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Let’s demystify the process of job-hunting: it’s a very easy process and not at all like the ritual of virgin sacrifice it’s cracked up to be. Just kidding about the virgin sacrifice…

You are now a certified “Blue Sky Ranger” — consider yourself sprinkled with wishing dust so that you can conjure up your dream of the perfect job and then go find it.

Tailoring your job search has two major components: knowing what you like to do and knowing what you don’t like to do. “Hard work” is not the answer to the second part of that sentence. Knowing what you don’t like may encompass an entire type of business. A person who detests professional sports probably should not apply to the front office of New York Yankees baseball team. A person who is a member of the Sierra Club may feel out of place in a company with a blatant disregard for the environment and no desire to change. In these cases, a personal or philosophical difference may keep you from applying to certain types of businesses, saving you time, effort, and stamps on your resume mailings.

Now that we know what you don’t like, let’s make a list of what you do like. List everything that causes your soul to tingle in anticipation-previous work environments, hobbies, personal causes, and match them to representative industries. If you are a retired Camp Fire Girl (or overgrown Eagle Scout), research:

• those companies making equipment for campers and hikers,
• the Parks Service,
• recreational vehicles,
• ecotourism (companies arranging tours focusing on nature),
• hospitality sites in the U.S. Park System (e.g., Bright Angel Lodge at the Grand Canyon).

Walk into a camping equipment store and saunter up and down the aisles, legal pad in hand. Make a list of the companies making the equipment you know and use. These are exactly the companies you need to research and apply to.

If you like favor environmental causes, make a list of companies that are listed by environmentally conscious mutual funds. Check with local members of environmental groups to find out where they work, which companies they recommend and which ones they flee. If you like sports, apply to major and minor league teams, sports equipment manufacturers, sports agents, sports venues (e.g., Madison Square Garden, Qualcomm Park in San Diego), and sports promoters.

Now that you’ve made your list, you have a block of types of businesses for which you’d like to work. Let’s make a list of specific employers, which is part of the research of getting a job. According to employment counseling firm Bernard Haldane Associates, only 15 percent of all jobs openings are listed in the newspaper. Therefore, you’ll have to become the Sherlock Holmes of the job-hunting world to detect the best job for you.

There are numerous ways to build your list of companies to which you want to apply:

Look up the companies on your list on the Internet or at the library. Check out that company’s Web site and what jobs that company lists there. Even if the company does not list an opening in your specialty, look at what is open. Call the manager in the department you want and introduce yourself. If you make a good case for what you can contribute, the company may even be willing to create a position for you since you went to the effort of seeking it out and researching the firm. Look the company up on Hoovers.com or other financial sites to find out how financially healthy they are.

Are there other methods? You bet! Here are a few:

1. Call your local Chamber of Commerce and ask for complimentary tickets to the next Chamber mixer or breakfast meeting. These meetings can a suburb, the entire city, or countywide.

Take someone with you to the mixer who is familiar with the group and can introduce you to people. Or ask a Chamber ambassador or board member to take you under his or her wing and make introductions for you. Introduce yourself to people. Relax. Put a pleasant expression on your face and be approachable. Others may be just as worried as you are about making new contacts. Let your body language and expressions show that you are friendly, and others will be drawn to you.

You interact in global economy and society. Practice your etiquette because it is a business and a social tool. When an introduction is made, say your name, hold out your hand and look the other person in the eye while standing up straight. Practice this gesture. Gain the confidence you need to do it because you will use this skill your entire life.

If you create an interesting opening line about yourself, introducing yourself will be one step easier. If, for example, you have a safety degree from Cal State LA, your opening line might be, “Hi, I’m Terry Smith. I’m a trained guardian of people’s safety and protector of the birdies.” Even if you’re merely a data-entry clerk for the summer, your sound-byte about yourself can morph into “I electrify words and make them immortal.” Take along your resume or design a business card with your career highlights and contact information. At Kinko’s, cards cost about $25. Trade business cards with those at the mixer. Listen to chat groups. Network! Call those people you contacted and ask for an interview. (Many of these hints are from the Willimantic, CT, Chamber of Commerce Staff network, June, 1999/reprinted September 7, 1999.)

1. Join Toastmasters. The organization will teach you how to speak in front of a group, thus allowing you to introduce yourself and your talents to a whole roomful of potential employers. You can hone your skills in front of a friendly audience, not an audience that meets in a corporate boardroom and has the clout to kill your pet project. Each speech you are assigned gets a bit longer. You are encouraged and critiqued (praised for what you did right and gently corrected on those minor, minuscule, not-really-worth-mentioning flubs).
2. If you are interested in working in a specific geographical area, try this. Put a tape recorder on the car seat beside you and drive through an industrial park. Call off the names of the companies, address, anything you can see (“Davcom, the eCommerce Solution Provider”). (This process doesn’t work well if the buildings are 50 stories tall and have 500 tenants.) Once you are home with your list, transcribe the list, look ‘em up and go for it.

Career planning is not an activity that should be done once — in high school or college — and then left behind as we move forward in our jobs and careers. Rather, career planning is an activity that is best done on a regular basis — especially given the data that the average worker will change careers (not jobs) multiple times over his or her lifetime. And it’s never too soon or too late to start your career planning.

Career planning is not a hard activity, not something to be dreaded or put off, but rather an activity that should be liberating and fulfilling, providing goals to achieve in your current career or plans for beginning a transition to a new career. Career planning should be a rewarding and positive experience.

Here, then, are 10 tips to help you achieve successful career planning.

1. Make Career Planning an Annual Event
Many of us have physicals, visit the eye doctor and dentist, and do a myriad of other things on an annual basis, so why not career planning? Find a day or weekend once a year — more often if you feel the need or if you’re planning a major career change — and schedule a retreat for yourself. Try to block out all distractions so that you have the time to truly focus on your career — what you really want out of your career, out of your life.

By making career planning an annual event, you will feel more secure in your career choice and direction — and you’ll be better prepared for the many uncertainties and difficulties that lie ahead in all of our jobs and career.

