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I've actually been tagged to take part in interviewing a potential hire for our department later on this afternoon. Any quick advice? Any good questions to really get at the heart of the matter? Her credentials are shaky at best but it's for a mindless clerical job and she's the wife of someone in a different department, so she's probably going to get the job. This is however the first interview that I've been part of giving so I'd like to learn something from it and impress my boss at the same time.
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Apr 23, 2015 19:35
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Have any of you all seen the articles going around about how using Times New Roman on a resume hurts your chances? It sounds mostly like clickbait but is there any clout to this, and could you tell Garamond (which my resume is in) from TNR?
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Apr 30, 2015 15:01
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I'm giving notice at work on Monday and I'm trying to think of who might be good references for me. Is it valuable to have references outside of your department or core set of work functions? I'm in a lab position right now but I've done a bunch of project work with our company's finance director over the last six months or so, and he's been really positive about what I've accomplished on those projects. I'm wondering if having perspective on a different side of my capabilities would be more valuable than having multiple references from my lab who are all going to say the same things about me.
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May 1, 2015 17:13
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Vulture Culture posted:References who weren't your supervisors are pretty much worthless, so just write off most people in your lab. People high up on the org chart are worth something, though. Yeah my supervisor loves me from everything I can tell so he's definitely a reference. I also have a department head but I feel like he doesn't know me that well, and this finance director has the ear of our president and a bunch of execs so he's a good card to have in my pocket.
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May 1, 2015 19:16
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Saint Fu posted:Speaking of recruiters, how does one go about choosing a recruiter / head hunter agency to work with? I'm a chemical engineer and it seems like there are literally hundreds of recruiting firms out there but no real way to verify if they're good. Sure I could sign up with a bunch of them but I don't really want to put forth the "get to know you" effort a dozen times. Has anyone worked with a third party technical recruiter before and how did you find them? From my experience- 1. They'll find you if you put your resume on any jobs website like Monster or Careerbuilder. 2. You might as well get in touch with as many as you can. Most of the ones I've spoken to have taken five minutes to learn more about me, matched me to one opening, and called it a day. I'm under the impression that they go through a ton of resumes and don't have the time to get personal with all of them, so you might as well reach out to as many of them as you can to increase your chances of one sticking. That said I got my current lab job through Aerotek, and they put in the most effort of any recruiter I've spoken to (including coming up with a second match for me after the first didn't pan out, which no other recruiter has done for me). If you're in the Chicago area I can give you contact info for the woman with whom I worked.
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May 6, 2015 16:15
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How much slagging off of former supervisors can I get away with during the interview & hiring process? If, for example, a potential employer asks why I left my current company, one of the main reasons I'd give (if I was being honest) is a lack of trust or confidence in the people right above me on the org chart. However, one of the people in that category is my supervisor, who I have every reason to believe will write me a glowing recommendation letter. If he writes me an amazing letter and then in the interview I say "yeah that guy was mediocre at best", that probably takes away from the impact of his letter, right?
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May 7, 2015 05:49
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asur posted:There is pretty much no upside to saying something bad about your previous company, and/or anyone in it, and there is potentially large downside if the interviewer doesn't agree. I'd be curious of what other people think of saying that you moved because of your spouse. May be over thinking it, but it could be taken that you're potentially less reliable in the long term because you put their job above your own. I'd be curious about this as well, before I got my current job I interviewed with a higher-paying role here in town who, during the interview, said they were looking to hire someone who would be there for a long time. Earlier in the interview I mentioned I was in town because my fiancee was in grad school here, so I'm guessing they got scared off by that and didn't hire me. Leaving my current company after less than two years probably doesn't look great either, and her contract at her new place is only two years so if we move again that just compounds things. Hawkeye posted:Or since you moved for personal reasons can't you say that person reasons required that you follow your significant other to this city? I was on my way out anyway and soon as she got a job that could support both of us if I fell into a lengthy job search, it just so happens that this one requires us to move. Probably a detail I should leave out of the interview, huh?
