These days, phone interviews are an unavoidable part of the job interview process, and for good reason: They save everyone involved time and effort. But that doesn’t mean that phoners require zero energy on the part of the candidate. Yes, you should spend more time preparing for an in-person interview, but many companies treat phone screens as the official first round of the hiring process. That means candidates are expected to go into them prepared with as much information about the company, position, and their own skills and strengths as possible.

We asked HR pros about their top phone interview pet peeves, they had no shortage of advice to offer. Apparently, it’s quite easy to mess up your phone interview. But here’s the thing; it’s also not hard to come across well if you keep some key things in mind.

1. Never Take The Interview Somewhere Noisy
It might seem like common sense, but you’d be surprised what interviewers say they can hear in the background of their phone interviews—everything from barking dogs to screaming children. “Prepare for the interview by securing a quiet space in advance, even if it means escaping to your car parked in the garage,” advises Chere Taylor, founder of Fulcrum HR Consulting. “If you can lock your home office door, by all means, do it. We’ve all been there and sometimes things just happen, but the more time spent anticipating what could go wrong, the better prepared and organized you will appear to the interviewer and the greater likelihood of success.” That doesn’t mean that if your washing machine beeps once in the background all hope is lost, but the more effort you put into being in a quiet place, the more focused you’ll be.

2. Don’t Talk About Your Personal Life
…Unless you’re directly asked a question about what you like to do in your off hours. “The point of a phone interview is to focus on getting to know a candidate’s professional experience and goals,” says Mckenzie Roark, campus talent specialist at Lithko Contracting. “A recruiter is trying to qualify them to see if they are the best fit for a role, and learning about their personal life doesn’t help. For example, when asked where you see yourself in five years, we don’t want to know that you hope to be married or that you want to buy a new house. That is nice but that isn’t relative to anything professional.”

3. Resist The Urge to Multitask
It might be tempting to cross something off your to-do list while on a phone interview, but recruiters and hiring managers can easily tell if your attention is elsewhere. “My number one pet peeve is people who decide to multitask while on the phone interview,” says Dan Krupansky, Talent Acquisition Manager at PrimePay. “I have heard candidates washing dishes, making lunch in the microwave, going for walks, letting their dog out, and grocery shopping during the interview. I even had one person use the bathroom and flush the toilet while speaking with me.” Needless to say, this doesn’t reflect well on your level of interest in the position you’re interviewing for.

4. Skip The Money Conversation
To put it bluntly, it’s simply too early in the process for you to be the one who brings up salary expectations. “Chances are if a candidate is participating in a phone interview, this is the first time they have talked with the company, and the first call isn’t the appropriate time to talk about ‘what’s in it for you,’” says Justina Strnad, the Talent Acquisition Manager for Shiftgig. “Trust me, if you are a great candidate and make it to the next steps, the hiring team is going to be very transparent about what’s in it for you later on!”

5. Never Put Your Interviewer On Hold
Phone interviews don’t take that long, and there probably isn’t anything else going on that is really truly so urgent that you need to pause your interview. “Do not put me on hold to take an important call that just beeped in,” advises Jeremy Payne, head of people operations at Remote Year. “I am your important call. If you are expecting extremely urgent news (like information about a family illness), be sure to preface that in the early minutes of the interview, so the recruiter is aware of the situation and so you can work with them to reschedule if that interruption does occur,” he says.

6. Never Skip The Q&A
“After wrapping up a phone interview, it is typical that the interviewer will ask the candidate if they have any questions. I can’t stress this enough: ALWAYS ask questions,” says Roark. “If we have had a great phone interview and then we wrap up and they don’t have any questions for me, it pretty much ruins the whole interview. It tells me that the candidate is uninterested in the role, which in reality, might not be the case at all,” she notes. But surely, if you’re interested in a job, you can think of something to ask your interviewer.

7. Don’t Be Late
It seems basic, but surprisingly, many people are late to phone interviews. “About a quarter of the people with whom I schedule phone interviews aren’t on time,” says Sophie Cikovsky, who handles the U.S. recruiting for Infinite Global. “While this bothers me personally, it’s also indicative of someone who isn’t very detail-oriented,” she explains. “In order to identify this early in the hiring process, I started asking all candidates a few years ago to call me as opposed to calling them at an agreed-upon time. That way if I hear from them at 1:13 pm or 12:49 pm instead of our planned 1:00 pm interview time, I have an early indicator that they might not be a great fit.”

8. Don’t Assume Reception Is Good
“Make sure you test your headset and connection before dialing in,” recommends Payne. “There is nothing more frustrating for a recruiter who has a structured interview guide in place having to repeatedly ask the same question over and over because they could not understand your answer due to static or dropped signals.” Test call a friend beforehand or even call yourself from a landline if necessary; it will take less than a minute.

9. Never Talk Over The Interviewer
You might be eager to get your point across or talk about your experience, but interrupting the interviewer is awkward and rude when you’re speaking on the phone, even more so than in face-to-face interviews. “Interviewing can be stressful and sometimes that stress manifests itself in speaking too fast, speaking too loud, talking over the interviewer, or attempting to answer the interviewer’s question before they have actually finished asking the question,” says Taylor. “Don’t do this.” There’s a big difference between being assertive and being aggressive, and interviewers can always recognize it.

10. Skip Filler Words
It’s tough not to say things like “um,” “uh,” and “like” in everyday speech, but these verbal habits become much more pronounced when speaking on the phone, says Chris Dardis, a recruiting expert and HR professional with Versique Executive Search. “In face-to-face interviews, they’re not as noticeable because there are other things like your hair, suit, or body language to distract people,” he explains. But in a phone interview, the only thing you have to go on is what you say and how you say it. “That’s why it’s so important to eliminate these words from your speech when doing a phone interview.”

