Getting the Job Part I: Preparation

CareerCatalyst > Career Ref. Center > Getting the Job: I. Preparation [II] [III] [IV]

I. Preparation
What Employers Want
References

II. Job-Search Letters
Resumes: General Advice & Miscellaneous Tips, Types, Electronic Resumes
Cover Letters
Portfolios

III. Interviewing
Landing the Interview
Interview Preparation
General Advice
Interview Types: Telephone, Case, Behavioral, Stress, Group & Panel
Interview Questions: Yours and Theirs
Interview Follow-Up

IV. Miscellaneous
Employment Applications
Pre-Employment Tests
Background Checks

What Employers Want

• What employers want
The most important qualities in a college graduate and the 10 hottest transferable skills.

• What employers want
What's the first thing an employer notices about a job candidate? Nearly half say it's the candidate's "general demeanor" -- overall appearance and attitude -- that first catches their eye.

• What employers really want
Here is a list of questions that most employers ask themselves regarding job applicants. Once you know what employers are looking for you can begin to position yourself correctly.

• Developing employability skills
Employability skills are not job specific, but are skills which cut horizontally across all industries and vertically across all jobs from entry level to chief executive officer.

• Job skills 101
A study by the U.S. Department of Labor and the American Society for Training and Development identified seven skills groups needed by employees for
workplace success in the 1990s and beyond.

References

• Reference strategies
You have your resume and cover letter prepared and you're ready to begin your job search campaign. What about your reference list? Is it effective?

• Getting the right references
They might not be necessary on a resume, but they make all the difference when getting hired.

• How do your references stack up?
A phrase like "references available upon request" can be found at the bottom of most resumes, but the attention given to those references should be a top priority for job searchers.

• Finding references that sing your praises
"References available upon request." Those four little words, usually printed on the bottom of a resume, have cost job seekers many opportunities.

• How to make the most of your references
An astonishing number of candidates leave this crucial job-search element to chance. They assume or hope that those empowered to comment on them will do the right thing. But in reality, it’s up to you to assure that your references support your candidacy.

• Resumes win interviews, but references win job offers
As many senior-level candidates have found out the hard way, the better the job and the higher the pay, the tougher the screening process. So if you’re being considered for a top job, it’s likely that your references will be checked thoroughly.

• Regarding references
When should you begin gathering references? You should be gathering these
throughout your career life, whether you have a current need for them or not.

• What to look for in job references
Getting fired or quitting work in anger can leave you, obviously, in a spot of trouble. But not just over being unemployed. A great new opportunity may materialize the next day -- but what if it hinges on your references?

• Reference rights
What your former employer can and can't say about you.

• Internet boosts fear of reference checking
A growing number of job seekers who want to find out what their former
employers are saying about them are using the Internet to find the services
that make the calls.

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