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May 8, 2015 01:51
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I subjected myself to an infomercial earlier today about a cover letter-writing service today, and they led by advertising "the secret cover letter sentence that 99.9% of people don't even think about!" Turns out the whole secret was to include a postscript on your resume, have any of you ever seen a cover letter with a PS on it? Also if I have a recruiter who I was introduced to by an exec at my last job, and I called her earlier and she said "give me 10-15 minutes to wrap up this other call" an hour ago, do I call back now or try again tomorrow?
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May 27, 2015 20:59
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Boris Galerkin posted:So you guys wouldn't recommend using those resume services from SA Mart or elsewhere? I've come to realize I'm absolutely poo poo at conveying stuff down in writing and wouldn't mind just paying someone to help me get in the door. If you're writing a resume for the first time and have the cash to spare I say go for it, I bought the SA-Mart service while applying for my first job a couple summers ago and I was pretty pleased with the results. At the same time I don't think I'd buy it again unless I was really desperate or was shooting for a big promotion, as I learned enough from that process to feel confident in updating my resume on my own. If you're not sure where to start, that's a good first step.
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May 29, 2015 23:34
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If the contractual nature of your job has you feeling less secure, just tell her that's the reason you're looking for a new job. If she's had people in this role before you then surely she would understand your motivations for leaving, you most likely won't be the first person to leave such a role under her. Is she expecting you to stay there forever? What sort of role do you have relative to her?Toriori posted:what's a good way to say "what I lack in years I make up for in tenacity"? In my experience there isn't really a way, you just have to have the experience :/ Even with only one job providing 18 months of professional work experience I'm getting way more calls from recruiters and staffing groups now than when I was looking for that first job (now if only they would get me interviews  ). You could get a little more creative with how your life experiences have given you workplace-applicable skills, or pull specific examples from your current role that might translate well into the working world. Getting that first job after you finish school sucks, I was miserable during the search and my fiancee was miserable looking for hers last winter/spring (though she landed her own long-shot role, so don't despair too hard!)
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Jun 2, 2015 21:13
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If it makes you feel better, no potential employer will contact your previous employer unless you tell them it's OK, so it's not like a potential employer is going to snitch on you. Also most goons will you tell you that "previous employer recommendations" are just said employer telling a hiring manager/staffing agent/whoever that "Yes, Toriori worked here for X years in Y capacity", but I'm not so sure. I've had two people from my previous job (who I gave as references) tell me that they gave glowing reviews of me to a recruiter who reached out to them, and that said recruiter actually paid attention. Granted they might not be able to use said glowing facts about me, but the recruiter still heard them 
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Jun 3, 2015 02:00
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SirPhoebos posted:I'm going to be having my first lunch interview today. It's with the owner of the company to boot. This is advice that I got from a book geared towards salespeople (and what is an interview if not a sale pitch for yourself), but be sure to take the seat with the best view so that the other person can't take it and then be distracted. If you can sit with your back against a wall, do it. And remember, you are not there to eat but to make the case for why they should hire you, so don't get bogged down Instagramming your food or finding out if they have grass-fed ginger ale or whatever. You don't even have to eat if you think it will throw you off your game!
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Jun 5, 2015 17:59
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I have a somewhat impromptu interview tomorrow morning and was thinking it would be a good idea to take a few copies of my resume with me for their future reference. Would it make sense to include a cover letter with each copy as well, or have I moved past the point where I need a cover letter for introductory purposes?
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Jun 10, 2015 04:42
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Thanks, the interview went well even if it's not the ideal role (but being broke for much longer might change my tune). And while interviewing there, someone else called me wanting me to come interview with them on Monday!  Changing gears a bit, I've been in semi-regular talks with a couple different recruiters (twice a week on average) for a few weeks now. Both were supposed to have updates on their respective areas for me on Monday, I called both on Monday and left messages but haven't spoken to either of them since last Friday. Is it worth pursuing them much longer, or does the silent treatment mean I should focus my efforts elsewhere? Both had pretty attractive roles for me so I don't want to give up early, but I think I know what the lack of communication means.