11. Don’t Go In Blind
Not knowing anything about the company or job you’re interviewing for is way more obvious than you’d think. “Many people think that a phone interview means they’re getting away with something, that they don’t have to put as much effort into researching the role or company,” says Steve Pritchard, HR Consultant for giffgaff. And if you have your laptop in front of you during the interview to do a few quick searches, they won’t know the difference, right? Not exactly. “Seasoned interviewers will know whether an interviewee is researching while on the phone; they will take too long to answer the question and punctuate their answers with a lot of ‘ums’ and ‘errs’ as they type. The interviewer can often even hear the typing as they ask the question,” he adds.

12. Nix Long-Winded Answers
“The key to success during a phone interview is clear and concise answers,” says Dardis. “People’s attention spans tend to be shorter over the phone. You don’t want your future employer to lose interest in the conversation.” He recommends practicing answers to questions you know will be asked ahead of time in order to be clear on what you’re going to say. That way, you can prevent rambling before it starts.

The post 12 Things to Never Do During A Phone Interview appeared first on Résumé Writing and Career Services.

Get a better understanding of what exactly an employer is looking for, and use those insights to put some extra shine on your job application.

If you’ve been searching Monster job postings for a golden career opportunity, you don’t have to look too far for a helping hand. Job descriptions themselves offer valuable guidance on which resume words to use to best position yourself as a strong, competitive candidate.

Job descriptions can vary from company to company—even if you’re searching for one particular job title—so you have to know how to interpret the information in front of you. Primary tip: Note the keywords used and be sure to use the same words in your application materials.

Why? Because many recruiters and HR professionals use an applicant tracking system (ATS) to pre-screen resumes for applicable words related to the job’s requirements. They do this to narrow down the number of applicants, which can grow to be in the thousands depending on the popularity of the open position. A recruiter doesn’t have time to look through all those resumes one at a time, so they rely on ATS to pull the most relevant for (human) review. By using the same words in your resume that you see prominently displayed in a job description, you’re increasing the odds that you’ll pass the screening test and move on to the next round.

Obviously, this entails that you customize your resume words to each position you plan on applying to. This is key. You can’t use one resume for each job because the keywords will differ from job to job according to what you uncover in each job description.

For more, we broke down the parts of the job description that are most likely to contain the best words to use on a resume so that it leads to a signed offer letter.
Resume Words: Where to Find Them in Job Descriptions

1. The Company Description
How this can inform which resume words you use: The description of the company helps you learn more about the company culture and how well it syncs with your personality.

A company describes itself as it wants to be seen, and from that, you can get clues as to what the company values, what you should research, and what kinds of questions you should ask in an interview.

For example, if a company describes itself as “a rapidly growing athletic brand for busy young professionals,” you can infer that the company sees itself as energetic, youthful, and poised for success. If that matches your personality, then describe yourself similarly in your cover letter.

On your resume, you could incorporate the phrases “rapidly growing” and/or “busy young professionals” to establish that alignment.

Then, once you score an interview, investigate the financial health of the sporting goods industry, design trends, the current generation’s buying habits, and competitors. In general, it’s smart to research the following

• the industry
• the particular position
• the company’s customer base
• challenges
• interests
• goals

Use what you learn to write up some interview questions that demonstrate you’ve done your homework. This research also helps you understand the business better from the perspective of the company.

2. The First Few Bullet Points
How this can inform which resume words you use: They usually map out the bulk of your duties.
Hiring managers frequently front-load job descriptions with the most crucial responsibilities of the job. As you get further down the list, the bullets more than likely represent a smaller percentage of the job duties and requirements.

To stand out to potential employers, make sure your resume elaborates on your skills that mirror the duties mentioned in the top bullet points; you can simply list your skills that align with the job description’s lower-level bullet points.

For example, if a job description’s top bullet requires “advanced knowledge of medical terminology” or “the ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with stakeholders and the public,” those exact phrases should appear in either your career summary or work history.

3. Required Experience/Skills
How this can inform which resume words you use: They tell you what to highlight on your resume and cover letter.

As with required duties, job descriptions will list the most valuable skills and experiences at the top of the list. Your resume and cover letter should follow suit. Why? Because most employers will try to hire the person who will need the least amount of training.
It’s smart to use your accomplishments to address each of the required skills and/or work experiences and to put this information on your resume first. For each major accomplishment, create bullet points that describe:

• the challenge presented to you
• the actions you took
• the results of your strategic efforts

For example, if the job description says you need “extensive experience in staffing,” you might use that exact phrase and mention that you researched and implemented the launch of a new applicant tracking system that helped accelerate hiring times by 25%.

Finding a new job is all about finding the right fit, for both you and an employer. While a job description can show you how you can present yourself as a good fit for the company by using targeted resume words, there are other ways of finding jobs that are tailored to your skills and experience.

The post The Best Resume Words Are Lurking in Job Descriptions appeared first on Résumé Writing and Career Services.

It is estimated that people change careers five to seven times during their lifetime. There is, however, no standard definition of what constitutes a career change. Is working in the same field but different industry a career change? Is becoming a business owner a career change if you are doing the same job you were doing as an employee? Or is a career change only a radical move across the field and industry?

Regardless of how big or small your desired transition is, here are some of the biggest myths people believe about changing careers — and what the reality is.

1. There’s One Fool-Proof Way to Change Careers
Countless books are written on the topic of how to make changes in life, including how to change careers. I like to read as many as I can and often find great ideas. Yet changing careers, like all transitions, is still a very personal experience. What seems difficult to you could be very easy for another person, and unexpected circumstances can derail the best of plans. Take the advice, for example, of building a side business while you have a job, so you can then transition out of it into the security of your own new enterprise.

Some companies include a clause in their employment contracts that prevent employees from starting a side business, or you might feel so down after coming back from work you don’t like that you feel too demoralized and too insecure to start a new venture. It’s not that the advice is bad — working on building your business while being fully employed is a great suggestion! — it’s just that not one piece of advice fits everyone’s situation.

Don’t look for one fool-proof way of changing careers — focus instead on creating your own path to a new career based on what you find most helpful.

