Building Toward a career Understanding todays changing workplace

How the changing workplace affect hiring practices What todays employer seek in job applicants
Can adapt to new situations Are unafraid of change Continue to learn on job Are sensitive to cultural differences

Adapting to the changing workplace

What do you have to offer?
Functional skills Education and experience Personality traits

What do you want to do? How can you make yourself more valuable to employers?

Seeking employment in the changing workplace

Understanding employers approach to the employment process Organizing your approach to the employment process

Preparing Resumes
Planning your resume
Analyze your purpose and audience Investigate pertinent Information
Gather every piece of relevant information before trying to writ your resume.

Adapt your resume to your audience

Tailor your resume to fit diverse situations and employers

Writing your resume

Organize your resume around your strengths Compose your resume to Impress

Completing your resume

Revise your Resume Produce your resume

Preparing other types of employment messages

Application Letters Job Enquiry Letters Application Follow-ups

Employment Interview
An employment interview is a formal meeting in which both employer and applicant ask questions and exchange information to learn more about each other.
Dual objective
Organization's Applicants

What employers look for?

A good fit with the organization
Personal background Attitudes and styles ( Courtesy, sincerity, willingness to learn, self-confidence etc.)

Qualifications for the job

Academic Work experience Job related personality traits

Pre-employment testing
Job Skills test Psychological tests

The Sequence of Interview

Screening Stage
Follow the interviewers lead keep your responses short and to the point Limited time-talk less

Selection stage
Show interest in the job Relate your skills and experiences to the organizations need Listen attentively Ask insightful questions Display enthusiasm

Final stage
Interviewer may try to sell you on working with the firm.

Types of Interviews
Structured Interview
controlled by the interviewer to gather information generally used in screening stage series of prepared questions set order of questions stays in allotted time period poor measure of personal qualities uniformity in hiring process

Open Ended Interview

Less formal and unstructured Relax format Encourages the applicant to talk freely Brings out applicants personality Applicant need to strike a balance between being friendly & remembering that s/he in a business situation.

Group Interviews
Help recruiters see how candidates interact with each other. Meeting several candidates simultaneously. Useful for judging interpersonal skills.
How candidates relate to one another? Do they smile? Are they supportive of one anothers comments? Do they try to score points at each others expense?

Stress Interview
Set up to see how you handle yourself under pressure Important for certain kind of jobs Might be asked questions to irk or unsettle you
Subjected to long period of silence Criticism of you appearance Deliberate interruptions Hostile reactions.

Video Interview
Try to cut travel cost Generally to screen to middle management candidates Preparation on applicants part is different

Situational Interview
Interviewer describes a situation and asks how would you handle this?

Preparing for a Job Interview

Learn about the organization
Where to look for the Information? What to find out about the organization? What to find about the job?

Think Ahead about questions

Planning for the employers questions

Questions about college Questions about employers and jobs Questions about Personal attitudes and preferences Questions about work habits
Are these my kind of people? Can I do this work? Will I enjoy the work? Is the job what I want? Does the job pay what I am worth? What kind of person would i be working for? What sort of future can I expect with this organization?

Planning questions of your own

Boost your confidence Polish your Interview style Plan to look good Be ready when you arrive
( plan to take a small notebook, pen, list of questions, copies of resume, testimonials etc.)

Interviewing for success

The Warm-up
First few minutes are crucial Check your body language

The Question and Answer Stage

Never answer a question before the interviewer has finished asking it Tailor your answers to emphasize on your strengths Dont limit yourself only to yes or no answers pay attention when the interviewer speaks

The Close
Be sure to thank the interviewer for the opportunity and express an interest in the organization. Dont press for an immediate decision. Discussing salary ( If you get a chance)
When to negotiate? What to negotiate?