2. Map Your Path Since Last Career Planning
One of your first activities whenever you take on career planning is spending time mapping out your job and career path since the last time you did any sort of career planning. While you should not dwell on your past, taking the time to review and reflect on the path — whether straight and narrow or one filled with any curves and dead-ends — will help you plan for the future.

Once you’ve mapped your past, take the time to reflect on your course — and note why it looks the way it does. Are you happy with your path? Could you have done things better? What might you have done differently? What can you do differently in the future?

3. Reflect on Your Likes and Dislikes, Needs and Wants
Change is a factor of life; everybody changes, as do our likes and dislikes. Something we loved doing two years ago may now give us displeasure. So always take time to reflect on the things in your life — not just in your job — that you feel most strongly about.

Make a two-column list of your major likes and dislikes. Then use this list to examine your current job and career path. If your job and career still fall mostly in the like column, then you know you are still on the right path; however, if your job activities fall mostly in the dislike column, now is the time to begin examining new jobs and new careers.

Finally, take the time to really think about what it is you want or need from your work, from your career. Are you looking to make a difference in the world? To be famous? To become financially independent? To effect change? Take the time to understand the motives that drive your sense of success and happiness.

4. Examine Your Pastimes and Hobbies
Career planning provides a great time to also examine the activities you like doing when you’re not working. It may sound a bit odd, to examine non-work activities when doing career planning, but it’s not. Many times your hobbies and leisurely pursuits can give you great insight into future career paths.

Think you can’t make a hobby into a career? People do it all the time. The great painter Paul Gauguin was a successful business person who painted on the side. It actually wasn’t until he was encouraged by an artist he admired to continue painting that he finally took a serious look at his hobby and decided he should change careers. He was good at business, but his love was painting.

5. Make Note of Your Past Accomplishments
Most people don’t keep a very good record of work accomplishments and then struggle with creating a powerful resume when it’s time to search for a new job. Making note of your past accomplishments — keeping a record of them — is not only useful for building your resume, it’s also useful for career planning.

Sometimes reviewing your past accomplishments will reveal forgotten successes, one or more which may trigger researching and planning a career shift so that you can be in a job that allows you to accomplish the types of things that make you most happy and proud.

6. Look Beyond Your Current Job for Transferable Skills
Some workers get so wrapped up in their job titles that they don’t see any other career possibilities for themselves. Every job requires a certain set of skills, and it’s much better to categorize yourself in terms of these skill sets than be so myopic as to focus just on job titles.

For example, one job-seeker who was trying to accomplish career planning found herself stuck because she identified herself as a reporter. But once she looked beyond her job title, she could see that she had this strong collection of transferable skills — such as writing, editing, researching, investigating, interviewing, juggling multiple tasks, meeting goals and deadlines, and managing time and information — skills that could easily be applied to a wide variety of jobs in many different careers.

7. Review Career and Job Trends
Everyone makes his or her own job and career opportunities, so that even if your career is shrinking, if you have excellent skills and know how to market yourself, you should be able to find a new job. However, having information about career trends is vital to long-term career planning success.

A career path that is expanding today could easily shrink tomorrow — or next year. It’s important to see where job growth is expected, especially in the career fields that most interest you. Besides knowledge of these trends, the other advantage of conducting this research is the power it gives you to adjust and strengthen your position, your unique selling proposition. One of the keys to job and career success is having a unique set of accomplishments, skills, and education that make you better than all others in your career.

8. Set Career and Job Goals
Develop a roadmap for your job and career success. Can you be successful in your career without setting goals? Of course. Can you be even more successful through goal-setting? Most research says yes.

A major component of career planning is setting short-term (in the coming year) and long-term (beyond a year) career and job goals. Once you initiate this process, another component of career planning becomes reviewing and adjusting those goals as your career plans progress or change – and developing new goals once you accomplish your previous goals.

9. Explore New Education/Training Opportunities
It’s somewhat of a cliche, but information really does lead to power and success. Never pass up chances to learn and grow more as a person and as a worker; part of career planning is going beyond passive acceptance of training opportunities to finding new ones that will help enhance or further your career.

Take the time to contemplate what types of educational experiences will help you achieve your career goals. Look within your company, your professional association, your local universities and community colleges, as well as online distance learning programs, to find potential career-enhancing opportunities — and then find a way achieve them.

10. Research Further Career/Job Advancement Opportunities
One of the really fun outcomes of career planning is picturing yourself in the future. Where will you be in a year? In five years? A key component to developing multiple scenarios of that future is researching career paths.

Of course, if you’re in what you consider a dead-end job, this activity becomes even more essential to you, but all job-seekers should take the time to research various career paths — and then develop scenarios for seeing one or more of these visions become reality. Look within your current employer and current career field, but again, as with all aspects of career planning, do not be afraid to look beyond to other possible careers.

Final Thoughts on Career Planning
Don’t wait too long between career planning sessions. Career planning can have multiple benefits, from goal-setting to career change, to a more successful life. Once you begin regularly reviewing and planning your career using the tips provided in this article, you’ll find yourself better prepared for whatever lies ahead in your career — and in your life.

As a college professor, I am often asked for my advice on how students can get better grades. And after a couple of years of refining my ideas, I have developed these 10 tips. And by the way, these tips will work for you — whether you are a first-year student or a senior, whether at a small college or a large university. These tips are universal. So, if you are struggling with grades and interested in raising your grade point average, take a close look at these 10 tips for getting better grades.

1. Attend All Your Classes
Now, you might think this was an obvious one. But I speak from experience when I say that many students skip classes for one reason or another. But if you want good grades, there are several reasons why you should attend all your classes:

• Absorb classroom material. Even if the professor follows the textbook pretty closely, sitting in the classroom and listening to the lectures/discussions will help you absorb the materials.
• Make presence known/participate. One of the benefits of going to college should be that you form a mentoring relationship with some of your professors, and that’s not going to happen if you don’t attend the classes. And often faculty have participation points (or bonus points), so beyond just attending, make an effort to be involved in the class discussions.
• Earn attendance points. Many professors have attendance policies, so you can have a direct impact on your grade simply by attending.

Don’t forget to sit close to the front — historically, those who do are usually the best students.