2. Personality Tests, Journaling, or Reading a Book Are the Secrets to Success
Nothing happens just in your head. While writing, meditation, and personality tests can give you some new insights and ideas, if you have been stuck and unable to change careers for a while, the answers you seek are either buried too deep or are out there already — most likely both.

We react to our perception of reality — not reality itself. Because of this, each one of us has formed a number of beliefs about ourselves and the world that we mistake for the truth. Some common beliefs I see with my clients are that they are not good at something, or too old to change or bad at money, etc. Even with lots of journaling, the deeper and more ingrained your belief is, the most likely it is that you will not be able to recognize it for what it is — a belief, not the truth.

If you suspect this is the case for you, working with a coach will help you unearth what is driving your behavior unconsciously, and once you see your belief for what it is — just a belief —  you will be able to choose what to do with it. “I am bad at the money” might simply become “I need to learn how to negotiate my salary better”.

The other very common situation is that you have no idea what jobs are out there. I am always curious about what kind of work people do and am often surprised to find people have professions I didn’t know existed. For example, a lot of people don’t know what a Technology or Developer Evangelist does. Nope, it’s not a religious order! Here’s a handy definition from Wikipedia: “A technology evangelist is a person who builds a critical mass of support for a given technology, and then establishes it as a technical standard in a market that is subject to network effects. An evangelist promotes the use of a particular product or technology through talks, articles, blogging, user demonstrations, recorded demonstrations or the creation of sample projects.”

If you have technical skills and love people and content, this might be a dream job, yet so many people don’t even know about it. There are many more professions that are not very well-known, and this is why a huge part of you looking for what to do next has to include talking to people in the field.

3. You Need to Have Everything Planned Out
Some lucky people decide they want to do something different, research different options, find another job they like, and voilà — they make the transition. For most of us, things are a bit messier. Very often, people start exploring a different career, and something happens: they cannot transition into it, end up not liking it or discover something they like even better. There is no way for you to choose a new career until you try it out. The fastest way to find what you want to do is to try what seems like a good idea: job shadow, do it on the side, take a class (not an entire new degree!). You will discover that the journey will determine the destination and not the other way around.

4. Changing Careers Is Only for Rich People
While it definitely helps to have a partner, tons of savings, or a lucrative job to support you during your career transition, people change careers regardless of how much money they make. In fact, if you don’t like your job and on top of it you are making very little money, you should run, not walk, towards a new career! You are not doing yourself any favor by staying stuck and broke. We are incredibly lucky to have access to more information than ever, from finding free information online to the library (of which I am a huge fan!), to talking to people you meet at events, friends of friends, Linkedin… the sky is the limit! You can do a lot even with no budget, so don’t let a lack of money stop you from doing what you want. Be resourceful and use it instead as a motivation to take the leap.

5. You Need a Degree to Change Careers
Sometimes we form ideas about how things are and give up before we have time to check if they are really true. If you find yourself thinking you need a degree to change careers, do lots of research. Some jobs do require degrees and licenses (e.g. medical doctor, psychotherapist, etc.), but many more jobs do not require a degree by law. The most important thing employers want is to know you can do the job. If there is no regulation saying you have to have a specific degree, some employers ask for a degree because they see it as proof that you know what you’re doing. Can you prove yourself without going back to school?

More and more colleges now also offer specialized courses and Graduate Certificates to provide people with specific skills without the time and money investment necessary to get a whole new degree. Look at all your options, and then decide what would work best for you. In many cases, you will be OK without having to go back to school for years. And if you find you really need that degree, you will have made an informed choice.

6. You Need to Be a Business Genius to Start a Company
Psst… I have a secret. Very few people are “good at business” when they start. Most people have no idea how to run a business, and have to learn as they build it! This is why there are so many online courses to teach people how to market their work, get their first clients, etc. Don’t let your lack of knowledge stop you. Take it instead as an imperative to learn more about it. And if you can, start your business on the side and learn by doing. Then, when you’re ready, you can take the plunge and go full-time.

7. If Changing Careers Doesn’t Work Out, Your Life Will Be Ruined
When I lived in San Francisco, I took a four-month-long class through a nonprofit to learn everything about operating a business. I used to joke it was the cheapest MBA ever, and even got my friends to take it. The amazing thing? After graduation, some of the students founded highly successful businesses, some started pretty good businesses, some started a business and failed and some realized having a business was not for them.

Everyone, though, learned enough new skills and developed such a deeper understanding of how a business works that they could leverage their new knowledge into a better business, job, or salary. Some ended up getting better jobs, instead of becoming entrepreneurs.  In other words, when you embark on your journey to change careers, you will grow so much that you will be able to use what you learned no matter what.

It might not be what you expected, and you might experience a lot of heartbreak, failure, and discomfort along the way. But if you stay open, challenge yourself to learn new things, and put yourself out there, you will eventually be able to do something you find fulfilling.

The post The 7 Biggest Myths About Changing Careers appeared first on Résumé Writing and Career Services.

Job hunters are putting their vaccination status on LinkedIn and on their résumés. Should you?

As someone who’s been working in the recruiting and talent acquisition industry for two decades, Dustin Mazanowski knows how important it is for job candidates to use “keywords” on their profiles and résumés that quickly distinguish them from the pack.

“If it comes down to me and another person with the same qualifications and the same interview, what I wanted to do is have that extra qualification of being fully vaccinated,” the 44-year-old Chicagoan said, as his approximate four-month-old search continues for a senior role in the recruiting industry.
Jacki Hall, an experienced IT project and program manager, has the phrase “Available and Vaccinated for Travel” on her LinkedIn profile. She’s searching for a managerial role that includes international business travel.

“I hoped there were hiring companies requiring travel for an IT project manager, but who were discovering that candidates were nervous about traveling,” said Hall, 57, who spends her winters in Tampa, Fla., and her summers in Minnesota. “If there is a lack of candidates wanting to travel, letting recruiters know that I am ready to get out there might give me an advantage.”