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Jun 10, 2015 18:42
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...Mitch Hedburg? E: Just to have some purpose to this post, this time last week I was waist-deep with two recruiters for some pretty respectable positions in the area, but I hadn't interviewed for any jobs in the area (nor scheduled any). As of today, both of those recruiters have stopped returning my calls, but I had an interview on Wednesday and I have an interview elsewhere on Monday and possibly a third interview next week too, none of which I knew about before this week. gently caress the job hunting roller-coaster, the worst part is that I've been too stressed out about being broke to play any video games with all of this free time   .
C-Euro fucked around with this message at 00:14 on Jun 13, 2015 |
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Jun 12, 2015 21:36
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etalian posted:On a somewhat random note, I found this website to have a good guide on how to write a one page concise resume: I generally agree with that but I'm a little unsure based on some feedback I've gotten on my resume in the past few weeks. A lot of stuff that would be considered extraneous by this list are things that recruiters & hiring managers have specifically mentioned when discussing my resume. Maybe they're just doing that to be nice but it probably more hinges on the specific position. Also my resume is two pages with only a couple years experience, but all the important stuff is on the first page 
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Jun 14, 2015 03:54
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Busy Bee posted:Is it a requirement to send a follow up thank you note after the interview to the hiring manager? I do, but in my mind the goal of a thank-you note is equal parts expressing gratitude and making sure they remember you. The template is usually follow is quote:"Dear [Hiring Manager], thank you for giving me the opportunity to interview for the open [Position Title] at [Company Name] today. [Write a sentence about something specific from your interview, you did take notes right?]. Please keep me informed about next steps in the hiring process and I look forward to hearing from you soon!" You want to first show that the interview was important to you, then do something that helps them remember both your individual interview and the fact that you took an extra step to say thanks. For example, the hiring manager I spoke to on Wednesday said he was out of town Thursday and Friday, so by writing him a thank-you message he can see that on Monday and remember "oh yeah, C-Euro was that interview" when making a decision Monday/Tuesday (I hope  )I don't know about sending a physical card though, that seem crazy.
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Jun 14, 2015 17:48
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GobiasIndustries posted:Depending on the timeframe of the hiring process, a physical card may not even get there in time, so email is usually better for a follow-up thank you. Nah in my mind it's not about being pushy, it's just that a physical card seems over-the-top to me especially with a thank-you email preceding it. Then again I know some people love thank-you cards, but I think if I was really enthusiastic about a position and I didn't get it, I'd be too depressed or bitter about not getting it to want to write any sort of extra note to them, short of responding to a rejection e-mail. One thing I'd be curious to hear from people who read resumes- when looking at a resume, what percent of your efforts are spent studying the candidate's most recent employment entry in comparison to studying the rest of them? Most of the tweaking I've done of my resume during this most recent job search has been re-framing my work experience from my last job, as I figure most hiring managers want to know about your last job and if you can carry any of that over into the next role.
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Jun 14, 2015 23:51
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Hey it's all good. Two new questions- 1. Is it ever appropriate to follow up on a hiring decision on your own? I interviewed somewhere last week and the hiring manager was out Thursday and Friday, I was wondering if I could follow up with him today and see if they needed anything else from me. In particular I don't think he ever asked for references, and I know I could seal the deal with those. 2. I had a recruiter contact me out of the blue about a position just now. He told me where it was and I immediately decided I didn't want it (70 miles away  ), but decided to keep talking. He asked me what my last salary was and I said "I don't see how that's relevant right now, I'm looking forward at this point" to which he responded "Then I can't help you, companies are always going to want to know". I caved and told him since I'm not taking the position anyway, then gave him a pretty high salary requirement that he said we could probably reach. Is what he said to me BS?
