Posts Tagged ‘free resume’

Tell us about yourself – interview tip

There can be several different ways in which interviewers may throw out questions to their prospective employees. For example, if you are applying for a job in the hospitality sector, there is a good chance that you might be provoked during your job interview. If you are applying for a job in research and development, you will get a series of questions from your prospective employer that would be quite dumbfounding or even funny. Read more on job interview questions and answers.

During the face to face interview however, members of the Human Resource department try and get to know about some of the qualities of the interviewee. A common question that is many a times employed for such a purpose is ‘so tell me about yourself’. Confused and tensed? Here’s how you can answer it.

The tell us about yourself interview question seems simple and also difficult to answer due to the fact that there can be no best answer for tell me about yourself interview question. Your interviewer is not looking for any specific answer but will be observant about the manner in which you shall answer him. Here are some steps with the help of which you can successfully answer this question.

Analyze and Examine: There are several reasons for which the question has been asked. This question is firstly a great ice breaker; secondly it is many a times, asked to test your communication skill and style of communications. Many people start off on the wrong gear by opening their mouths and making the sound ‘aha…’, pal you just lost the job.

Some people might just say something vague like, ‘I don’t know where to start’. Some people also start off with something like ‘my name is…’. Well these are all not very nice starts. Have a crisp and impressive start by telling the HR, something more about your positive aspects such as ‘hard worker, friendly, warm, sincere, long stamina, etc’. Anything that does not go on your interview can be included.

Manners and Body language: The second point that the HR will be looking for is your body language. Hence, maintain a warm and steady eye contact, small gestures, that are polite. Excessive hand gestures seem very bad. Place your hands properly on the arms of chair and never every slouch. Sit with a straight back, shoulders pulled back and have a sense of confidence. A slight and warm smile will also work wonders.

While talking, never lick your lips or teeth as it seems very much out of place. While coughing or sneezing, cover your mouth. If possible avoid coughing and sneezing. Talk in audible and a deep voice and keep your cool no matter what.

Content of Speech: The tell me about yourself question does not end just with one question. That question is often followed by some other questions. In such a situation, give small, quick and discrete answers. Be polite and warm in your approach, give only the relevant content in a grammatically correct language and good pronunciation.

The tell me about yourself interview question seems quite easy. It is important that you answer truthfully, quickly, honestly and in a manner that is definitely impressive. Avoid blunders and do not lose your confidence. Remember that losing your confidence, means losing the job.

Tell me about yourself ?

Start with the present and tell why you are well qualified for the position. Remember that the key to all successful interviewing is to match your qualifications to what the interviewer is looking for. In other words you must sell what the buyer is buying. This is the single most important strategy in job hunting.

So, before you answer this or any question it’s imperative that you try to uncover your interviewer’s greatest need, want, problem or goal.

Do all the homework you can before the hr interview to uncover this person’s wants and needs (not the generalized needs of the industry or company)

As early as you can in the interview, ask for a more complete description of what the position entails. You might say: “I have a number of accomplishments I’d like to tell you about, but I want to make the best use of our time together and talk directly to your needs. To help me do, that, could you tell me more about the most important priorities of this position?

Then, ALWAYS follow-up with a second and possibly, third question, to draw out his needs even more. Surprisingly, it’s usually this second or third question that unearths what the interviewer is most looking for.

You might ask simply, “And in addition to that?…” or, “Is there anything else you see as essential to success in this position?:

This process will not feel easy or natural at first, because it is easier simply to answer questions, but only if you uncover the employer’s wants and needs will your answers make the most sense. Practice asking these key interview questions before giving your answers, the process will feel more natural and you will be light years ahead of the other job candidates you’re competing with.

After uncovering what the employer is looking for, describe why the needs of this job bear striking parallels to tasks you’ve succeeded at before. Be sure to illustrate with specific examples of your responsibilities and especially your achievements, all of which are geared to present yourself as a perfect match for the needs he has just described.