2. Master Your Professors
Every professor has a different personality and system for running his/her classes, so it makes sense as early in the semester as possible to learn what the professor wants. Here are some ways to master your professors:

• Understand course expectations. Most professors give out a class syllabus during the first week of classes — and it is your responsibility to know deadlines and all the requirements for the course.
• Understand professors on personal level. Rather than viewing the professor as some figurehead at the front of the class who decides your fate in some abstract way, get to know your professor as a person. Visit him or her during office hours, or stay after class.
• Communicate with professors when you are struggling. Especially at larger colleges and universities, the professor won’t know when you are struggling, so if you are having problems with the course work or the tests, schedule an appointment to meet with the professor and get the help you need.

3. Get/Stay Organized
You may have been one of the lucky few who has never needed a planner before, but college is all about multitasking, and you can easily get overwhelmed with due dates, team meetings, and other demands on your time. Here are some tips for getting organized:

• Use a planner or other organization system. I’ve had my day-planner for years and cannot go anywhere without it. Others are that same way with their personal digital assistants.
• Stay current with due dates/course calendars. It’s not enough to have a system — you have to use it! So once you have some sort of system, get in the habit of using it (and it will soon become second nature).
• Keep homework, tests, and class papers in central location. Don’t just throw old homework assignments or tests in the back of your car or the floor of your dorm room. You’ll need these for studying for future tests, for meeting with your professor to discuss them, and for figuring your grade in the class… so, keep all your class materials in a central location.

4. Use Time Wisely
Even if you do not procrastinate and are the most organized person in the world, time can be one of your biggest enemies in college. Here are some tips for using time wisely:

• Tackle harder work first. Yes, tackle the harder stuff first so that you are sure to have enough time to complete it. You’ll feel a greater sense of accomplishment completing the work in this order.
• Take breaks as reward for work. Reward yourself for completing a major task by taking a break and chatting with a friend or watching some television. Not only are the breaks good motivation to help you complete something, you’ll also be more refreshed to tackle the next bit of work after a break.
• Break larger projects into smaller, easy-to-accomplish pieces. If you have a massive term paper due at the end of the semester, break up the work into smaller chunks and assign deadlines to each part.
• Do not overextend yourself; learn to say no. Besides all your academic work, you will also be asked to get involved in all sorts of clubs and organizations while in college — and at some point, you will have to learn to say no to some requests of your time.
• Work hard to play hard. One of my favorite students used to say that she worked hard so that she would have the time to play hard — and that’s a good balance. Just make sure you do the work FIRST.

5. Become “Noteworthy”
Another reason for attending class is recording the class notes. These notes are vital clues to what the professor thinks is the most important material for you to learn, so besides taking notes, learn how to better use them to your advantage. Here are some specifics:

• Be an active listener in class. Don’t read the newspaper, gossips with friends, or text your roommate during class. Instead, listen attentively and actively — and ask for clarification when you need it.
• Take good notes in class. Whether taking notes from scratch or following a professor’s outline, the key for you will be to get the most important details down so that you can refer back to them when you need them.
• Rewrite or organize notes on your computer outside of class. This suggestion may sound a little extreme, but the writing-to-learn literature shows that you can increase your understanding and retention of material by rewriting it.

6. Use the Textbook
Professors assign textbooks for a reason — and it’s not to make you broke; it’s to supplement the lectures and discussions from class. Do buy all the textbooks — and follow these tips for using it:

• Read all assigned material. Sounds obvious, right? When a professor assigns a chapter, read the whole thing (unless told otherwise), including the opening vignettes, the case studies, and tables and exhibits.
• Know what’s critical. At the same time, know what parts of the text are most critical. For example, in one of my classes, the vocabulary is most critical, and the textbook emphasizes the point by having all the terms and their definitions printed in the margins of every chapter.
• Use outlining system to help comprehend material. Reading and highlighting the material in the text is just the minimum. To get the most of what you’re reading, you should also take notes and outline the material.

7. Follow Good Rules of Writing
Many classes require one or more writing assignments, from short responses to term papers, and you’ll do better on these assignments if you follow these rules of good writing:

• Organize your thoughts before writing. Stream of consciousness works in a diary or journal (and may have worked in high school), but it’s best to map out an outline before you start the actual writing.
• Understand requirements for paper. Every professor has a specific way he or she wants a paper organized, and it’s best to know them before you start to write. Be sure to understand the reference system and all the mechanics of the paper (font, margins, cover sheet, footnotes, etc.).
• Write a draft (and get feedback when possible). Especially for larger papers, you’ll have a higher quality paper (and a better grade) if you can show the professor a draft early enough before the deadline to make changes.
• Rewrite, edit, rewrite, edit, rewrite. Learn that editing and rewriting are your friends. No one is a good enough writer to whip out the final draft in one sitting. The best writers go through a process.
• Proofread, proofread, proofread. Spellcheckers catch spelling errors, but not other problems, so learn the art of proofreading. Or better, have a buddy system with a friend in which you proofread each other’s papers.

8. Study, Study, Study
Another obvious one here? Perhaps, but the rule is you should be spending at least three hours outside of class for every hour in it. And for some classes, you’ll find you need a lot more time than that to master the material. So, here are some suggestions:

• Study early and often. Breaking your studying into shorter periods of time will make less of a chore — and give your mind time to absorb the material before moving on.
• Develop and practice good study habits. Make it a habit and studying will become second nature to you.
• Know how you best study, learn material. Some people need complete silence to concentrate while others like a little noise. Find what works for you and stick with it.
• Study with friends to gain support, but… don’t turn it into a social event. A study buddy can be a great tool, as long as you actually get some studying accomplished.
• Make sure work is done before socializing. Studying is critical to learning, which is critical to better grades — so do the work before heading out to have fun.

9. Be a Good Test-Taker
Just about all college classes have exams, and sometimes the exams are the major portion of your final grade, so it’s important to become a good test-taker. Here are some hints:

• Know what to expect on exams. Every professor has a style of test development, so obtain old copies or ask the professor directly. Know the types of questions that will be asked — as well as the content that will be covered.
• Read questions carefully and plan answers. Take your time at the beginning of the test to read through all the instructions and make a plan of attack.
• Pace yourself so you have plenty of time to complete all parts. And know the point v alues of questions, so you can be sure to complete the most important ones first in case time does run out.
• Ask questions. If you don’t understand something, or need clarification of the question, ask the professor. Don’t wait to get the exam back and find you answered a question the wrong way.