Today’s job market is already starkly different from its pre-pandemic version. There’s a much greater likelihood of working from home, of course, but also the much greater chance of protocols concerning masks and social distancing when physically at the job.
Now, job seekers like Mazanowski and Hall say volunteering their COVID-19 vaccination status could give them a competitive edge.

“It’s better to be overqualified and state all the qualifications you have,” Mazanowski said. The “#vaccinated” mention is not a political statement, but a way he can signal to potential employers that he’s comfortable with in-person office work, he said.

Mazanowski added “#vaccinated” to his profile in July. Hall added it around mid-June, and her résumé’s personal statement also mentions vaccination. So far, neither has seen the disclosure making a noticeable change one way or another in their search.

Figuring out when to disclose vaccination status — or ask about it — is a top new question
It may make a difference going forward, said John Challenger, CEO of the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Instead of managing morale over vaccination rules, Challenger said, “employers want to focus on other things. If you are vaccinated and looking to be hired, for more employers that just portends fewer difficulties.”

Challenger said he’s seen “a small group of people” who are revealing their COVID-19 vaccination status on résumés and online profiles, and he thinks more will follow suit.

Josh Daniel, a career coach at Korn Ferry Advance, works with job seekers and employers — and on both sides, figuring out when to disclose vaccination status or ask about it is the top new question. Is it on LinkedIn? On a résumé? During the interview? “Those tend to be the big three,” he said, and he doesn’t see the dilemma going away.

Like his clients, Daniel’s still figuring out what’s the best advice. “There really is no precedent for this,” he said.

“We are exploring new ways for job seekers on LinkedIn to learn more about how companies are approaching the future of work including vaccination requirements, if they plan to go back to an office, stay remote or go hybrid,” said Suzi Owens, director of corporate communications in consumer products at LinkedIn.

More companies are requiring vaccinations for employees
Here’s where job-market dynamics get more intricate — and make it a serious matter to consider including vaccination status.

In early summer, when Mazanowski and Hall announced their vaccination status to potential employers, the number of companies with vaccine mandates was small, yet growing.

A survey of more than 950 large employers found that 21% had some type of vaccine requirement for all or some of their staff by the summer, up from 9% in the spring, according to Willis Towers Watson a human-resources consulting firm.

The same trend shows in help-wanted ads. By the end of August, the share of postings per million on Indeed.com requiring vaccination rose 242% from the same point in the previous month.
Though vaccination is specifically being required in less than 1% of all ads on the site, AnnElizabeth Konkel, an economist at the Indeed Hiring Lab, wrote that “with delta variant cases surging, employers are undoubtedly wondering how they can keep their business’s recovery on track.”

Here’s a blue-chip example: Delta Air Lines is making full vaccination a requirement for its new hires.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has grown impatient with the nearly 80 million people who remain unvaccinated. He said last week that the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration is creating rules that will require private-sector employers with at least 100 workers to either require vaccination or regular testing.

Though some Republican governors are threatening to sue, Biden has signaled he’s ready for any court showdown (“Have at it,” he said when asked about the prospect of legal challenges to vaccine requirements from Republican governors), and some legal experts say the president has the law on his side.

Knowing a prospective employee’s vaccination status ‘could be a relief for employers’
The real possibility of new federal rules will give some companies the cover they’ve been seeking to proceed with vaccine mandates, Challenger said. In such a contentious moment, spotting a mention of someone’s COVID-19 vaccination status “could be a real relief for employers to say, ‘I don’t have to ask about this,’ ” he said.

Even though the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has said there’s no legal breach if companies ask current staffers about their vaccination status, “an employer should refrain from asking prospective employees about their vaccination status until after they have received a job offer,” according to attorneys at Husch Blackwell, a firm representing employers.

Probing too soon might get them in hot water under the Americans with Disabilities Act, which bars employers from asking job candidates about potential medical matters before a job offer, the attorneys said.

Nevertheless, employers ought to make any vaccine standard loud and clear from the start and maybe even put a statement on the job application, the attorneys added.

How providing vaccination status on a résumé could be a gamble
Hall and Mazanowski say they haven’t encountered any nasty reactions to their job-search-related revelations. That doesn’t mean the strategy is risk-free, said Challenger. Generally speaking, résumés and job profiles should steer clear of controversies that could sink a job possibility from the start, he said.
In a smaller market, perhaps in an area with a lower vaccination rate, it might be a gamble to put mention COVID-19 vaccination on a résumé before having any other chance to make an impression, Challenger said. “You don’t know who an employer is, who might see it, who might take offense,” he said.
But in a larger market with a higher vaccination rate, Challenger said the mention could be a way to quickly stand apart.

Daniel’s not ready to say there’s a risky way or a wise way to talk about vaccination status in a job hunt. It’s a case-by-case situation, he said. But keep this in mind, he said: a LinkedIn announcement is out there for everyone to see. Waiting for a mention of vaccination status in a résumé could be a “deliberate decision because you see it as marketable,” he said.

Uncertainty over Biden’s vaccination mandate for employers
This all hits on a larger uncertainty with the coming federal vaccination requirements.
“There are so many open questions about how this plays out,” said Laura Boudreau, an assistant professor at Columbia Business School.

What she’s interested to know is how any federal vaccination-or-testing rules play out with businesses that have more than 100 workers but are small enough to stay out of the public eye — especially if those businesses happen to be located in places where vaccine hesitancy runs high.

For Hall, the upside to providing her vaccination mention outweighs any risk. “The pros are that it would make me stand out as someone who wants to travel for work and who is willing to take the necessary steps to make that happen,” she said. A risk would be pushback from people questioning the vaccine, but she hasn’t faced that.

As for Mazanowski, he’s willing to take his chances. “I felt that putting that I was fully vaccinated has more upside than not having it or the opposite.”

