As a part of my own job search I read a lot of articles about things like networking, cover letters, resumes, interviews, etc. One thing I try to do to help others is aggregate these into my on-going series of “Article Aggregate” posts.
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Thanks!
Note: About Me and the kind of places I’m looking for work.
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TOP OF THE FOLD
Employers Want To Screen You Out, Not In!
http://www.social-hire.com/career–interview-advice/1597/employers-want-to-screen-you-out-not-in
** Actually, for companies where you email your resume to a person’s inbox, it’s even more brutal than that. First, if the subject of your email doesn’t catch their attention, they delete the email. Then, if your “cover letter” email text doesn’t do it, File-13ed. Then, and only then, will a person give your resume the standard 6-10 second skim.
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5 Reasons to Hire Potential Over Experience
http://www.social-hire.com/social-recruiting-advice/4916/5-reasons-to-hire-potential-over-experience
** So, how can you use this if you’re trying to change industries or careers? Think “Job-search Judo”.
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Top 10 Most Popular New JobMob Articles of 2014
https://jobmob.co.il/blog/top-jobmob-articles-2014/
** Gold mine!
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Two Personal Qualities More Vital To Success Than IQ That Most People Don’t Know
http://www.spring.org.uk/2014/12/two-personal-qualities-more-vital-to-success-than-iq-that-most-people-dont-know.php
** How could you leverage these? And related:
What The Eyes Reveal: 10 Messages My Pupils are Sending You
http://www.spring.org.uk/2011/12/what-the-eyes-reveal-10-messages-my-pupils-are-sending-you.php
** Not that you can control these… but useful for reading interviewers.
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What do hiring managers want?
http://www.thewisejobsearch.com/2010/02/what-do-hiring-managers-want.html
** You can do all these things, and still not get the offer.
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Job Search Techniques: Managing Your References
http://www.gotthejob.com/blog/jobs-search-techniques-managing-your-references.php
** A critical and on-going activity.
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The 5-Minute Interview: 5 Tips for Maximizing Those Critical First Minutes
http://www.job-hunt.org/job_interviews/5-minute-job-interview.shtml
** Minutes? You have seconds:
7 seconds – why that’s all you may have to succeed or fail at interview
http://40pluscareerguru.blogspot.com/2013/08/7-seconds-why-thats-all-you-may-have-to.html
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FOR OLDER WORKERS
Why nobody wants to hire experienced people
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-nobody-wants-hire-experienced-people-j%C3%B8rgen-winther
** Some interesting points. How can you use these in your own networking and interview conversations? One thought: Younger workers, per this article, have a reputation of “churning ideas” faster – so counter with “Never assume activity means progress.”
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Climbing Job-Mountains
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/climbing-job-mountains-simon-sprock
** This reminded me of more than a few instances where, in the course of a project, a snafu happened. Because of my experience, I was able to quickly pivot to identify, propose, and implement a solution. How can you use similar experiences to argue your case in an interview?
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Over 50? Here’s How to Beat the ‘Old Timer’ Stereotype in Your Job Search
http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2014/09/29/job-search-beat-old-timer-stereotype/
** At what point does the need to be “current” become a mania for “the new for the sake of the new”? Remember, old age and treachery will overcome youth and enthusiasm… because of wisdom and connections. Related:
Managing the Age Issue with Recruiters: Age as an Asset or a Liability
http://www.job-hunt.org/recruiters/managing-age-issue.shtml
** It’s all in how you present yourself. There is no thing that is solely an asset or a liability.
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Older Job Seeker? Stop Making These Mistakes Immediately
https://jobmob.co.il/blog/older-job-search-mistakes/
** Useful. And from the same site:
40 Tips for Job Seekers Over 40
https://jobmob.co.il/blog/40-tips-for-job-seekers-over-40/
** Again, useful.
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Too old to get hired?
http://www.thewisejobsearch.com/2010/03/too-old-to-get-hired.html
** Is it impossible to get a job when you’re older? No. But ageism is, IMHO, a huge factor.
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Told You’re ‘Over-Qualified’? 5 Words To Change The Employer’s Mind
http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2012/06/25/1-tip-when-told-you-re-over-qualified/
** Like, like, and mega-like. And think about preemptively changing the game:
The “O” Word 2
https://davidhuntpe.wordpress.com/2013/12/26/the-o-word-2/
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Embracing Organizational “Outsiders”
http://www.hrbartender.com/2014/recruiting/embracing-organizational-outsiders/
** Use this as an advantage in a discussion, whether networking or interview. Though, it does sound… familiar:
Avoiding risk in hiring means avoiding innovation
http://www.nhbr.com/June-28-2013/Avoiding-risk-in-hiring-means-avoiding-innovation/
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NETWORKING
4 ways to avoid a bad networking experience
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140306020132-7069348-4-ways-to-avoid-a-bad-networking-experience
** It cannot be just about you; to help others – a critical part of networking – you need to listen. You also need to let them go to other people.