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Jun 15, 2015 19:05
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FrozenVent posted:He's asking for salary upfront because he doesn't want to waste his time if you're outside the mandate's range. That's what I figured, though at the same time I had someone call me about a different position with a pharma giant that wanted an MS but was only going to pay $20/hr, I told him "At that price, no thanks" but he sent me the job anyway. And yes, after my two best recruiter leads stopped returning my calls last week I'm ready to say that most recruiters are full of poo poo. But nearly every company in my field is doing contract-to-hire through staffing agencies these days 
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Jun 16, 2015 01:15
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outlier posted:I've had two recruiters over the past month try to push jobs onto me that were lower paying than my current job. Lower-paying by up to 10K. The best/worst was a guy who called me a few weeks ago about a particular position not too far from here, who asked me to agree to give him exclusive negotiation rights between me and the hiring company. I did, and then every day for the next two weeks I had a different recruiter (as in a different person each day) call and ask me if I was interested in that exact same position. It got to the point where as soon as they said the title and location of the position, I could say "Let me guess, it's through [Comapny] on [Shift #] and they don't want to pay more than [$X/hr], right?". Also I never heard back from that first guy, I probably should have just agreed to negotiations through everyone that called me, it's not like it was a legally-binding contract. At least the position I interviewed for last week is a direct hire, and the one I interviewed for yesterday is a 6-month contract so I can dip out at the end of the year if I want. Of course, both of them will probably turn me down 
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Jun 16, 2015 17:29
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Vulture Culture posted:Typical punch list for a reference check: Is that legal for them to ask? I thought there were a lot of hoops to jump through before employers could disclose the salary info of their employees, current or former.
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Jun 18, 2015 16:18
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I accepted a job offer last Thursday, at which point the HR woman making the offer said they would be performing a background & references check on me (on which the offer was contingent), and mailing me an onboarding packet with stuff like a direct deposit form, I-9, and the like. It's now Monday and I haven't heard or received anything from them (mail comes to my place super-early in the day), would it be appropriate to call and ask what's up or should I give it another day?
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Jun 22, 2015 17:40
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Susical posted:I'd ask if I were you. asur posted:I'd wait till Wednesday unless there was something specifically said or you start earlier. They probably mailed it Friday and may not have shipped it overnight. I called her yesterday and it sounds like she might have just forgotten  But she said she'll come in on Monday and help me fill everything out if she doesn't get to it this week, so it sounds like I'm still on for this new gig.
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Jun 23, 2015 15:35
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Busy Bee posted:Welp, I didn't get the dream job I thought I was the perfect fit for I had a recruiter interview me three weeks ago about a sweet job paying $15k more than the one I just accepted. That was the last time I spoke to said recruiter. The fact that they said anything besides "we've decided to move ahead with another candidate, we will keep you on file" is a little amazing frankly, take their advice to heart and win the next interview!
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Jun 24, 2015 02:59
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Got to turn down a job today after being turned down by them initially The recruiter sounded so sad too, I told him I was starting a new job on Monday and he just said "Oh...good for you". To be fair though, they were right not to go with me first because no way was I going to stay there longer than the six-month contract they were offering.
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Jun 25, 2015 17:27
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Susical posted:Well, gently caress. I was told that I've been selected for the position but won't get the official letter for another 2-3 weeks, okay whatever. I got this position through a 3rd party recruiter, who is now in the process of calling my supervisory references. She just called me and spoke to my first reference, and told me that I was given "mixed reviews." The gently caress?! Was totally out of left field. I had been a stellar employee for a long time, but I'll admit, my enthusiasm and interest dropped at the end when the company started changing a lot of policies that screwed employees over. I was over the place. But I still did my job. I can only hope my second reference doesn't say the same??? Also anecdotal, but I was offered my current job before they even spoke with my references, and I thought my references were arguably the strongest part of my resume. If they've already made you an offer then they want to hire you, and are just making sure the work history on your resume is accurate and that you didn't try to shank anyone at a previous job.
