Fantastic Ways To Screw Up A Job Interview

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Back in my recruiting days, I once had a hiring manager say to me about people he interviewed for jobs: "If it's not 'yes,' it's 'no.'"

In other words, unless the candidate made a truly great impression during the interview, they probably weren't getting the job. And trust me, it's really, really easy to introduce doubt about a candidate into the process. Managers are always looking for reasons to say 'no' - because it's a lot easier than taking a risk on somebody who's less than perfect. It's not fair, but it's reality. Here are some fantastic ways I've personally seen interviewees sabotage their chances.

• Showing up late.
   

• Leaving your cell phone on – and it rings during the interview. Extra points for stopping the interview to answer it.
   

• Checking your phone's messages during the interview.
   

• Being visibly sick during the interview. Seriously, reschedule the interview; you won't impress anyone with your dedication, and you may gross them out by coughing on them.
   

• Sending "thank you" notes afterward to some interviewers and not others.
   

• Asking no questions during the interview. You'll appear bored.
   

• Asking stupid questions. Yes, there is such a thing as a stupid question. Especially dull, obviously improvised questions which clearly illustrate you didn't prepare.
   

• Bringing up salary before they do.
   

• Swearing. This isn't limited to the 7 words you can't say on television. If you wouldn't say it in front of your sweet, old grandmother, don't say it in the interview.
   

• Not dressing up for the interview. Business casual usually applies after you've gotten the job.
   

• Taking bathroom breaks during the interview. Repeatedly.
   

• Calling the interviewer "dude."
   

• Behaving nicely to the hiring manager, and rude to Human Resources.
   

• Giving varying answers to different interviewers asking the same interview question. Trust me, they'll compare notes.
   

• Having bad breath. It's a bad idea to eat a tuna fish sandwich with onions just before your meeting. Oh, and remember to use deodorant, too.
   

• Hitting on an interviewer.
   

• Lying. Probing questions can flesh out dishonest information pretty quickly.
   

• Badmouthing your current or former employer.

I'm sure I'm missing a few beauties. Feel free to send me your favorite examples – if I get enough, I'll include them in a future article!

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Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, and career coaching services, including a free resume review. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.

7 Job Search Strategies for Military Veterans Transitioning to the Civilian Sector

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The transition for members of the armed forces ending their service can be challenging, and the job search has its own unique challenges. Here are seven job search strategies for military veterans making a move to the civilian sector after their enlistment.

1. Minimize the military speak. Members of the armed services have their own lingo when describing their work. In the United States, approximately 7.3% of all living Americans served in the military; conversely, 92.7% of all living Americans spent zero time in the service. So when writing your resume or in an interview, try to remember that unless you're applying for a job at an organization whose primary customer is the military, it's unlikely the recruiter or hiring manager is going to understand the military terminology.
    

2. Translate your work into readily understandable tasks and responsibilities. When building your resume, think about the elements of your work which can be readily understood by an employer. When describing the work you did on preparing a unit for deployment overseas, for example, it can be beneficial to break down your leadership on specific tasks you performed in the areas of logistics, project management, human resources, and so forth. Or maybe you worked on preparing the technology for that same deployment – detail the types of networks you built, listing specific technologies. These will enhance the readability of the resume and better highlight your skills, and the additional keywords will improve your chances of making it through the employer's applicant tracking system.
    

3. Focus on your leadership skills. There's a significant difference between giving orders and leading. Companies are getting flatter, meaning fewer levels of management and less clear lines of reporting. Employers generally want to hire individuals who have a demonstrated ability to inspire and influence, as well as manage day-to-day tasks. What you've managed is less important than how you've managed, and examples of how you built consensus and worked across organizational lines to achieve results will showcase your ability to thrive in complex environments.
    

4. Readjust your mindset. I'm going to let my friend A.J. Yolofsky, an attorney who made the adjustment from life in the Marine Corps, explain his transition experience. "The transition from military to civilian can be challenging because we military members are used to a different organizational structure and culture than necessarily exists in the civilian world. The military’s hierarchical structure provides a fallback method of getting things done – someone more senior can always “order” a junior to do X. On the civilian side, rank or seniority are sometimes held by people with no formal title or who are technically “junior” in the organization (e.g. executive assistants or other support personnel.) Learning civilian organizational behavior theory can be a way to differentiate yourself from other former military candidates. Some books that are helpful for this are "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People," by Stephen Covey; "How to Win Friends and Influence People," by Dale Carnegie; and "The Trusted Advisor," by David Maister. All are on my shelf and have helped me make the transition from Marine to civilian."
    