The post Job hunters are putting their vaccination status on LinkedIn and on their résumés. Should you? appeared first on Résumé Writing and Career Services.

A Guide on How to Transfer Jobs Within Your Company
We all get frustrated with our jobs from time to time, and in those moments, you might find yourself looking at your coworkers with envy, thinking about how easy they have it, or how much more exciting their work is than yours. You might even want their jobs—like literally.

That envy can signal something exciting for your career. Changing jobs inside your current company has some big benefits: Not only is your employer more likely to take a chance on you—after all, you’ve already proven yourself—but some companies specifically have programs that facilitate internal transfers of employees, making it easy to make a change.

Of course, successfully transitioning to a new role requires some careful navigation. So, if you’re looking to make a lateral move at your current company, follow the tips and tricks laid out in this guide, from how to find a new role to how to make the transition smoothly.

How to Find the Right Role at the Same Company
It’s easy to look at the other open roles in your company with a “grass is always greener on the other side” mindset. But jumping into a career transition without doing research is a recipe for failure. First things first, look up your company’s policies on lateral movements.

Why? You will want to show respect to the company’s policies and guidelines, so it can be consistent in the process—allowing you to transfer under the best possible conditions.

You should also research the specific opportunity that you’re interested in. Do your best to learn as much as possible about the potential role you’d like to move into by speaking to other employees currently in the role, sitting in their meetings, taking notes, and asking the right questions. Not only will you gain a better understanding of whether the role is right for you, but you will show your employer how interested you are and that you’re prepared.

How to Make Your Case
First, you’ll want to reach out to your manager. And yes, you might feel nervous talking to your manager about potentially leaving your team—but we promise this step is critical. In fact, you must speak to your manager before you approach anyone else about your move.

And if you’ve made up your mind that you want to apply to another role, make sure that you are ready to lay out a compelling argument about why you should be allowed to do so.

Try to frame your transfer request in terms of how it will benefit the company. Your move could benefit the company because you would add value to the brand in a new role, build skills the team is missing, or fit better in the new role, making the office more harmonious.

If possible, highlight more than one benefit. Prepare a list, and ensure that all the listed benefits are irresistible. When you make your offer, and let them see that they will get significantly more than they are getting now, they will find it difficult to deny your request.

This can’t be overstated. You will most likely receive a positive response if you can show a clear benefit—or return on investment—to your employer. But you can’t expect him or her to come up with those benefits him or herself. It’s critical that you provide the information.

Whatever you do, don’t give ultimatums. It’s one thing to let your manager know you’re interested in transferring positions—but it’s another entirely to threaten to or even hint that you’ll quit unless you’re given the job you have your eye on. Don’t forget: Your manager may not have the ultimate say in whether your transfer request is approved.
What’s more, there’s no better way to ruin your chances of getting what you want than by displaying a bad attitude. Managers don’t like to be threatened or be issued demands.

How to Navigate the Transition
To avoid hurt feelings with your former manager, and start things off on the right foot with your new manager, a clear transition plan is a must as you prepare to move into a new role.
Set up a meeting with your manager or your successor, if appropriate, in order to co-create a transition plan. Discuss any issues both people need to be aware of—think passwords, upcoming meetings, pending client requests, unanswered emails, or anything there may be.

Not only will this set you up for success, but it will help ensure that the transfer actually goes through. After all, you must admit: Without a plan, there really is nowhere to go!

At the same time, make sure you’re getting ready for your new role—just because your official start date hasn’t arrived doesn’t mean you can’t do some prep work. To ensure you hit the ground running, begin building relationships with your new team and learning more about what you’ll be doing—and, perhaps most importantly, how you can succeed at it.

To do this, set up one-on-one meetings with your new team members so that you can get to know everyone on a personal level. This will increase your odds of seamless integration.
This is also a prime time to connect with your soon-to-be manager and ask if there are any resources you should review or research you should start. Read up on anything he says!

Whatever you do, just don’t check out on your current job. Remember, you’re looking to stay within your organization, and reputation precedes itself. If you stop giving it your all in your current role, word of mouth may spread, and a new hiring manager may be reluctant to work with you. Your goal is to maintain your reputation as a great employee and continue to show your commitment to the organization your with—even if you’re not currently working for the ideal department or team you have envisioned just yet.

The post Switching Jobs Internally — How to Apply & How to Manage the Transition appeared first on Résumé Writing and Career Services.

The difference between finding a job and finding the best job for you often takes a well-defined strategy. Identifying how your personal ambitions, goals, and needs align with a particular job opportunity is no easy task. But outlining these factors is essential when searching for a job that’s the right fit for you. Below, you’ll find the most up-to-date information on Indeed’s features and guidance on how to find a job you’ll love.

How to find a job that’s right for you
Here are some tips to help you identify if a job is a good fit for you:

Decide what you want in a job
At the start of your job search, spend some time reflecting on what has prompted you to look. Are you interested in doing the same job for a different employer? Do you want to change career paths? Are you entering the job market for the first time? Are you returning from an employment gap?
Each of these circumstances presents a different way of narrowing in on the jobs you want.

Research job titles and descriptions
There are several resources on Indeed to help you explore your career options. You can review different job titles to get a better understanding of what a certain role entails and what skills may be required. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also provides up-to-date information on a comprehensive set of occupations.

Review salary trends
Salary trends is an Indeed tool that lets you see the trends in compensation for specific jobs in different locations. Enter a job title and you’ll see the salary range in various cities and with different employers.

Identify your must-haves
Another method of finding the jobs that are right for you is to identify your non-negotiables and areas where you may be more flexible. Each individual will have their own distinct list, but here are some examples that you might consider:

Examples of non-negotiable factors:
The industry or discipline you want to work in
A wage or salary you can’t go below
Benefits such as health insurance or paid time off
Location and commute time

Examples of negotiable factors:
Job title (associate, specialist, or another designation)
Added benefits, such as the ability to work from home
Working at a small business versus a large company
Amount of travel
Deciding which factors are must-haves and which are negotiable will help you move forward with confidence.