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Jun 25, 2015 20:59
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A while back I spoke with a recruiter who had a couple of positions open at a prominent company in my area. We had a bit of back-and-forth, and last I heard from her (at least a week ago, maybe two) the company was reviewing my resume along with those of other candidates. Today she finally gets back to me and they want to do a 30-minute phone interview with me next week! Except I'm starting my new job on Monday Obviously I'm not going to bail on my new employer for a chance to get hired with this new company, but I'd like them to at least have some record of my existence if in a few years I decide to look for another job and I like to practice my interview skills whenever I can. Would it be weird if I took the phone interview anyway, and then if they follow up with me later say "Oh jeez, I just accepted another offer, but thanks for your time", or am I just going to look like a douche? The other problem is that they want to interview me during the day next week when I'll be at work, think I can talk them into a 5 PM call?
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Jun 26, 2015 15:31
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Dik Hz posted:Don't waste their time. Especially don't waste their off-work time. If someone did that to me, I wouldn't be happy about it. However, if they e-mailed me and said the job looked good, but they had already accepted another job offer, I'd keep their resume around in case they didn't like the new job. At this point this is where I'm leaning, especially since it's going to look weird to my actual employer if I sneak off for an extended phonecall on my second day at work.
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Jun 27, 2015 21:11
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GobiasIndustries posted:So uh, don't fit into my suit (last time I wore it was 3 years ago); will nice khakis & navy blazer (nice shirt & tie obviously) suffice for an in-person interview? I have never worn an actual suit to an interview, the nicest I've looked has been with a similar outfit to what you've described, and I've never been offered a job when I wore that outfit to an interview. Obviously this will depend on your career level and the job in question, but if the best you can do is "formal" in lieu of "very formal" then I wouldn't psych yourself out over it.
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Jun 30, 2015 03:27
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ShadowedFlames posted:Question regarding interviews and temp staffing agencies: To run slightly counter to Xandu, staffing agencies only care about putting asses into seats. If you want to make sure that's your rear end in that seat, you have to be persistent and make sure they remember you. Squeaky wheels & grease and all, these guys talk to dozens of people per position and will probably forget you unless you keep reminding them of your existence (or blow them away off the bat with your resume, which is trickier to do). That said, I wouldn't call back after less than 24 hours. If I called somewhere one morning I might call them again the following afternoon, but if that afternoon is a Friday I'm willing to bet they don't want to talk to you or anyone. Also take all this with a grain a salt, I spoke to over a dozen different recruiters in earnest on my last job hunt and none of them came through for me so maybe I did something wrong.
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Jul 24, 2015 14:44
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ShadowedFlames posted:Ok, another question dealing with staffing agencies. "Background check" is a super nebulous term, at least in my experience. I had one recruiter do a background check on me for one potential opening where he called my references and talked to them all at length, relayed their very positive words to me, and then proceeded to do gently caress-all else with my file. Meanwhile the company that did hire me only did a background check after extending an offer (contingent on said background check), and didn't even talk to any of my references as far as I'm aware. Which sucks on the one hand because my references were so strong, but is good on the other hand because I guess I didn't need them to land the job? I don't even know what they looked for other than to make sure I am who I said I am. Basically what NBS said, it's a good sign but you have a ways to go.
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Jul 27, 2015 17:57
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FogHelmut posted:Should I lie about my current salary? I feel like I'm paid normally for where I live and what I'm expected to do. But salaries a quite a bit higher in the region I am applying. Are the thinking I'm not making enough and am therefore bad? I don't know if I would outright lie but don't be afraid to embellish that number. For example, my last job was hourly and if you were assuming 40-hour workweeks, I was projected to be paid Xk a year. When interviewing for my current job the HR person was very hard about wanting a prior salary number from me, but I had done some quick mental math beforehand. I figured that I was putting in as much as 10 hours of OT a week (1.5x) and also getting a $300/mo stipend for being part of a special projects committee, and that my yearly "salary" was a good 10-15k higher than what my old offer letter said. So I gave her my printed salary + 15k and ended up getting that plus a little extra. Looking back I should have embellished more, I only went so high because I had just quit my old job, moved halfway across the country, and could not afford to let this one slip by me. Also someone had just posted here that employers ask for salary history during the interview process so that they can check to see if you're lying during a background/references check. I have no idea if that's true but according to my new boss they never even contacted my references before hiring me. So considering what little I had to work with, I'm OK with how it turned out. Being able to present information in a beneficial manner is important!
