iCount Youth Account
Money School – Being Professional About Job Hunting
Application? CHECK!
Resume? CHECK!
Cover Letter? CHECK!
Follow up telephone call? CHECK!
Have an interview? Great! Here’s how you can increase your chance of getting that job!
Search the Internet about the company and learn a little about it, even fast food chains. You may learn something that will help you ask intelligent questions or answer a question from your interviewer.
Check your social networking pages for offensive or questionable material and remove it. (Really try to keep your online presence looking professional; it is a proven fact employers are checking this stuff out before you even get a call.) NOTE: Actually, this step should come before you fill out the application.
Dress nicely for the interview.
Be slightly early for the interview time, but not overly. About 10 minutes before is perfect.
LISTEN to the questions and try to answer them all as best and as honestly as possible. Remember though, that all employers like a little icing on their cake, so to speak. If they ask you why you want to work for them, you shouldn’t tell them it’s because the guy down the street wouldn’t hire you or that your Dad is making you find a job! It should be that you have heard they have a great management plan, or the hours are perfect, or you enjoy the type of work (with people/your hands/children) so you know you will do a good job for them. A little bit of play to the ego is always a good idea.
Follow up with a telephone call to see if they have made their final selection. If they said it would take two weeks to make a decision, then wait two weeks to make the call, but if unspecified, about a week afterwards is a good time. Do be prepared to hear that you did not get the job. Control any upset you feel and try to ask what you might do to be considered in the future. The interviewer may have a good tip or two for you that can be helpful for the next interview.
Grab every lead. Friends, relatives, casual acquaintances – all of these may have information about a potential job or a company that might be hiring. Don’t wait – competition is high – get your application and resume through the door right away.
Keep at it! Finding a job IS a job, so dedicate some time to it, stay optimistic, move on to the next opportunity, and do your best each and every time.
