers can smell anxiety a mile away, and if you display this to the employer it will wreck your chances of getting the job. Anxiety often comes across to employers as desperation. Don't let this happen to you. Practice, with a friend or in front of the mirror if you have to. The point to remember about the interview is to not let yourself fall prey to your own anxiety.

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Important Tips to Crack That Dream Job Interview - Don't Commit Blunders Like All Others

So, finally the day has arrived when you are face to face with the dream job that you always yearned for. There are butterflies in your stomach and sweat on your forehead that well indicates the 'do or die' situation you are in. Well, let's make things a little easier for you! We will provide you with some valuable tips that will come handy while appearing for your dream job interviews. These tips will help you in handling yourself in a graceful manner, thereby making a positive impression on the interviewers.

Appearing for an interview for your dream job can be a very stressful experience. Your conduct during the interview will have great impact on your chances of getting selected. This article will provide you some idea about that aspect and will offer additional tips.

Your conduct:

It is important that you stay composed and calm during the interview. Getting agitated or going off the edge can put the interviewers off and diminish your chances significantly. You must always maintain eye to eye contact with the person taking the interview and listen to each question attentively so that you are able to give the most appropriate answer. It will do a world of good to your chances if you are able to relate your answers to the company under consideration. For example if you're asked about your achievements, you should try to match them with the needs of the job profile.

Your looks:

The primary thing that you must look into is that you appear neat and tidy in front of the interviewers. Men should ideally be wearing a tie, particularly if they are being interviewed for a dream job in a corporate firm. Women, on the other hand must put on a neat and clean business suit, complemented with appropriate jewelry and make up. The way you look creates the first impression on the minds of the interviewers.

Things to carry:

One of the most important tips for the dream job interviews is that you must always have your CV or portfolio handy in case the interviewers don't have it available with them already. Don't forget to carry some blank sheets of paper and a pen in case you need to take some notes. Being late for an interview automatically reduces your chances by almost 50% as it creates a very negative impression on the interviewers.

In the end, a follow-up is very important after you have appeared for your dream job interview. The best possible method to learn how to crack your dream job interviews is to constantly keep on learning about new ways to create a positive impression on the interviewers.

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Application Unsuccessful - Reasons You Didn't Get That Dream Job

Working with online travel jobs, I've seen interview shortlists narrowed down until the company gets their candidate of choice, but what if you were amongst the rejected? It would be helpful to know just exactly what you've done wrong though, wouldn't it? 9/10 times, an unsuccessful job application will just be that there was someone that bit more qualified, and there's nothing that can be done in that instance, except to try again... but if this keeps happening, it may be worth considering some of the following, which are almost universally considered a bad thing on the recruitment circuit. Keep these tips for your job interview and you should do better next time!

Starting with the CV...

They Didn't Know How To Get Hold Of You

This one's simple enough - if your CV doesn't contain your contact information (address, telephone number, e-mail) then they can't contact you. Sure, you can argue that if you e-mailed your CV into them, then they could find your address, but you'd have to be exceptional for them to spend more than 5 minutes looking for you! This is all about ease of use...

You Didn't Have The Experience

Unfortunately, this is a common one, and one that's not an easy fix. If you don't have enough experience (or more usually, someone else who applied has more), then the only cure is to keep plugging away until you do. If you work in a creative field, it is quite easy to get freelance/voluntary work to give you more a portfolio to augment your corporate experience - a tip to get a job interview next time around.

Your CV Was Littered With Mistakes

One of the easiest ways of wheedling down a stack of CVs into a more manageable pile is to take out the ones with mistakes. If you haven't been careful enough to proofread thoroughly, the chances are you're too careless to work for your dream company, and yours will go straight into the 'unsuccessful application' pile!

You Got A Bad Reference

A bad reference will most likely kill your employment chances stone dead, and many recruiters will call them at this point in the proceedings, if you've included a contact on your CV. Of course, you could put that references are "available on request" in the hope that you can charm them enough that they either won't check, or will not believe the referee, but the best bet of all is to work hard enough that your contacts will have nothing but good things to say about you!

