According to one top New Jersey recruiter and headhunter, Eileen Levine of Williamsburg Group Professional Career Consultants, local municipalities have stepped up to help their constituents keep their heads above water in any and every way possible these days. Recruiters like Eileen work on behalf of the person trying to get the job -- these headhunters will work on much of the negotiations with companies for the person before the first interview ever occurs.
With the increased unemployment rate threatening the position homeowners and renters might be in to pay for their living expenses, public libraries, municipal departments, and unemployment offices are now providing “How-To Adult Education Courses” on acquiring jobs, maintaining jobs, building computer skills, resume building, and mock interviewing. In addition, job fairs and networking sessions are occurring in unemployment offices at set times, and anyone needing to use a computer to word process a resume or cover letter can do this at the public library; or the person can work during scheduled computer usage times at most unemployment offices.
Unemployment offices are providing Professional Advancement Searches, which include mock interviews, resume critiquing, resume writing, and networking. According to Ms. Levine, some positions have been filled as a result of these types of networking sessions.
Public libraries have available in their collections the NEW JERSEY MANUFACTURING GUIDE, which is a reference book of all company standard industrial codes. A person can access important company contact information on his/her previous company, as well as other comparable companies in the industry the person is looking to enter. Some local libraries have already begun uploading the guide, so it’s a good idea to find out where to access the electronic version.
Ms. Levine recently shared this and other valuable information with a group gathered at a public library to attend a “The Art of Interviewing & Resume Writing Workshop,” which Levine’s recruiting company designed and offers as a community service.
“I was inspired to make this community service available after an invitation to visit and work with a company in the Midwest that wanted outside consultant advice about how to create a more effective Human Resources Division. The work done with the company was successful in helping them streamline or increase where needed, but it spoke volumes to me about how much the general public really doesn’t know about how their resumes are processed in HR departments – so I decided I needed to tell them,” shared Eileen.
Levine also states, “When I got back to New Jersey I immediately started contacting public libraries about getting on their schedules to conduct the free workshops. Some libraries already had colleges or universities providing career help workshops, so I decided to attend one to see how it was conducted. I realized at that point that the workshops I had envisioned offering included a very different approach than those being offered – mine were designed to be more practical in both content and in delivery – I simply wanted to talk to the workshop participants; not present to them. To date, I’ve provided almost 20 well-attended and well-received workshops around the State. I owe a debt of gratitude to the township mayors, who are extremely committed to helping their constituents; and who saw the potential value embedded in my workshops. I’ve also begun setting up the same type of workshops to take place in local area churches.”
Eileen, with over 25 years in the recruiting business, was chock-full-of-information to give to her workshop participants at no cost. Ms. Levine told her audience, “getting the job is 50% personality and 50% ability to do the job.”
Here are other helpful tips provided by Ms. Levine to help people land interviews and hopefully jobs:
**Start to “think out of the box” so you don’t limit your possibilities. Think of untapped talents, hobbies, or things you like to do – these areas of expertise may very well be turned into legitimate income.
**When using any of the on-line recruitment agencies, keep in mind the volume of resumes they receive and need to process in a given week – update your resume and re-date it in their database every 30 days.
**Human Resources Departments are receiving large numbers of responses for positions, so your introduction letter and resume should easily convince them to call you in for an interview. Keep the resume legal and correct, and make sure it is proofread before sending it out.
**Avoid abbreviations in the resume unless you are in the IT World.
**Keep your social security number private until after you’ve received an offer.
**Your driver’s license number should only be included on applications/forms if you are applying for a job as a driver.
**Take 3 copies of your resume, professional reference list, and other paperwork with you to all interviews in case additional copies are requested.
**Anyone out of work for more than 2 years should have some type of volunteer work experience or childcare experience noted on the resume – avoid questionable service/work gaps.
**Make sure your resume states your accomplishments in sentence form, and don’t write text in the “first person.” You may need to create a checklist of your accomplishments first; then convert the checklist into clear and concise sentences.
**Self-employed individuals should state that they are self-employed on their resume, and use vendors and other contacts as professional references.
**College students should begin sending out their resumes in January or February if they are to graduate in May.
**Send your paperwork to the person who does the hiring at the company (e-mail or snail-mail) – take the time to find out who that person is.
**Your professional references should not be your coworker who does the same thing you do at the company – use someone from a different department, or a superior or subordinate.
**Keep track (a list) of where you send your resume, and the dates sent. Also, consider printing out a copy of the hiring company’s job spec sheet so you can refer to the job requirements if called in for an interview.