10. Polish Those Verbal Communications Skills
Many classes include a presentation component, so use these tips to improve your verbal communications skills and maximize your grade:

• Practice speeches, presentations. The best speeches and presentations are the well-rehearsed ones, so complete your script or outline early enough to have time to practice the presentation (and to make sure it falls within the specified time limit).
• If using technology, always have a back-up. Technology is great, but sometimes it fails. If you have a PowerPoint presentation, make copies of it as a handout in case you need it.
• Know the presentation situation — and plan accordingly. Every professor has a set of guidelines when grading presentations, and many classroom set-ups are different, so know the situation before going into the presentation.

Final Thoughts
Following these guidelines should help your grades immensely, but here is one other tip. Remember to think of your professors as your allies, not your enemies. And if not your allies, at least your partners. Our goal is for every student to learn and master the materials in the course. And if you master the materials, you should have a good grade in the class. And if you’re struggling with some aspect of the course, just go see the professor. We’re here to help you become the best you can be.

Are you in the market for a new job, but find yourself struggling to find job leads or obtain interviews? Are you getting job interviews, but no offers?

If you’ve been looking for a job for months with little or no success — or are about to start a new job search — review the most common ways job-seekers bomb a job-search, and then make certain your job-search avoids them.

1. Not having a job-search strategy. Any good job-search starts with a plan, a vision, and a strategy. Issues to address include the specific types of jobs you want to seek, prospective employers that match your values, and tactics for developing job leads. The more finely honed and developed your strategy, the more success you’ll have in uncovering perfect career opportunities.

2. Too little time spent on job-hunting. If you’re in no hurry to find a new job, passive job-searching may work fine for you. But if you are seriously looking for a new job, then you must commit large allotments of time daily (as much as you can spare, depending on whether you are working or unemployed) to the search — time that is well-spent uncovering job leads, interacting with your network, preparing or going on interviews, and following-up with prospective employers. 

3. Not maximizing all aspects of networking. Most job-seekers have now heard the statistics that show that the vast majority of new hires come from a networking situation, not from job boards or other job-search techniques. Thus, part of each day should be spent making new network contacts and talking with current network contacts. Take advantage of traditional face-to-face networking techniques, as well as online social networking sites. Consider informational interviews as a tool to build network contacts if you are seeking a job in a new field or location.

4. Spending too much time with online job sites. The big job boards are not useless — not yet anyway — but the time you spend on a Monster or CareerBuilder should be minimal. Better to use that time with a niche job board (by profession, industry, or location) or on each prospective employer’s career center. Most experts suggest you should still consider posting your resume on one of the major job boards, but don’t expect significant results. If you’re looking for job leads, consider using a job-search engine such as Indeed.com.

5. Problems with your resume. The typical problems with resumes include lack of focus, including misleading or untruthful information on resume, and/or writing weak, unquantified, or nonexistent accomplishments (or focusing on duties instead of accomplishments). While networking is the cornerstone to uncovering job leads, your resume is pivotal to obtaining interviews. Your resume, as your main marketing document to prospective employers, must have a sharp focus, be tailored to each specific employer and job, include only relevant information, provide quantifiable accomplishments, contain no errors of facts or writing, and entice the reader to want to meet you for an interview.

6. Lack of clear positioning, branding, digital presence. If you can’t clearly and concisely discuss who you are and what you want, how do you expect an employer to figure it out? While marketing and IT may not be your core strengths, you need to learn some elements of both if you want to have greater job-search and career success. Start with the basics, such as developing your Elevator Speech and resume, but move forward with online measures, such as developing a professional profile on LinkedIn. Ideally, you’ll get to buying your domain name and developing a branded Website that includes key information about who you are — as a professional. As part of the hiring process, more and more employers are conducting online searches of candidates.

7. Not keeping current with skills, emerging technologies, or certifications. One of the biggest mistakes of mid-career and older job-seekers that we see is that they stop learning new and emerging technologies and techniques — encouraging the stereotype that old dogs can’t learn new tricks. Lifelong learning and professional development is essential in all career fields. Ideally, your current employer provides you with a professional development allotment, but if not, pay for the training, certifications, and education yourself. Besides staying current in your field, attending classes and professional meetings are also great methods of meeting new people and building your network.

8. Aiming too high or too low — feeling overqualified or underqualified for many job openings. You are wasting much of your time and energy if you are applying to jobs that are too far below you — or way too much of a stretch. Take the Goldilocks approach and seek out jobs that are just right for the next step in your career. If you have a reason for seeking a position in which you are overqualified, such as you are looking for a less stressful job, and thus applying for positions that make you appear overqualified, carefully address that issue to even be considered. Underqualified? There’s no harm in making a case for a job that is a stretch from your current work — but you’ll need solid credentials and a great sales technique to even get considered. Overqualified?

9. Poor job interview preparation and/or weak interviewing skills.When we talk with employers, we hear the horror stories of job-seekers who arrive for interviews either completely unprepared or clueless about how badly they interview. Once your networking and resume get you in the door, your focus should be on researching the organization, both for its interviewing approach and to prepare you to ask and answer interview questions. We recommend job-seekers anticipate the most likely questions that will be asked and prepare strong and relevant responses. If you have had trouble with previous interviews, conduct mock interviews and other practice techniques to get you ready for the big day. Finally, remember the importance of first impressions and dress professionally, make eye contact and smile, and always greet the interviewer(s) with a firm, dry handshake.

10. Little or no follow-up. The burden is always on the job-seeker to follow-up with employers about potential job leads and after job interviews. While some employers may contact you, most are too busy with other obligations and responsibilities. While it’s harder to follow-up all your job applications, do the best you can because your persistence will lead to interviews. Similarly, after job interviews, first follow up with thank-you letters to each person who interviewed you, but also continue to follow up with the hiring manager and/or key contact to show your continued interest and enthusiasm for the position.