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Job Networking for Introverts: Face Your Fears
http://www.job-hunt.org/job-search-for-introverts/networking-face-your-fears.shtml
** If you can’t get out there, you’re missing out. Get up from the computer and meet people face to face – no matter how hard it is. Related:
Why volunteering is the best form of networking for an introvert…
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-volunteering-best-form-mathue-duhaney
** And it’s a good way to meet people in person. Step away from the computer and meet people:
Networking Lunch Rules
http://www.job-hunt.org/job-search-networking/networking-lunch.shtml
** Excellent advice. And one-on-one can be far less intimidating too. Anything that gets you face time with a person in a real-life conversation:
The Butlerian Jihad
https://davidhuntpe.wordpress.com/2013/10/01/the-butlerian-jihad/
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Reach Out to Hiring Managers Using These 10 Ideas
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/reach-out-hiring-managers-using-10-ideas-lisa
** No question; at the same time, getting onto schedules is incredibly difficult even when you have a “warm referral” because people are too busy:
The Cost of Crazybusy
https://davidhuntpe.wordpress.com/2014/02/23/the-cost-of-crazybusy/
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In Praise of Non-Phony Networking
http://www.job-hunt.org/job-search-networking/non-phony-networking.shtml
** Be selective and choose venues that suit you.
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Three Reasons People Don’t Trust You More
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/three-reasons-people-dont-trust-you-more-hank-boyer
** Important. Networking relies on trust and helping others. Without these two, both critical, things – it won’t work.
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COVER LETTERS
7 Tips: How To Write a Template Cover Letter
http://www.glassdoor.com/blog/7-tips-write-template-cover-letter/
** A skeleton only; IMHO a cover letter requires too much customization to be a template with most of the content pre-existing.
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How to open and close your cover letter
http://www.monster.com/blog/b/open-close-cover-letter-0421
** I like the advice in particular about names where the sex of the person is unclear. And be sure, if you know they have a doctorate, to use “Doctor” when writing them.
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Cover Letter tips to help you land your dream job
http://advice.careerbuilder.com/posts/cover-letter-tips-to-help-you-land-your-dream-job
** Nice overview.
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RESUMES
The Movie Trailer Resume Model
http://www.social-hire.com/career–interview-advice/4277/the-movie-trailer-resume-model
** A resume is nothing more than a marketing document to get them to want to interview you. If it works in that regard, you have a great resume.
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3 Reasons Why Your Resume is Keeping Your Phone from Ringing
http://www.greatresumesfast.com/blog/2010/10/13/3-reasons-why-your-resume-is-keeping-your-phone-from-ringing/
** Good – but relevant if you’re applying for a specific position. If you’re networking in, it’s a horse of a different color.
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How to Write a Resume That Stands Out
https://hbr.org/2014/12/how-to-write-a-resume-that-stands-out
** Differentiation. And make your bullet points stand out:
The New Formula for Resume Success
http://www.youtern.com/thesavvyintern/index.php/2014/08/03/the-new-formula-for-resume-success/
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Top Resume Writing Tips for College Students
http://theundercoverrecruiter.com/top-resume-tips-college-students/
** Useful, and applies to every age.
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The Great Resume Keyword Conundrum
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/great-resume-keyword-conundrum-paula-rutledge
** Keywords are great, but only have their best effect when applying for a specific position. Related:
How to Get Your Resume Read By an Employer Using Keyword Research
http://theundercoverrecruiter.com/resume-read-employer-keyword-research/
** Ditto.
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INTERVIEWING
Answers to emotional trigger questions asked at job interviews.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/answers-emotional-trigger-questions-asked-job-gil-rozenblatt
** Some good thoughts but, as several comments said, a little “over the top”.
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5 Ways You’re Sabotaging Yourself in Job Interviews
http://time.com/money/3195885/worst-job-interview-mistakes/
** The first rule: don’t screw up. (At issue, though, is the fact that there are so many ways to do so…). The other thing to keep in mind, though, that one person’s confidence is another person’s arrogance, etc.
Fuzzy Limits
https://davidhuntpe.wordpress.com/2014/10/27/fuzzy-limits/
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Seriously — Should You Use Humor in a Job Interview?
https://www.recruiter.com/i/seriously-should-you-use-humor-in-a-job-interview/
** Yes. Judiciously, carefully, and certainly “work safe” and non-controversial. But hiring is as much about their emotional reaction to you as your qualifications… humor can help with that.
