job interview/resume tips, etc

A lot of the people on PC are kind of at the age where they are or are soon going to be engaging in the job hunt, so thought that maybe we all could share tips or ask questions or whatever in regards to landing and keeping a job and stuff.

Create a resume and keep it updated.

To keep a job, act professional at all times. Leave the drama at home. Too many people get into stupid arguments at work. Your boss is the boss. You have to do what the boss says to get paid. Your age is irrelevant.

Own up to your mistakes. Most bosses like it when you state "I forgot to do that thing. I was sidetracked by "this" and did not return to complete it. I will strive to not let it happen again."

Yea I'm going through this right now. Currently in college, but I'm active talking to recruiters and applying for jobs/internships.

Dress up as nice as you can and have a firm handshake. Talk with confidence and stand up straight. Practice speaking. Look professional... first impressions matter. Honestly, it took me a lot of work to get a lot of these things right, and it was definitely worth the time investment.

I would also recommend demonstrating interest in a bunch of jobs... you never know what kind of opportunities are out there. I just landed a nice job as a research assistant off of an interest form I submitted last semester.

Only put what is necessary, important and relevant on your resume. No one wants to read a 2-page resume when they spend approx 30sec at best scanning through each individual resume to pick potential employees.

When you're applying, do your homework. That is: any job offer you want to apply for you should read carefully and extract what exactly they want from you and what they offer to you in return. For your application you want to incorporate what they require, however it needs to fit to your own character (aka don't lie because they'll notice sooner or later, anyway). Try to avoid common phrases, you want to catch attention afterall and when the employer has to look through a ton of applications that all sound the same one that's different, but still correct, will catch their eye.
Check your application for spell errors etc. This is particularly imperative because if you don't then that already gives of a negative impression of you. When in doubt let someone else proof read it.

In terms of resume you should check out what is the current standard. I don't know the US, but I do know that there is one for European countries.

When you get to the interview part then do your research. Figure exactly out what they are doing and why you want to work for them, that is one of the questions they are going to ask you (and don't bring up money until the end of the conversation). When they ask you a question don't just answer with yes or no. Instead elaborate on your answer. Afterall, they want to know you better and what good of an expression are they going to get if you keep answering to a minimum?

Keep in mind that when a company talks about being social and communicative that's not a requirement. It's what they offer to _you_. They are trying to lure people in with that, not scare people away who are hard to communicate with. The logic is: if you're not willing to communicate then this job may not be for you.

The money talk: at some point during an interview, that is when it reaches its end, and if you're part of the workforce (so no trait school student, etc.) you want to talk money. Before that, however, you should do your research on how much someone in that industry actually earns otherwise you're just going to make a fool of yourself. You are allowed to negotiate, but obviously you won't get as much out of a smaller company than a big one.

My number one tip is don't put personality on the CV, show it in your interview. Too many people interview like robots too scared too get it wrong. Every time I have been successful for a job interview, I have been myself and honest. I was recently interviewed for and given a department change in my current company that comes with more sociable hours and a payincrease.

Resumes
1. Don't follow templates and examples you see online. Using them as reference is fine, but they also include things that you shouldn't include on a resume. For example, I have seen a lot of samples where you rate your own proficiency at a particular skill. Don't do that. It is a completely subjective rating. Any skills you put on a resume should reflect in your confidence to show them on the job.

2. Also, don't be afraid to apply to positions that seem intimidating, especially if it is a position that is supposed to be within your range. This is advice that I have to remind myself about all the time because I am easily intimidated. Most job postings are compiled by a recruiter who will ask their co-workers "What would you want in an employee?" So, most job descriptions describe an IDEAL employee.

3. When you can, employ some of the language used in the job ad. Having a general resume is nice, but larger, well-known companies use software to scan resumes for keywords that are in the job ad. Also, even if these companies don't use this type of software, the recruiter will immediately recognize common language between a resume and a job ad.

Interview
1. If you are someone who gets extremely nervous, I recommend watching a sit-com or funny youtube videos right before your interview. A large component of an in-person interview is how well your personality will mesh with people at the office. I find watching really funny videos help me relax a lot before an interview.

Anyone have any advice on how to properly utilize Linked In? I have a profile with all my experience and stuff, but I'm not sure what to do with it aside from adding connections. It just feels like it sits there.