Final Thoughts
If you take away only three concepts from this list of 10 deadly job-seeker sins, take away the three most important aspects of a good job-search: strong use of networking, well-written and focused resume, and effective interview preparation and delivery.

Finally, one other area that many job-seekers feel inadequate is salary negotiation. It’s important to know when to anticipate a job offer and how to negotiate the salary or other aspects of the job offer.

Job interviewing can be an unnerving experience, but if you know how to handle some of the stickiest situations encountered in interviewing, you can be that much more confident. Here are 10 of the stickiest.

1. The Bad Interviewer. Not every professional who conducts job interviews with candidates knows how to conduct an interview effectively. In fact some are downright lousy at it. A bad interviewer might be unfocused, disinterested, unprepared. He or she might dominate the interview by doing all the talking or might ask inappropriate and illegal questions.

The unfocused, unprepared interviewer probably hasn’t read your resume and maybe can’t even find a copy. This hapless soul doesn’t even know what to ask you. Be sure to offer this disorganized interviewer a copy of your resume while asking, “May I take you through some highlights of my career?”

While the bigmouth interviewer is holding forth, make as many mental notes as you can (or jot them down if you’ve brought a small notepad). Don’t show your exasperation; instead be an attentive listener and hang on the interviewer’s every word. Try to get a word in edgewise by leaning forward and opening your mouth slightly, advises Anne Kadet on Smartmoney.com. If that doesn’t work, even a nonstop talker will likely eventually ask if you have any questions. At that point, you can ask questions or describe your fit with the company and the position based on the mental notes you’ve been making.

For inappropriate and illegal questions, see No. 6 below and try your hardest to keep the interview focused on your qualifications for the job.

2. The “Tell Me about Yourself” Question. Of course, this question is not a question at all but a request for a command performance. It’s the most commonly asked interview question, yet it frequently still rattles interviewees. The trick is to make your response a succinct summary of information that is specifically targeted to the job you’re interviewing for. (Sell yourself!) For example:

“My background to date has been centered around preparing myself to become the very best financial consultant I can become. Let me tell you specifically how I’ve prepared myself. I am an undergraduate student in finance and accounting at ___________ University. My past experience has been in retail and higher education. Both aspects have prepared me well for this career.”

The interviewer is not looking for your autobiography and probably is not interested in your personal life unless aspects of it are relevant to the job you’re interviewing for.

3. The “Weakness” Question. The conventional wisdom about responding to “What are your weaknesses?” used to be that the candidate should spin a weakness into a strength. For example: “I’m a perfectionist and don’t believe anyone can do the job as well as I can, so I sometimes have a hard time delegating.” That type of response has, however, worn out its welcome with interviewers. Other approaches include offering a weakness that is inconsequential to the job (such as being a poor speller and relying on spellcheck) or denying that you have any weaknesses that would stand in the way of your performing the job effectively. The former approach may work but be seen as shallow, while the latter sometimes lacks credibility. After all, everyone has a weakness.

An approach that seems to work well is to talk about an area that was once a weakness but that you have worked to improve. Here’s how you could frame the perfectionist example above in terms of professional growth: “I tend to be a perfectionist who has had trouble delegating tasks to others, but I’ve come to see that teamwork and capitalizing on everyone’s strengths is a much more effective way to get the job done than trying to do it all myself.”

4. The “Why should I hire you?” Question. The unspoken part of this question is: “Why should I hire you [above all the other candidates]?” This is your chance to shine, to really make a sales pitch for yourself. Use your Unique Selling Proposition to describe what sets you apart from other candidates. The employer will make a significant investment in hiring and training you, so tell the interviewer that this investment will be justified. For example, you could say: “I sincerely believe that I’m the best person for the job. Like other candidates, I have the ability to do this job. But beyond that ability, I offer an additional quality that makes me the very best person for the job — my drive for excellence. Not just giving lip service to excellence, but putting every part of myself into achieving it. Throughout my career, I have consistently strived to become the very best I can become. The success I’ve attained in my management positions is the result of possessing the qualities you’re looking for in an employee.”

5. “Off-the-wall” Questions, also known as “Wild Card” or “No-Right-Answer” Questions. Occasionally you’ll be asked an interview question that’s just downright weird and certainly doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the job — for example, a question like this: “If you were an ice-cream cone, what flavor would you be?” Interviewers often ask these oddball questions to see how quickly you can think on your feet and whether you can avoid becoming flustered. Others, unfortunately, ask them because they enjoy seeing interviewees squirm. Still others are amused by the range of creative — and not-so-creative — responses they receive.

Don’t let an off-the-wall question rattle you. Take a moment to gather your thoughts and respond the best way you can. There is rarely a wrong answer to this type of question, but quick-thinking candidates can turn the response into an opportunity to impress the employer. A response given by one of my former students has always stuck in my head as being a standout answer. The question was: “If you were a superhero, what would be your super powers, and why?” His response: “I think I would prefer to be a superhero like Batman, who doesn’t have superpowers per se, but who relies on his intelligence and use of the right tools to get the job done.”

6. Illegal Questions: It’s illegal to ask about age, marital status, children, childcare arrangements, and the like, but employers still do — or come up with subtle ways to ask, such as by inquiring about when you graduated from high school/college. It’s best to address the concern behind the question rather than the question itself by saying something like: “There is nothing about my personal status that would get in the way of my doing a great job for your company.” While it may also be tempting to point out the illegality of the question, doing so likely won’t endear you to the interviewer.

7. Salary Questions: As a screening device, interviewers often ask early in the interview what salary you are looking for. If you ask for more than the employer is willing to pay (or occasionally, on the flip side, undervalue yourself), the interviewer can eliminate you before spending a lot of time with you. That’s why the best tactic for salary questions is to delay responding to them as long as possible — ideally until after the employer makes an offer. Try to deflect salary questions with a response like this: “I applied for this position because I am very interested in the job and your company, and I know I can make an immediate impact once on the job, but I’d like to table salary discussions until we are both sure I’m right for the job.”