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Don’t Eat The Turkey! 11 Foods To Avoid Before An Interview
http://www.careerealism.com/interview-foods-avoid/
** Smell is an incredibly powerful thing, and affects people viscerally – and emotionally. So don’t indulge in this “guilty pleasure” food before an interview either:
Guilty Pleasure Food: Pickled Garlic
https://davidhuntpe.wordpress.com/2014/11/17/guilty-pleasure-food-pickled-garlic/
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Pick and choose from this list for your next interview.
https://jobmob.co.il/blog/questions-to-ask-at-job-interview/
** A lot of good ones here.
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How to Handle New Unexpected Interview Types: Job Simulation / In-Box Exercise Interviews
http://www.job-hunt.org/job_interviews/handling-simulation-in-box-exercise-interviews.shtml
** Hadn’t heard of some of these.
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BRANDING / SOCIAL MEDIA
How Recruiters Are Using Social Media—and What It Means for You
http://time.com/money/3614301/recruiters-social-media-job-search/
** Being on SM will not get you hired per se; not being there means you might not be found, or ruled out because you’re not “up to date”. Related:
Blogging to Build Your Online Reputation and Support Your Executive Job Search
https://www.bluesteps.com/blog/build-online-reputation-support-executive-job-search.aspx
** Use your blog to establish your reputation – and show your personality. Within limits, of course.
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5 Ways Good Managers Can Hire Great People
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-ways-good-managers-can-hire-great-people-lou-adler
** What’s the other side reading?
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What Your Facebook Profile Says About Your Personality
https://www.themuse.com/advice/what-your-facebook-profile-says-about-your-personality
** Two things. One, what if – like me – you aren’t on facebook? And two, isn’t this just another way of sloughing off the responsibility of a hiring manager to make their own decisions, in favor of someone outside expert’s algorithm?
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7 interesting facts about LinkedIn Groups you should know
http://thingscareerrelated.com/2014/12/21/7-interesting-facts-about-linkedin-groups-you-should-know/
** LI groups are incredibly useful!
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How Can Social Media Make or Break an Interview?
http://theundercoverrecruiter.com/social-make-break-interview/
** I find it ironic. On one hand, the “conventional wisdom” says to clamp down, not post anything that could possibly be perceived as controversial – yet here is an article saying that you do need to let your personality out there (within limits) for people to vet you. Can someone please give me a manual so I know what to do? There need to be standards:
Social Media Vetting: Proposed Standards (Long)
https://davidhuntpe.wordpress.com/2014/03/13/social-media-vetting-proposed-standards-long/
** Welcome to the “New Puritanism”. And in cynical moments, I sometimes thing that SM was created in part to get people to post stupid stuff, just so that “internet reputation clean-up services” could then also be marketed.
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GENERAL
Is This Company Right For You?
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/company-right-you-miriam-schwartz
** Cultural fit is critical.
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How to Cold Call Your Way to a New Job
http://time.com/money/3153898/cold-call-calling-new-job-career-coach-networking/
** I don’t know… these days it’s hard to get people when you have a “warm referral”.
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How to Best Approach Executive Recruiters as a Candidate
https://www.bluesteps.com/blog/how-to-best-approach-executive-recruiters-as-a-candidate.aspx
** Recruiters can be very useful; just remember – they work for the company, not you.
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How To Boost Your Job Search [3 Smart Ways]
http://theundercoverrecruiter.com/how-you-can-boost-your-job-search-and-enjoy-process-3-smart-ways/
** Good general thoughts.
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From Shame and Despair to Hope and Dignity
http://forwardmotioncareers.com/blog/from-shame-and-despair-to-hope-and-dignity/
** If there’s one message to take away, it’s this: You have worth, and it doesn’t come from who employs you. A memory: A friend was telling me about a conversation he’d overheard at the Ford plant I’d used to work at when news I’d been among the 2001 RIF (almost 2000 people). He told me how one person said “Did you hear David Hunt was one of the people let go?” to which the other said “But he was one of the best engineers we had!” That boosted me, and continues to boost me.
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15 Reasons Why Job Openings Seem To Appear Forever
https://jobmob.co.il/blog/why-job-openings-reposted/
** Number 10 – seriously??
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8 Ways of Becoming the Most Proactive Job Seeker Ever
http://nblo.gs/12ditA
** Go get ‘em! Related:
6 Signs You Are Suffering From Job Search Paralysis
http://chameleonresumes.com/2014/10/10/signs-suffering-job-search-paralysis/
** Are you doing any of these things? Snap out of it.
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UNDERSTANDING THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TABLE
Beware the Smooth-Talking Job Applicant!
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/beware-smooth-talking-job-applicant-liz-ryan
** I commented.
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5 Ways Good Managers Can Hire Great People
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-ways-good-managers-can-hire-great-people-lou-adler
** How can you make sure to understand what they’re thinking, so you know how to match what they want?
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8 Important/ Creative Interview Questions To Ask Potential Employees
https://www.theresumator.com/blog/8-creative-interview-questions-to-ask-potential-employees/
** Every question has a reason, and likely several layers of reasons.
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How to Use Silly Questions to Find the Right Talent
https://www.theresumator.com/blog/use-silly-questions-find-right-talent/
** There’s a fine line between questions to test culture and “Dance, applicant, dance!”. I will cynically opine that some of these cross that line. While from the same site:
Interviewing Tips To Help You Actually Learn Something From Someone
https://www.theresumator.com/blog/interviewing-tips-help-actually-learn-something/
** These are actually pretty good.
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SALARY
Know the market rate for a job before recruiters ask what the rate is for you.
https://jobmob.co.il/blog/salary-surveys-guides-calculators-2014/
** No matter how many calculators are out there… it’s still a black art.