5. Get to know the job boards. In addition to mainstream job boards such as Monster, CareerBuilder, Indeed, LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and others, there are boards directed  at military veterans such as VetJobs and RecruitMilitary. Many employers specifically want vets due to their connection to the defense industry, or for their work ethic – you'll find them here.
    

6. Remind employers that it can be cost effective to hire you. First, there's a final move benefit which the U.S. military retirees can use to relocate for free anywhere within the United States upon retirement, which can mitigate an employer's concerns about incurring substantial cost to move you (corporate moves can be very expensive). Likewise, employers may be eligible for tax credits for hiring veterans under certain circumstances.
    

7. Know your rights. In the United States, U.S. military veterans enjoy several protections against employment discrimination, including under the the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). A good employment attorney can help you understand your rights under these laws and others.

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Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, and career coaching services, including a free resume review. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.

6 Things You Can Do To Strengthen Your Resume Today

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Building an effective resume can be a challenging endeavor. There are no hard and fast rules, which can make the process something of a guessing game as you are trying to figure out what will get your resume noticed by a hiring manager or recruiter.

Let's be clear - everybody has a different opinion on what makes an effective resume. Often one person's constructive feedback may directly contradict another individual's, so be warned. Again, there are no absolute guidelines on writing a resume, but if you'd like to learn more about what corporate recruiters have to say what they like and dislike about resumes, you can find the results of an informal survey here.

That said, there are certain guidelines you can follow which can boost your changes. Without further ado... here are 6 Things You Can Do To Strengthen Your Resume Today.

1. Spellcheck and proofread. Typos and grammatical errors can kill your chances of getting the job. If you're using a word processing application, there's no reason NOT to use the built in Spelling and Grammar check feature. But even the best digital spell checker won't catch words that are misused but spelled correctly. Manually proofreading the document after letting Microsoft Word do its stuff will help you polish your presentation.
    
2. Consider adding a headline. A recruiter will spend about 15 seconds reviewing a resume to see if it's a match. If you have a clear headline just below your name and address that clearly spells out that you're looking to fill their specific job vacancy, it may encourage the recruiter to keep reading. A header such as "ACCOUNTING MANAGER" for, say, an advertised Accounting Manager role, can grab the reader's attention and frame their reading of the resume.
    
3. Eliminate distracting, unhelpful, or irrelevant information. For example, if you've been a help desk specialist for the past ten years, and you're applying for a help desk job, consider leaving off your prior jobs as landscaper. Same for unrelated hobbies. Including that unrelated work experience may be interesting to you or the reader, but it can also distract and invite unwelcome questions about your career interests and dedication. Similarly, I've  seen resumes where a job seeker started their career as an administrative assistant (listed on the resume) and has grown into a senior management role, but listing the earlier job has led the hiring manager to wonder (unfairly) if the candidate is truly cut from managerial cloth. Stay on message.
    
4. Pay attention to formatting. Do your columns line up? Are your tabs working properly? Is the resume attractive, with enough white space? Microsoft Word can be a bear. If you don't know how to maneuver the program well, consider hiring somebody who can help you format your resume. A misaligned column can be interpreted by the reader as careless or sloppy work.
    
5. Highlight accomplishments. Listing day-to-day job responsibilities is a good starting point. But in order to really stand above the crowd, you'd be well served by including good work accomplishments. These demonstrate the value you're capable of adding to an employer. Measurable accomplishments (i.e., increased sales 40%) are great, but also consider including some less tangible achievements which improved your employer's performance – Did you create and implement processes where none existed, or were you able to develop people on your staff?
    
6. Avoid the personal stuff. In the United States, don't include your picture, date of birth, social security number. Likewise, leave out religious affiliation or anything else which may invite illegal or inappropriate scrutiny by an employer. If you're applying for a job involving long hours or travel, and you indicate on your resume that you have 3 children, the reader may start wondering, "Geez, is this person going to miss a lot of work days or have to leave early due to day care issues?"

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Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, and career coaching services, including a free resume review. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.