8. Questions about Being Terminated from a Previous Job. It’s always uncomfortable to be asked your reasons for leaving a job from which you were terminated. Don’t lie about it, but don’t dwell on it either. You could explain that you and the company were not a good fit, hence your performance suffered. Or that you and your supervisor had differing viewpoints. Emphasize what you learned from the experience that will prevent you from repeating it and ensure that you will perform well in the future. 

9.  Questions about Reasons for Leaving a Current Job. This question is similar to the previous question, even if you haven’t been fired. Responses about fit with the company and differing views from your supervisor can also work here, but remember never to trash a current employer. Always speak positively about past and present employers even if your experience has not been positive with them. Another good response in this situation is to say that you determined you had grown as much as you could in that job and you are ready for new challenges.

10. Questions about the Future. Interviewees are often asked, “Where do you see yourself in five (or 10) years?” Strike a delicate balance when responding to this kind of question, with just the right mix of honesty, ambition, and your desire to be working at this company long-term.

Avoid responses such as starting your own business, running for Congress, which suggest that you don’t plan to stay with the company.

It’s not totally inappropriate to mention the personal (marriage, family), but focus mainly on professional goals. Mention your career and company goals first, and tack on any mention of marriage and family at the end.

Your response could be: “I’m here to let you know that I am the best person for the job. If in the future you feel I would be a candidate for a higher level position, I know I wouldn’t be passed up.”

OR: “I hope to stay at the company and expect that in five years, I’ll make a significant advance in the organization.”

OR: “I would like to become the very best ______________ your company has.”

And then there’s my personal favorite, which a student told me a friend had used. Asked by the interviewer, “Where do you see yourself in five years?” The response: “Celebrating the five-year anniversary of your asking me this question!” While the response probably made the interviewer laugh, it’s probably not the best answer.

Final thoughts. 
Job-seekers need to think of each interview question as an opportunity to showcase an accomplishment or strength. Every response should build momentum toward convincing the interviewer that you deserve to advance to the next level, whether that level is another round of interviews or a job offer.

Even if summer vacation is still a few months away for most teens, now is the time to plan and lay a foundation for landing that cool summer job you really want.

Some caveats: This article is really geared to older high school and college teens, with a focus on summer jobs, not internships.

The Action Plan for Teens Wanting a Summer Job 
The first step you need to do is decide on the summer job you want or need -– in terms of the type of job, the location, the hours, the pay. You may not be able to find a job that meets all your needs, but given the current employment situation you should strive to find one that meets as many as possible.

The second step you need to do is complete a self-analysis. What do you have to offer an employer? What kind of skills do you have? What kind of other work have you done -– paid or volunteer? What have you learned at school that might be useful in your ideal summer job?

The third step you need to do is develop a resume. You will put forth a very professional image if you present a professional-looking resume to potential employers. You’ll also need to learn about cover letters. See our section of cover letter.

The fourth step you need to do is use all your available resources to land that ideal summer job. Talk with your parents and older family members, your friends’ parents, your teachers, and any other adults you know and ask them if they have any contacts at your ideal job’s company. Give them copies of your resume. We call this step networking, and it will give you the highest chances of landing your ideal job.

The fifth step is hitting the pavement, reading the newspaper want ads, and/or surfing the Web. If you don’t get any job leads from the fourth step, you have to take action!

The sixth step is applying for the jobs that interest you. This step is where you again use your resume. Make sure you are familiar with job applications and have all the information you need to complete them.

The seventh step is interviewing for the jobs. Make sure you know something about the company; develop answers to common interview questions; think of a few questions you could ask; practice, practice, practice with a family member of friend; dress conservatively for the interview.

Where Teens can Find Summer Jobs 
There are any number of places where you can look for a good summer job:

• Local merchants: local stores often need good help – and not just in the summer.
• Small businesses: most towns have a number of small business offices – and your family or friends probably know several owners or office managers.
• Corporate offices: many have established summer jobs and internship programs, but often these are the most competitive.
• Stores at the mall: have a favorite store you like to shop at in the mall? Maybe now is the time to get a job there –- just be careful not to spend all your earnings buying their products.
• Hotels and resorts: summer is the busy season for most hotels and resorts.
• Tourist attractions: even if you don’t live in Florida or California, most states have tourist attractions that especially need help during the busy tourism season.
• Golf & Tennis clubs: as the weather improves, these clubs are usually looking for part-time help.
• Grocery stores: maybe not the most exciting jobs, but probably the most convenient -– and not just for summer.
• Fast food and restaurants: local restaurants always need good help -– and while not the most glamorous, it’s still a job.
• Parks and recreation departments: city, state, and national parks and recreation departments often develop special summer programs, and thus have job opportunities.
• Local government summer job programs: often various government agencies sponsor different kinds of summer youth work programs.
• Summer camps: okay, you went to camp as a kid – now you can go back as a counselor and get paid while being at camp.
• Working for yourself: there are all sorts of jobs/businesses you could develop for yourself in your neighborhood .

What do Employers Look for in Teens 
Employers want motivated teens who are going to arrive to work on time, have a positive attitude, work hard, work well with others, show leadership qualities, work their full shift, and do the best job they can. You need to show your employer that you are a good investment, both for the current position, as well as for any potential future positions.

Final Words of Advice 
Jobs are jobs. You are going to have to work, no matter how “cool” the job or company, so be prepared for some days to not be as great as others. The keys to remember are that you are earning money, you are gaining experience, and you are making good contacts (and references)!

Choosing a College Major: 
How to Chart Your Ideal Path

The most important piece of advice in this article follows this sentence, so please make note of it and repeat it to yourself as often as you need as you read this article and make decisions regarding choosing a major in college. Are you ready for it? The advice: Don’t panic.

I know it’s easier said than done, but I can’t tell you how many students I have advised since the time that I have been a professor that seem in a state of panic if they are uncertain of their major, let alone a career. Choosing a major, thinking about a career, getting an education -– these are the things college is all about. Yes, there are some students who arrive on campus and know exactly their major and career ambitions, but the majority of students do not, thus there is no need to rush into a decision about your major as soon as you step on campus.

And guess what? A majority of students in all colleges and universities change their major at least once in their college careers; and many change their major several times over the course of their college career.