What are your greatest strengths? You know that your key strategy is to first uncover your interviewer’s greatest wants and needs before you answer questions. And from Question 1, you know how to do this. Prior to any interview, you should have a list mentally prepared of your greatest strengths. You should also have, a specific example or two, which illustrates each strength, an example chosen from your most recent and most impressive achievements.

You should, have this list of your greatest strengths and corresponding examples from your achievements so well committed to memory that you can recite them cold after being shaken awake from your deepest lumber. Once you uncover your interviewer’s greatest wants and needs, you can choose those achievements from your list that best match up.

As a general guideline, the 10 most desirable traits that all employers love to see in their employees are:

• A proven track record as an achiever…especially if your achievements match up with the employer’s greatest wants and needs.
• a perfectly and customized resume for the job you are applying
• Intelligence…management “savvy”.
• Honesty…integrity…a decent human being.
• Good fit with corporate culture…someone to feel comfortable with…a team player who meshes well with interviewer’s team.
• Likability…positive attitude…sense of humor.
• Good communication skills.
• Dedication…willingness to walk the extra mile to achieve excellence.
• Definiteness of purpose…clear goals.
• Enthusiasm…high level of motivation.
• Confident…healthy…a leader.

What are your greatest weaknesses ? Disguise a strength as a weakness. “I sometimes push my people too hard. I like to work with a sense of urgency and everyone is not always on the same wavelength.”
Drawback: This strategy is better than admitting a flaw, but it’s so widely used, it is transparent to any experienced interviewer.

Assure the interviewer that you can think of nothing that would stand in the way of your performing in this position with excellence. Then, quickly review you strongest qualifications.

Instead of confessing a weakness, describe what you like most and like least, making sure that what you like most matches up with the most important qualification for success in the position, and what you like least is not essential.

Create a Successful Online Resume

Creating an online resume can help DOUBLE and increase the chances of finding a better job through using online jobsites.

The Internet has now made it possible to find out that specific jobs are available to meet individual requirements in almost any area of the world. However, an awful lot of time can also easily be wasted as there are so many job postings out there promising this and that and failing to deliver. This is why it is worth learning about quality online resume building.

Create an Online Resume

In order to use the Internet effectively to seek employment, it is essential to take time to create an online using a friendly online resume builder. This saves an enormous amount of time as there are plenty of guides and tips available and it can simply be emailed or posted straight onto an job-site.

An online resume building should not take long to sort out as it is pretty much the same as a traditional resume with a few pre-formatted styles.

Online Resume Tips

The following resume writing tips should help on create a polished and Internet-friendly online resume: avoid using any fancy fonts, ideally stick to Times New Roman, and avoid graphics, artwork and the use of underline, italic or bold features. Also, try to keep everything as clear as possible and for online resumes it is crucial that the very first line contains only one’s name.

Why use the Internet to Find Employment?

Especially in today’s difficult economic climate, it is harder than ever to find and maintain long-term employment. In previous years it was a matter of signing on with a reputable high-street job agency and check in the local paper to see which types of positions were available. Nowadays, there are fewer and fewer employment adverts in the paper and unless one gets to the newsagents at the crack of dawn every morning it is not the best place to look.

The Internet provides up to date employment job postings at the click of a button, making it easier than ever before to hunt through both civil service jobs and those in the private sector. There is no longer any need to waste time heading into town every day to check in with employment agencies as they are now conveniently and quickly accessible online.

Online Resume Databases

After having created and polished an online resume, the next step is to find reputable resume databases for submission. Popular sites offering plenty of advice and practical help include Monster.com and Hotjobs.com. When emailing a resume to a company ensures that one has been given either the human resources email address of that of a specific contact. Due to so much junk mail and anti-viral software it is better to use copy and paste rather than adding a resume as an attachment. This way one can be absolutely confident that the email has got through.

As highlighted above, using the Internet to find employment can save a significant amount of time, providing one uses reputable resume sites and employment agencies. A well constructed online resume will help clearly and effectively communicate one’s key skills and experience thus increasing the prospects of being successful in finding work.