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Aug 6, 2015 22:06
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FogHelmut posted:Is there any stigma against taking 6-month contract/temporary positions? Not really, my last job started as a contract position and most of the ones I saw on my recent job hunt were also contracts. There's a good chance the company will just hire you on full time before your contract is up, but they want to push some of the initial legwork onto staffing agencies and want an easier out if they don't like you. Also temp employees usually don't get insurance but if you're lucky the staffing agency that puts you there might help you with that (since you are technically an employee of said agency)
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Aug 7, 2015 20:35
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When do you all feel is the turning point from listing education at the top of your resume to listing professional work experience at the top? My last stint in school was graduating with a Master's in 2013 and I am currently in my second job since graduating, so my Work Experience is my current job, my previous job, and my graduate assistant role during my Master's. I'm updating my resume right now for a leadership development award through the American Chemical Society, which favors academics so I think for this I would leave Education at the top. But in general, when do I start putting Work Experience first?
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Oct 25, 2015 20:22
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Vulture Culture posted:As a workaround, you can get a P.O. Box in your new city for awhile. When my wife and I were moving to a new state for her job, I asked a friend I knew in the area if I could put her address on my resume until we had our own place. Any chance that could have backfired?
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Nov 14, 2015 20:43
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I'll second that, while interviewing for the job I'm currently working my now-boss straight up told me that "[you] don't have the regulatory experience we're looking for, but having a graduate degree would be a pretty good starting point to learning those regulations". Now I'm entering month 6 on the job and haven't really needed to pick up that regulatory knowledge (haven't needed the grad degree either). And to go even a step further, the resume that they originally received from me had an out-of-state address on it, though they did phone-screen me first at which point I told them we were moving to the area anyway. My wife is currently job-hunting and I keep telling her that companies rarely find and hire candidates who can check off on every single requirement on a job posting. It becomes a question of "what do we want this hire to bring to the table" vs "what can we teach them". I would say in the case above, you could say "hire me and I will register for this association", hell they might even sponsor you if you are convincing enough.
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Nov 21, 2015 19:38
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calvus posted:What kind of regulatory experience? This was for a cosmetics regulatory position, in which I am currently employed. Honestly it's pretty boring but this is my first 100%-desk job, and I think the reg experience will look good on my resume when we uproot again for my wife's after-postdoc employment. She's convinced that I can get a $100k regulatory manager position with two years of experience but I'm not nearly that optimistic.
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Nov 23, 2015 07:01
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How bad do resume entries < 1 year look to hiring managers? I started a job last June in a field I was kind of iffy on (Regulatory), partially because I desperately needed the money and partially because I thought I would get valuable experience in branching out. By the end of last year I realized the field bored me to tears, but I had a killer boss who took more than his fair share of the work, knew a ton about the field, and wanted to help me develop my own skills there; he made the job bearable. Then he bailed for a new job and now I'm stuck doing the work for both of us, which has changed my boredom into an active dislike. They are working on hiring a new manager and while another set of hands will take a lot of pressure off me, if I don't get along with them as well I could see my mood remaining the same, and would rather be somewhere that I enjoy if I can get away with walking after a year or less. E: Now 90% less whiny, to maybe be used in the Career Path thread? C-Euro fucked around with this message at 06:41 on Feb 11, 2016 |
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Feb 11, 2016 06:31
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Bitchkrieg posted:Accept the one you basically were offered or get in touch and say you're still interested. I agree with this, but more importantly I finally got what "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" means 
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Feb 12, 2016 23:46
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