Experiment with different job searches
The best way to get a feel for the jobs that are available to you is to try out different search terms. As you search, you’ll get better at recognizing the jobs that feel right and those that don’t.
If you’re not sure where to begin, it’s a good practice to start with broad search terms and steadily narrow it down.

For example:
You begin a search with “Customer support” in Austin, Texas.

The result: There appear to be thousands of job posts
Next, search for “Customer support specialist” in Austin, Texas.

The result: Total job posts are in the hundreds
In the search results, certain titles may jump out at you. You can now conduct new searches for each of these. If you really like the results you’re getting with a particular search, you can set up a job alert. You’ll receive new matching jobs in your email on a daily or weekly basis, depending on your preference. You can create multiple job alerts and pause or delete them at any time.

Use advanced search tools to get specific
The next step is narrowing down the job search posts by using advanced search tools. Some of Indeed’s tools that you can use are:

Filters
Filters can narrow down the number of job postings by salary, company, location, posting date and more. With this advanced job search option, you can potentially turn a results page with thousands of jobs into a few dozen.
If you’re using Indeed on your phone, you’ll see the filter button on your search results page, just to the right of the search bar. On a desktop, these filters are on the left side of the page.

Apply with your Indeed Resume
Keep an eye out for jobs that have the “Apply with your Indeed Resume” option. These are job posts that enable you to upload your Indeed resume and submit your application in just a few clicks, giving you back valuable time in your job search.

Company reviews
Where you’ll work is just as important as the job you’ll do. Use Indeed’s Company reviews to see reviews from current and former employees, getting a real sense of what it’s like to work at different companies.

Determine if you meet the requirements
When you find a job posting that you think is a great fit for you, be sure to read the entire job description and follow directions.

Watch for notifications from employers
You’re putting in the effort to submit carefully prepared job applications—you certainly don’t want to miss any updates from employers when they respond. Be sure to regularly check your email inbox and your Indeed inbox to see if employers have contacted you. You’ll also want to check your email spam folders in case messages have landed there.

The post How To Find the Best Jobs for You appeared first on Résumé Writing and Career Services.

So you have a job interview with a CEO. Welcome to the big leagues! At this point, you’ve probably already made a great impression on the hiring manager and other key decision-makers. Now all that’s left is to sell yourself to the company leader.

Wondering how to wow the top brass? Here’s how to prepare for an interview with a company’s CEO.

Do some detective work
Put on your private investigator’s cap—you’ll need it to dig into the CEO’s background. Your mission is to gather as much information about the head honcho as possible so that you have intel you can leverage during the interview.

Check out the CEO’s social media accounts to see what businesses the person has worked for during their career. Based on what they share, what topics are they especially passionate about, and what accomplishments do they seem most proud of?
Also, do a search on Google News to see if they’ve spoken to media recently or have been involved in any major projects that are generating buzz.

Show admiration for the company
Not only do you want to research the CEO, but you also want to make sure you’re very familiar with the company’s history and any current news. You probably already did this kind of homework when you were preparing for your initial interviews with HR and the hiring manager, but it can definitely benefit you to reiterate what you learned to the CEO.

Like many people, CEOs are susceptible to flattery. However, you don’t want to come off as a brown-noser. Your best approach, therefore, is to compliment the CEO by praising the company’s performance. Maybe the firm earned above-average revenue last quarter, or it recently launched a new product that’s been in development for years. Your interest in the company will go a long way.

Prove you fit the company culture
While it’s critical that you call out your big career wins, core skills, and the unique perspective that you bring to the table during your interview with the CEO, you also need your personality to come through.
It’s no secret employers hire based on cultural fit. Leaders often set their company’s culture based on their leadership style, so demonstrating to the CEO that you’re a good fit is a must.

“Providing examples that demonstrate how your attitude and mindset make you a good fit to work there can help you show you’re in alignment with the company’s culture and values,” says Vicki Salemi, Monster’s career expert.

Get ready to revisit your answers
You met with the HR team and hiring manager, but don’t expect that everything you told them will have made its way to the CEO’s ears. Be ready to answer these common interview questions again:

• Tell me about yourself.
• Why do you want to work at this company?
• Why should we hire you?
• What do you want to accomplish in your career?

Questions to ask a CEO in an interview
Just as it’s expected that you’ll ask questions in your initial interview, you need to also have a handful of smart questions to ask the CEO.

• How would you describe your leadership style?
• What excites you the most about where this company is heading?
• What challenges within the company are you most occupied with currently?
• How do you set goals for this particular department?
• How and how often does senior management communicate with the rest of the company?

Say the right things
Acing a job interview with a CEO, hiring manager, or recruiter is all about choosing your words carefully.

The post How to prepare for an interview with a CEO appeared first on Résumé Writing and Career Services.

Interviews are your opportunity to tell employers why you are the best candidate for the job. To do this, it can be helpful to take some time before your interview to reflect on your personal strengths and why they make you uniquely qualified to succeed in the role. In this article, we will explain ways you can identify your strengths and integrate them into commonly asked interview questions.

Identify your personal strengths.

Before an interview, there are a few actions you should take to prepare. One of the most important steps is to review your strengths, skills, and qualities as they relate to the job description for which you are interviewing. Your goal during an interview is to explain why your skillset is the best for what they need, why you are a good culture add both for the company and their team, and what makes you uniquely qualified to succeed in the role. If you’re unsure about your strengths, there are a few thought exercises that may help you identify them:

Take notes of things you enjoy

Take a few minutes to identify the activities you enjoy doing the most and that come naturally to you, then think about the underlying components that make these experiences enjoyable. Decide if there are any shared skills or patterns among them. For example, if you enjoy doing crossword puzzles to relieve stress, you might be a strong critical thinker and problem solver.