In the Interview

You Didn't Look the Part

Increasingly, the idea that workplaces are 100% formal has been greatly corroded, but the chances are that you won't know until you visit. As for advice on job interview dresscode, without a doubt it is best to be overdressed rather than underdressed, so if in doubt, wear a suit - or at least go smart/casual.

You should also make sure you are looking your best - it shouldn't come down to judging on appearances, but the interview panel are only human, and it's natural to take in these things, even if it's subconscious. Don't take any chances, or risk adding to your list of unsuccessful job applications.

You Not Expressed Words Well

You need to present your ideas clearly to be in with a good shot of getting the post. Work on speaking slowly and articulately, to ensure your interviewers don't have to second guess what you're saying.

One bit of job interview advice here: It's perfectly acceptable to be nervous in an interview, so there will be a little leeway for this, but at the same time it will put you at a disadvantage against someone who takes these events in their stride. Relax, take your time and see the meeting as a conversation rather than an assessment.

You Asked Too Many Questions?

The one thing worse than asking no questions in the interview is to do the complete opposite and ask hundreds! They do have other candidates to interview, and if you ask them about every little detail then you're going to annoy them eventually. If you have a tendancy to do this, there are two job interview tips to counter this: the first is to be articulate with you questions so that you can ask one that covers a few of your points, rather than taking them one at a time, and the other is...

Pay Attention!

If you follow everything the interviewers say, you can be sure you won't ask a question of something they've already explained... and you can ask them to clarify - much nicer! This is a simple piece of courtesy - they listen to you, you listen to them. Just think, would you employ someone who looks bored and distracted during your job interview?

You Were Late To The Party

Turning up late may be okay when meeting friends, but for something you're supposed to be that enthused about, you really should be on time. Unless you're very late, it would be harsh to not give you the job over this, but then if the other person was identical to you, but was early, then it would be a clear cut choice. A solid piece of job interview advice: call 'early' on time and 'on time' late - that way you're sure not to lose points for this.

You Knew Nothing About The Company

Sure, if it's a small company you're applying to work at, then they may not expect you to know about them instantly, but they'd expect you to be enthused enough to have done a little research! Spend a little time digging around their website, to make sure you have a good handle on who they are, what they do and what your position in the company would be. You may not get a chance to show off this knowledge, but if you do, then it's really impressive, and would easily put you ahead of a candidate who has turned up completely unprepared.

You Promised Too Much/Sounded Arrogant

With so many applications overselling people, it's no wonder than employers are a little on the cynical side, so when it comes to selling yourself, don't overdo it. Arrogance does not play well, and even if it is true, try and be a little humble about your achievements. If you rub the interviewers up the wrong way, then your application will be unsuccessful!

You Badmouthed Your Current Boss/Workplace

Sure, nobody has only positives to say about their workplace, but this really isn't the kind of thing you should be sharing with your potential future employers. If you're speaking this candidly about your past employers, why wouldn't you be this rude about them? Simple job interview tip: if you want to complain about your work, go out socially with friends, if you want a job, keep this under your hat and be diplomatic!

Too Much Enthusiasm Was A Turn Off!

Enthusiasm's great... in moderation. If you sound overly excited by everything, one of two things is going to happen: either they're going to think you're completely insincere, or they're going to find you a little too creepy/annoying to be able to work with Monday-Friday every week! This is of course tampered by the fact that sounding completely disinterested is, if anything, worse, but it's all a case of finding that perfect balance...

You Acted Like You Needed The Job

You and I know that this was the dream job, and that you were banking on it, but you shouldn't let them know that! The last thing you want to do in a job interview situation is to appear desperate - that's a major turn off for the interviewer. Again, this is a balancing act, because you want to look positive and that you are interested, just don't cross that fine line between motivated and needy, and you should be fine.

But of course the best way of finding out why your application was unsuccessful is to ask! Most places will happily give you a response to this, although it won't always be truthful... The best thing to do is to match up the feedback given by the interview panel against conventional job interview advice, and soon you should be on to a winner!

Gail Kenny

careers, Jobs Indonesia, Indonesia Vacancy