This article is all about giving you some pointers and direction — some steps for you to take — in your journey toward discovering that ideal career path for you. But it is a journey, so make sure you spend some time thinking about it before making a decision. And don’t be discouraged if you still don’t have a major the first time you take this journey…your goal should be narrowing your focus from all possible majors to a few areas that you can then explore in greater depth.

Please also keep in mind that many schools have double majors, some triple majors, and most minors as well as majors. Way back when I was an undergraduate at ABC University, I was a dual major in marketing and magazine journalism. Today I am a college professor and Webmaster of a top career resources Website…which brings me to the last piece of general advice before you begin your journey: your major in college is important for your first job after graduation, but studies show that most people will change careers — yes, careers — about four or five times over the course of their lives -– and no major exists that can prepare you for that!

The first stop on your journey should be an examination or self-assessment of your interests. What types of things excite you? What types of jobs or careers appeal to you? Also, many, if not all, college career centers have a variety of self-tests you can take to help you answer some of these questions.

The second stop on your journey is an examination of your abilities. What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? What kind of skills do you have? You can begin this self-examination by looking at the courses you took in high school. What were your best subjects? Is there a pattern there? What kinds of extracurricular activities did you participate in while in high school? What kinds of things did you learn from part-time or summer jobs? While you can only do part of it now, you may want to skim through our article, Using a SWOT Analysis in Your Career Planning. See our section of SWOT analysis.

The third stop on your journey involves examining what you value in work. Examples of values include: helping society, working under pressure, group affiliation, stability, security, status, pacing, working alone or with groups, having a positive impact on others, and many others. Again, a visit to your college’s career center should help.

The fourth stop on your journey is career exploration. The University of California at Berkeley offers Career Exploration Links – Occupations, which allows you to explore a general list of occupations or search for a specific occupation and provides links to resources that give you lots of information about the occupation(s) you choose. There are many schools that offer similar “what can I do with a major in…?”

The fifth stop on your journey is the reality check. You need to honestly evaluate your options. Do you really value physicians and have an interest in being a doctor, but have little skills in science? Does your occupation require an advanced degree, but your future commitments preclude graduate study? Do you have a strong interest in the arts, but your family is convinced you will become a CPA like your father? There are often ways to get around some of the obstacles during the reality check, but it is still important to face these obstacles and be realistic about whether you can get around them.

The sixth and final stop on your journey is the task of narrowing your choices and focusing on choosing a major. Based on all your research and self-assessment of the first five stops on your journey, you should now have a better idea of the careers/majors you are not interested in pursuing as well as a handful of potential careers/majors that do interest you.

How to Get Started on Your Resume: A Five-Step Primer for College Students and Recent College Grads

When we visit college campuses, here are the two most common scenarios we see with students and resumes. First, a solid majority do not have a resume. Second, of those students who do have a resume, many are unhappy with it.

If you fall into one of those groups — or are simply looking for a few tips to put your resume among the best — then this article is for you. The same writer’s block that many students face when writing papers seems to hold true with developing a resume. To help break that inertia, this primer provides a clear framework for developing your resume, the single most important job-hunting tool.

Your resume is the tool that helps you get noticed and asked for interviews. Your resume helps brand you — and can also be used with networking and building an online presence.

Ready to proceed?

Step 1: Review Sample Resumes
While we strongly suggest not using a resume template for your design, you’ll find great value in reviewing high-quality sample resumes. When looking at the sample resumes, don’t just examine the format, but look at the style, focus, and wording used.

Your goal is to find one or more sample resumes that you want to use as a model for building your own.

You should also pay close attention to how job experiences and accomplishments are worded on the sample resumes. You can see our section of resume writing as well.

Step 2: Seek Professional Help
If you completed the first step and still aren’t sure how to even get started developing your resume, you might consider a trip to your school’s career services office. The career counselors can provide you with some hands-on expertise that may be just enough to jump-start your efforts.

One caveat here. Do not limit yourself to the advice provided by the career services office. We’ve found that many schools have very specific guidelines and pet peeves about r esumes that do not always align with hiring managers’ preferences.

You may do better seeking the guidance of your academic adviser or favorite professor.

Step 3: Compiling the Information You Need
Once you have some idea of how you want your finished resume to look and feel, your next step is getting down to the details — establishing a specific focus or goal for your resume, creating your branding statement, compiling past employment data, and developing key accomplishments from work and school experiences.

An unfocused resume is almost as bad as not having a resume at all. The more specific you can be, the stronger your resume. You develop your resume’s focus based on the job(s) you desire — and with potential employers and hiring managers in mind. For example, it’s not enough to simply say you are interested in a marketing position — your focus should be on specific jobs for new grads in marketing, such as assistant brand manager, market research assistant, retail management trainee. Complete the research you need to find the types of jobs you seek — and base your resume around the qualifications and requirements those positions entail.

Next, think about what makes you different from all the other college students and grads on the job market — that’s your brand or unique selling proposition. What makes you different? It might be your combination of majors and minors, mix of internships and other experiences, foreign language or computer skills, or athletic or leadership expertise. 

The third element of this step is compiling all your employment and unpaid experience (volunteering, internships, etc.) data — including names, locations (city, state), and dates (months/years). You won’t necessarily use all this information on your resume, but it is also good practice to keep this information in a handy location.

Finally, and perhaps the toughest part for novice resume writers, is developing a list of your accomplishments — from school, work, and volunteering experiences. Develop a list that of achievements and activities (not job duties or responsibilities) that you performed that set you apart from others — and quantify those accomplishments whenever possible.

Step 4: Creating Your Resume
Now it’s time to jump in and actually start crafting your resume. If you are still unsure of the final format you want to use, the best way to start writing your resume is by developing a simple text version — which you can format later.

Remember your focus — showcase yourself, your skills and abilities, and your education and experience in a way that is targeted specifically to why someone should hire you for a particular job.

Besides the accomplishments you developed in the last step, you’ll also want to consider keywords and transferable skills. Keywords are the words and phrases employers use to search for job-seekers who are a match for what they are seeking in a candidate — and are vitally important for a top-notch resume.. Transferable skills are just as the name implies — skills that you perfected in one situation that can easily be applied to others (such as communications, organizing, leading, teamwork, etc.