Consider the feedback you’ve received from others

Think back to times when people told you something they liked or admired about you, such as your communication skills or how well you organize and lead a team. You might also consider any times you received a reward, promotion, or other recognition and what skills allowed you to get there.

Take an online test

Colleges, universities, and agencies that assist in job placement often have skill and aptitude tests available to help you identify your strengths.

Think about the strengths of your role models

Think of your personal and professional role models. Decide what strengths of theirs you admire and whether you find yourself demonstrating any of these qualities.

Identifying your personal strengths provides you with a list of choices to select from during the interview process, making it easier to share them with your interviewers.

How to highlight your personal strengths when interviewing

Once you’ve identified your strengths, practice weaving them into your answers to common interview questions. Here are two strategies for preparing an impactful answer with the STAR (situation, task, action, result) interview response technique.

While this answer format can be applied to nearly any open-ended interview question, the following sample answers are in response to the question, “What are your greatest strengths?”

Focus on quality, not quantity

Select three to five of your individual strengths to focus on and prepare answers for when you’re interviewing. Consider the skills required in your industry and identify personal strengths that complement them.

Example: “I believe my willingness to take initiative, along with my communication and organizational skills, are three of my biggest strengths. While completing my internship last summer, I was able to help manage various social media accounts. I wanted to make sure all team members understood our strategy and were in agreement about the tone and message we wanted to deliver. I initiated a weekly email for each account that went out to all team members that kept them up to date while encouraging feedback. The email was helpful enough that they kept this practice going, adding it to full-time staff members’ responsibilities.”

Back up your strengths with personal stories

Identify stories you can share to demonstrate previous experiences. Start by directly answering the question, then follow that up with a personal statement.

Example: “My curiosity is one of my greatest strengths. When taking on a new project, I enjoy asking clients questions about their hobbies and backgrounds. This helps me establish a personal connection with them while keeping communication easy and productive. I know how important establishing quality relationships with customers is for a sales program and company as a whole, and I feel I would fit into your climate well.”

Take time to think about how to answer a “personal strengths” question, plan out several answers and practice delivering them.

Provide original answers to routine interview questions.

While every interview is different, many employers use some of the same questions to get to know their candidates better. Preparing key points in response to these questions in advance can help you feel more calm and confident during the interview. Here are some examples of interview questions with responses:

1.      Tell me about yourself.

2.      What are your biggest strengths?

3.      What is your biggest weakness?

4.      How do you handle conflict?

5.      Why should we hire you?

1. Tell me about yourself.

This is frequently the first question of an interview and your first chance to introduce your personal strengths to your interviewer. Prepare an answer that briefly addresses your professional history, accomplishments you’re most proud of, and relevant career goals. The interviewer already has your resume, so provide them with the information they haven’t seen or heard about you yet.

Example: “As an HR manager I have spent the last six years managing all areas of the HR function, including recruiting, training, and benefits for a Fortune 500 company. I have used this time to develop my managerial skills with Advantech Networking Solutions, where I have received numerous performance awards and three promotions. I enjoy solving customer issues and managing teams. While I love my current job, I’m ready to take on the challenges that come with leading a large team. Supporting others in a leadership capacity has been a longtime passion of mine and is something I want to focus my time and skills on as I grow in my career.”

2. What are your greatest strengths?

When interviewers ask about your greatest strengths, they want to know how your strengths can help their organization succeed. Take the time to review the list of responsibilities in the job description so you can tailor your answer appropriately.

Example:  “I truly believe my strong work ethic is my biggest strength. When I commit to a deadline, I do whatever needs to be done to meet it in a quality manner. For example, last month we had a proposal due but got some information back late from our team in Atlanta. I worked all night to finalize the proposal to deliver it to the client on time.”

3. What is your biggest weakness?

Interviewers will likely also ask about your biggest weakness. Be honest about a real shortcoming while sharing what steps you’re taking to improve.

Example: “I sometimes rush through tasks so I can complete them quickly and move on to the next item on my list. I’m learning to take time and step back to put more emphasis on quality rather than quantity. In doing so, I’ve found ways to become both effective and efficient.”

4. How do you handle conflict?

When an interviewer asks how you handle conflict, teamwork or leadership, they want specific examples of experience so they can gauge how you might handle a similar situation within their organization. Have examples ready of times you had to deal with conflict at work. Explain the situation and how you managed it and include the final outcome.

Example: “When conflict arises, I find it best to consider the other person’s perspective and communicate calmly until we resolve. While working as a manager of a department store, I had an elderly woman request to exchange a top for a different size. Usually, this would be an easy exchange even without a receipt, except that the top wasn’t one of ours. I explained this to the customer, and she became very upset before finally leaving the store.

A short time later, a younger lady came in and asked to speak with me. She explained that the woman in the store earlier was her mother who was suffering from dementia and was often easily confused. She shared that once her mother came home, had time to calm down, and realized what happened, she was embarrassed. I explained that I completely understood and that I had similar experiences with my mother. The mother and daughter continue to be regular customers of the store and will seek me out when I am working.”

5. Why should we hire you?

Generally, this is one of the last questions interviewers ask, and it is an opportunity to leave a powerful and lasting impression on them. Use specific skills outlined in the job description and provide examples of how your personal strengths allow you to succeed.

Example: “Based on the research I’ve done and our discussion today, your organization is looking for an administrative assistant with strong interpersonal and technological skills. My communication abilities will be useful in crafting client emails, talking to customers on the phone and during oral presentations. I’m also fluent in several current software programs, including spreadsheet suites and content management systems. I believe my experiences align well with your company’s mission and that I could bring a diverse set of skills to your organization.”

Taking time to plan out answers for routine interview questions like these will likely make you more confident in the interview and help you avoid common mistakes.

The post How to Emphasize Your Personal Strengths During an Interview appeared first on Résumé Writing and Career Services.

Although 90 percent of companies planned to conduct job interviews by video in 2017, according to GreenJobInterview, nothing replaces the ability to meet potential hires in person.