Interview notes
Keep a written record of your job interviews

Following up after the interview

Thank-you message
Express your thanks with in two days Acknowledge the interviewers time and courtesy Be sure to restate the specific job you are applying for Convey your continued interest and ask politely for a decision Keep your thank-you message brief Demonstrate you attitude and sound positive without sounding overconfident

Letter of Inquiry
If you do not get the interviewers decision by the promised date You as a writer assume that a simple oversight is the reason for delay, not the outright rejection. An inquiry letter follows a plan for direct request

Request for a time extension

If you receive a job offer and other interviews are pending If you have any other commitment Preface your request with a friendly opening, ask for more time stressing your enthusiasm for the organization, conclude by asking a prompt reply whether your request has been accepted or not

Letter of Acceptance
Begin by accepting the position and expressing thanks. Identify the job that you are accepting Cover any necessary details Conclude by saying that you look forward

Letter declining a job offer Letter of resignation

Negative factors observed during job interviews

Poor personal appearance Aggressive, conceited, superiority complex Inability to express self clearly poor diction and/or grammar Lack of planning for career -- no purpose or goals Lack of interest and enthusiasm Lack of confidence and poise Failure to participate in activities Overemphasis on money -- interested in best dollar offer Poor scholastic record Makes excuses and is evasive in answering questions Lack of tact Lack of maturity Lack of courtesy Condemnation of past employers Marked dislike for schoolwork Lack of vitality Fails to look interviewer in the eye Limp, fishy handshake Indecision Sloppy letter of application, resume, or application form Conveys feeling of merely shopping around Wants job only for a short time Lack of knowledge about field of specialization No interest in the employer Cynical personality Obvious laziness Intolerant, has strong prejudices Inability to take criticism Late to the interview without good reason Never heard of the employer (or grossly under-informed) Asks no questions about the job or the employer Asks questions that were answered in the literature the candidate already has Talks too much or too little

Post-interview Thank You Letter

201 Green St. Champaign, IL 61820 March 5, 2006 Dr. Jane Doe Director of Personnel Aurora East School District 131 417 Fifth Street Aurora, IL 60505 Dear Ms. Doe I would like to thank you for interviewing me from 2:00 until 3:00 p.m. today for the position you have available as a fifth grade teacher at Yankee Ridge Elementary School for 2006-2007. I enjoyed meeting you and learning more about the position. I appreciate your taking the time to talk with me to learn more about my qualifications and interest in the position. I continue to be interested in being considered a candidate for the position. With my elementary teaching degree and certificate and my specialization in math, I feel I am well qualified for the position. And I would be very interested in working with the new program for the gifted that we discussed today. With my preparation in math, I would like to participate in curriculum development efforts in the area of computer applications of math. I look forward to hearing from you. Please contact me if you need any additional information to consider my application.

Sincerely Yours,

Letter of Acceptance
201 Green St. Champaign, IL 61820 March 5, 2006 Dr. Jane Doe Director of Personnel Aurora East School District 131 417 Fifth Street Aurora, IL 60505 Dear Ms. Doe: I would like to thank you for offering me the position of fifth grade teacher at Yankee Ridge Elementary School for 2006-2007. I enjoyed talking with you about the offer on June 16, and I received your letter confirming the offer and the teaching contract in the mail today. I would like to confirm my acceptance of this offer of employment. I am delighted to be selected for the position, and I look forward to working with the staff at Yankee Ridge in the fall. I have read and signed the teaching contract you sent me, and I am returning the original along with this letter. As you instructed, I have kept one copy. I will plan to report for work on Monday, August 20, 2006, for the in-service program for new teachers at the Urbana School District office. Again, thank you for selecting me for this position. Sincerely yours,

Letter declining a job offer

201 Green St. Champaign, IL 61820
March 5, 2006 Dr. Jane Doe Director of Personnel Aurora East School District 131 417 Fifth Street Aurora, IL 60505 Dear Ms. Doe: I would like to thank you for offering me the position of fifth grade teacher at Yankee Ridge Elementary School for 2006-2007. I enjoyed talking with you again when you telephoned today to offer me the position. I regret that I will be unable to accept your offer. As I indicated on the telephone, just today I accepted a position with Champaign School District for the fall and had not had time to notify you that I could no longer be a candidate at Urbana. However, I would like to thank you for all you have done to consider my application for employment. I appreciate all of your efforts on my behalf. Sincerely yours,

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Fallacies and Facts about Resume

Fallacy
The purpose of a resume is to list all your skills and abilities

Fact
The purpose of a good resume is to kindle employer interest & generate an Interview All a resume can do is get you in the door Your resume probably has less than a minute to make an impression Too much information on a resume may actually kill the readers appetite to know more

A good resume will get you the job you want Your resume will be read carefully & thoroughly by an interested employer The more good information you present about yourself in your resume, the better