**Review the company’s website and print out some of the information to study before an interview. Take a copy with you and place it in a visible spot during the interview. This lets employers know you were interested enough to look into their organization.
**Remember that phone interviews are pre-screening methods, so pretend you are sitting in front of the interviewer and allow your responses to convince the person to call you in for an interview.
**In the summer, Monday afternoon and Friday morning interviews are best if you are scheduled on either of these two days because of summer hours enjoyed by some companies and their employees. Let the person inviting you in know your available times, but don’t give excuses that could eliminate you from the candidate pool.
**In general: arrive 15 minutes early, call the company on your cell phone if you’re delayed because of traffic, consider taking a trial run to get to the interview site before the day of the interview, leave all large bags and all cell phones in the car, avoid wearing perfume or cologne, no large jewelry and no extremely casual clothing – dress “Business Smart.”
**Be kind and courteous to the person at the reception desk – THIS IS YOUR FIRST INTERVIEW FOR THE DAY.
**If asked to complete an application on site, do so. Don’t write “See Resume” at any time – the company is judging how well you follow directions.
**Where “Desired Salary” appears on the application write “OPEN.” You can negotiate this after you’ve gotten an offer.
**After waiting for about 40 minutes in the waiting area to be seen, politely ask the receptionist if the interviewers are running a little late –this makes sure everyone knows you’re there waiting.
**Show complete flexibility with the HR person and just listen to what he/she tells you about salary, benefits, etc. Don’t try to negotiate at this point – you haven’t received an offer yet.
**If asked by the hiring person, “what will it take to bring you in?” You should say, “what did the last person who had the job make?” Or, “make me an offer.”
**During interviews over lunch ORDER LIGHT, NON-MESSY FOODS, and drink water or soft drinks. Spend most of your time engaging in conversation with the interviewers – they are trying to see how you gel with the team. You can eat when you get back home!
**Demonstrate during the interview that you are both a team player and an independent thinker.
**Don’t appear desperate for the job, even if you are! Be confident and proud of your accomplishments.
**Prepare and ask questions during the interview: For starters -- How long was the person before me in the position? How long have you been with the company? Please tell me a little about the product or project the company is working on?
**Also, ask: How am I doing so far? Is there anything else you’d like to know about me? Do you think I could do the job based on what you’ve seen and heard?
**When asked to tell about yourself say: I’m not a 9 to 5-er, I’m results-driven, I’m a team player…avoid rambling about details on your resume because they’ve already read it.
**Ask for a tour of the job site by saying, “I was wondering if you had time to give me a tour.” If your request is not granted don’t press the issue. At least they know you were interested in seeing the company grounds.
**One final question for the senior hiring person should be: When do I start?
Levine also recommends sending handwritten, purchased “Thank You” cards (blank inside for writing a brief note) and snail-mailing the cards to the interviewers. “This way your card is sitting on the interviewer’s desk when other candidates are being interviewed, which is a constant reminder about you.”
More suggestions included calling the company if you haven’t heard from them after 10 days to see where they are in the process. After 20 days it’s a good idea to send a note to ask “how are you getting along in the process -- am I still being considered?”
“Today it’s okay to have more than one job listed on your resume within one or two years so don’t be ashamed of that,” shared Ms. Levine. Eileen also reminded the group that transferable skills don’t matter much anymore, so it might be time to acquire new learning and new skills in order to get a job. College students in the group were also told they should strongly consider taking a second major so they are not locked in to one industry after graduation.
Workshop participants were informed that despite an estimated projection of a 4 to 5 year economic slump and crawl back to some semblance of order; remember what you are worth in your industry and don’t take less than you’re worth unless the other perks and amenities will compensate for a decrease in salary.
Middle American companies, according to Levine, are not hurting as badly and are still hiring; so individuals who’ve worked for larger companies in the past might consider the 50 to 500 employee company as an option. “When interviewers ask you how they can be sure you won’t stay for a short while and then leave when the economy recovers, tell them they don’t have to worry because in the time it will take for the economy to recover you would certainly still be with them,” expressed Eileen during her closing statements.
Websites provided by Ms. Levine as an alternative way to search for jobs are: http://www.attorneys.com/ http://www.dice.com/ http://www.accountants.com/.
For more information about how you can work with Eileen Levine’s company, contact her directly at 732-329-3344, or WGEileen@comcast.net.
You can also e-mail your resume directly to Eileen if you’d like to consider signing up to receive career-building guidance from her company during your job search. Find out more about Levine’s company, Williamsburg Group by logging onto their website at www.williamsburgroup.com.
Sharon M. Biggs, M.A.
Educational Leader
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