“You get a better sense of who someone is when you are in the same room as them,” said Nancy Noto, former director of people and development at Mic.

So if you’re close to getting a job in another state, here’s everything you should expect from that in-person interview.

Why You Might Be Asked for an In-Person Interview
Getting a job in another state can be complicated, but you’re not the only one considering it. About 20 percent of Americans who moved in 2016 did so for an employment-related reason, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

As you consider moving for a job, the HR team at your potential company might be considering whether you’re a strong enough candidate to merit paying for your travel costs — a cost the company doesn’t have to consider for local candidates.

Not all applicants will be worth the time and money to wrangle plane tickets, book hotels and rent cars.
But you might be more likely to fly out for a final in-person interview if you’re an in-demand hire working in, say, technology or engineering.

“We have flown candidates in for interviews when hiring for a highly specialized role or a very senior role only,” said Noto, who also worked in HR for AppNexus. “It really depends on the size of the company. Very large companies with large recruiting budgets might fly out candidates more frequently.”

How to Plan Your Interview Trip
By footing the bill for your airfare, a company is demonstrating its interest in you. It’s also expecting that you’re seriously interested too.

You can assume the company will either assist you in making your travel plans or offer instructions on taking care of them yourself. Either way, show initiative. Just because your new company will pay for (or reimburse) your travel, doesn’t mean you need a secretary.

Being thrifty might impress your future boss. So will treating your visit like a business trip.
“Some employers will fly candidates in and out the same day,” said Tiffani Murray, a career consultant. “You can expect a half or full day of interviews usually in these cases.”

What to Expect During Your Visit
If you’re being flown out for in-person interviews, your potential new company is likely ensuring you’re a fit for its culture.

“They know you can do the job already and are seeing who will best fit on the team, so keep that in mind when answering questions,” said Valerie Streif, a senior adviser at Mentat, when asked how to land a job in another state.

“Educate yourself on the mission of the company,” she continued, “and customize your answers to interview questions so that you align with their values.”
Your day at the office might also include:

• Touring the offices
• Meeting with HR to review the role
• Attending a welcome breakfast or lunch with potential colleagues
• Interviews with various colleagues and higher-ups

Just in case, ready yourself for an end-of-the-day offer. Brush up on your salary-negotiating strategies in case the process moves along quickly during your visit.

Getting a job in another state is also about getting accustomed to your new surroundings.
“Some HR teams may also be looking at this as an opportunity to sell the candidate on relocating to the work location,” said Murray. “They may include other activities during this trip such as a city tour that includes looking at neighborhoods, entertainment districts, schools, and other local attractions.”

Use the Plane Ride to Prepare
When you’re asked to cross a state border to interview for a job, you might assume you have it in the bag. Be aware that even if the company is not flying out other candidates, it could still be considering local applicants.
So use your travel time to either rest or study up. Short of taking a red-eye flight, you might want to spend your time:

• Learning the names, faces, and backgrounds of your interviewers
• Researching the office’s surrounding neighborhoods
• Planning your route to and from the office
• Preparing answers to questions about your experience
• Continuing to craft your rockstar resume

Using your time wisely will ensure you have no regrets once the in-person interview ends.
The same goes for your return trip. Use that time to digest your interviewing experience. Think about how well everything went, how you might mesh with your interviewers, and how you can follow up to express your gratitude for the trip.

Also, ask yourself whether you’re excited about getting a job in another state or whether you’re excited about this particular job — no matter its location. After all, moving for a job is only worth it if the job is.

The post How to Prepare for an Out-Of-State Job Interview appeared first on Résumé Writing and Career Services.

The pandemic has upended many businesses, with some companies furloughing employees. A furlough is a mandatory, temporary leave of absence from work. It often leaves employees in an uncomfortable middle ground: They have a job, but they can’t go to it. And while benefits such as health and life insurance typically remain, furloughs are often taken without pay and perks.

Terry McDougall, career coach and author of “Winning the Game of Work,” says that companies often furlough employees when they are no longer able to pay them “but would like to maintain the employee relationship so they can call them back when the economic challenge has passed.”

But there’s no guarantee that employees will be called back, McDougall points out. (In fact, she says she’s worked with clients who’ve waited several months to be called back into work only to find out they never will.) That’s why McDougal says that while loyalty to your current employer is important, “your first loyalty needs to be to yourself.” In other words, it’s totally OK and brilliant to look for another job — perhaps even one that pays more — while you’re on furlough.

However, if you decide to start a job search, McDougal recommends you don’t tell your current employer. It’s not about lying: “There’s no guarantee that the employee will find a job,” she says, “and it’s not really the business of your employer what you do on your own time.” What’s more, if your employer does have an opportunity to bring back some employees, “they may decide not to bring someone back if they believe that person may leave soon anyway,” McDougal explains.

Instead, McDougal says, it’s important to diversify your opportunities: “Maintain the possibility that you’ll be called back to your old job when the business improves while also exploring if there are other opportunities that you may be qualified for,” she says. “Don’t diminish the possibility that you will not be called back because your employer thinks you’re ‘already gone.’”

If you start your job search and your employer catches wind of your efforts, then you’ll need to be transparent at that point. McDougal says you should tell your employer that you’re exploring your options if you’re not called back after the furlough. “Employers should understand that if they are not paying employees that they cannot expect the employees to sit and just wait for the possibility that they are called back,” she says. “The employee can let the employer know that they would very much like to be called back, and that’s their first choice — but that they need to take their own well-being and ensure that they have the income to support themselves.”

For some, it might be scary to look for another job while you’re on furlough. But McDougal has some encouraging and motivating words: “You own your career, and you need to take full responsibility for it,” she says. “Companies will lay off employees with little-to-no notice when it suits the business. Employees should always be looking to trade their skills and experience to the employer who provides them with the best value in exchange for those skills.”

The post Furloughed Employees: Should You Tell Your Employer You Are Job Hunting? appeared first on Résumé Writing and Career Services.