If you are still stumped at this point, we also offer some free worksheets that can help guide you to putting words to paper – from helping you with your accomplishments to highlighting your college experience.

Step 5: Polishing Your Resume
Writing a resume can be an arduous task for many, and some people may even feel inclined to stop once a draft is completed, but that’s the wrong way to go. First, a resume is kind of a living document that should change as often as you have new information to add (such as new job/internship experience, additional education or certifications, and the like). Second, your resume should be tailored to every specific job opportunity, every specific employer; there no longer is just one version of your resume. Finally, everyone’s writing can stand to be edited and improved — so creating several drafts of a resume as you move toward a final polished version is fairly common. Use spell-check, but remember to also proofread carefully to avoid common misspellings and word usage issues (to, too; their, there). Typos, misspellings, missing words, and weak grammar mar your resume and can kill your chances of obtaining the job interview.

Once you have a basic version of your resume that you are pleased with, seek out critiques from a variety of sources — including a few of your professors, family members or family friends, former bosses, and other key members of your network. You could also get it critiqued by your college career-service office. Once you have all the feedback in front of you, decide which elements you’ll incorporate into your most polished version — which you can then modify for each new job opportunity and job lead that you uncover.

Final Thoughts
While it’s fairly rare for a new graduate to seek the services of a professional resume writer, that certainly is an option if you have the financial resources and simply cannot produce a resume on your own.

Once you’ve completed your basic resume, don’t stop there! You should also consider the various file formats you may need beyond your word-processed resume — such as ASCII text, HTML, or PDF.

Next, because most resumes are sent with a short letter of introduction — a cover letter — you should be consider creating a basic polished cover letter that you can modify for each specific job lead.

If you want even more exposure as a job-seeker, another step you can take is to consider a branded Website that includes your resume and an online portfolio — allowing interested employers and hiring managers the opportunity to find you 24/7.

You’ll also want to line up some folks — favorite professors and former bosses or co-workers — as references. Don’t ask for letters of recommendation, but instead ask if they will serve as a reference for when employers are finalizing their hiring decisions.

Finally, any article about job-hunting would not be complete without a short plug for networking — and for building your network. While the resume is the key tool of job-hunting, it is often networking — people helping others in their job-search — that gets you the job lead or name of the hiring manager.

How to Handle a Gap in Your Job History

When you think of The Gap, we all think of the clothing store with the super skinny models and cute ads, right?

Well, in the wonderful world of resume writing and job searches, a gap in employment is a totally different ball game. In fact, it’s one of the things that causes the most stress and fear in the hearts and minds of the job-seeker.

Let me tell you why.

Looking for a job in itself is a full-time job. You are at a point in your life when you are at your most vulnerable. Anything out of the ordinary on your resume will intensify that stress and fear. When you are stressed out, chances are you may not be thinking as clearly or logically as you ordinarily would when life is great and things are rolling along.

But as they say, stuff happens. Life happens. So do layoffs, new babies, sick relatives, and a host of other occurrences that can result in a significant gap in your resume.

No matter how diligent, hardworking, and responsible you are, it is possible that you may find yourself out of work for a significant period of time at some point in your career. The key point to remember is not to let this gap in employment hurt you during your job search.

Just because you are not working does not mean that you can’t keep busy. Keeping busy does not mean spending your days watching Dr. Phil, Oprah, and Montel (people do watch this guy)!

Keeping busy means staying involved in your profession. In fact, it’s a lot easier to re-enter the workforce if you keep your skills sharp and your job knowledge up-to-date.

Here are some suggestions to help you stay connected to your career while conducting your job search:

• Find a consulting assignment or project. Many times, employees who are “in-between” jobs supplement their knowledge (and income) by taking contract or consulting assignments. Sometimes these assignments can result in full-time, permanent positions.
• Take a class in a subject related to your profession.
• Volunteer with an organization or become a mentor.
• Read trade journals and attend seminars in your field of expertise.
• Write an article for a publication in your area of expertise. Many freelance writing assignments pay well.

Also be sure to maintain your network of industry contacts. An example of this networking approach involves a friend of mine who was laid off from Lucent Technologies. When I met him for lunch the other day, he didn’t seem very upset, and I was curious as to why. He told me he had “his list.” When I inquired as to what exactly “his list” was, he told me that he kept track of all of his colleagues who got laid off from Lucent and where they went! Brilliant. Guess what? One of the people on his list went to a start-up telecommunications company. As a result of keeping track of his colleague, my friend has a third interview and a great shot at an excellent opportunity in his field. So, it makes a lot of sense to keep a current list of contacts.

A gap on a resume glares out at a recruiter or hiring manager. If you’ve spent your employment gap doing freelance work, consulting, or mentoring, be sure to list that experience in the Professional Experience section of your resume. Include the name of the organization, job functions, dates, and city and state. In other words, treat it as you would a regular job!

Let’s look at the worst-case scenario. Your resume has a large gap. You may want to consider a functional resume as opposed to a chronological resume. But be forewarned! A functional resume is a potential red flag to employers because it suggests that the job-seeker may have something to hide, so use caution before using a functional resume. Recruiters and hiring managers prefer chronological resumes because they are easier to read and list skills and job functions as they apply to each position. A functional resume does not.

If you have an extensive gap in employment, you may want to address it in your cover letter to the prospective employer. Include a brief one- or two-sentence explanation, but do not go into detail about a long illness or a frustrating job search. Rather, state that you were out of the workforce for whatever reason, and explain that you are eager to return. If the gap in your employment happened a long time ago, don’t bother mentioning it at all. Employers are not interested in what happened in 1984!

Should the subject of your employment gap come up during an interview, explain why simply and briefly. In other words, use the exact same brief, simple explanation you used in your cover letter. Obviously, they were impressed enough with your background (despite any gaps) to invite you in for an interview!

Regardless of the reasons for your employment gaps, always maintain a positive, optimistic attitude, and be sure to let the hiring manager know that you are excited and ready to return to work!