Welcome to Interview Answers: March 29th 2006

Blogging - make sure you never miss out

Against the odds - proving you're the best one for the job

CV & Resume Wonders - how to virtually make sure you get an interview

Blogging

Keeping up to speed with the changing world of job-hunting can be a real challenge.

Yet it can make the difference between getting a job offer or spending months longer on more applications.

Interview Stuff publishes daily "blogs" to bring you absolute hot-off-the-press news, views and expert advice on all areas of job-hunting.

The great news is that they won't clog up your in-box. You can click on any of the links below and the latest news will be there for you on your RSS reader or your Google / Yahoo / MSN home page. It's up to you what you choose to read.

You can dip in whenever you want.

And you can even leave comments and questions, if you fancy a bit of a discussion.

The stuff in the blogs isn't usually on our website - it takes a while to make it there. So you know you're keeping one step ahead of the competition.

You never know when there might be a blog on just the issue you're currently facing. It's a fre*e service. We invite you to make the most of it.

RSS Feed For This News

Against The Odds

Sometimes, despite all logic, you can come across an advert for a job you know you'd love but which, on paper, you're not qualified to do.

You can either put it to the back of your mind and carry on job-hunting, or go for it and keep your fingers crossed!

If you choose the "go for it" option, the good news is that you'll be increasing your chances of getting a job offer.

Why?

Because the regret you'd feel about not applying for the job you really want would cloud your performance in other interviews.

It's so true that, in life, we more often regret the chances we missed, than the things we did.

We're not suggesting you take enormous risks with chasing your dream job. But if there is a chance you could get it, you owe it to yourself to at least try.

So what can you do to maximise your chances?

The toughest bit is getting an interview.

Once you're in the interview, you've got the opportunity to convince them to give you a go. But until you're in there, they've only got your CV / resume as information.

The critical thing here is to phone the recruiting contact before you apply, to ask them whether they would consider you. Make sure you can clearly explain:

• Why you believe you're a suitable candidate for the role
• Why you want the position
• Why your experience would be valuable
• How your experience to date could transfer to the new role
• What you would plan to do to learn "on the job"

You won't necessarily cover all these areas in the phone call, but you'll be prepared with strong answers to most of the concerns the recruiter might have. Your aim is to get their agreement that it's worth applying. Then send your CV / resume to them within 48 hours, referencing the call in your cover letter.

You know why you are choosing to apply for the job, so make sure it is obvious to the recruiter. If you're not sure, yourself, how can you expect to convince an interviewer?

You might find your non-work activities could help you show how transferable your skills are, despite the lack of formal experience.

Emphasise other characteristics that are desirable for the role and don't shout about your lack of experience.

If you get an interview, you are in a strong position to justify why they should consider you.

If you're not sure what you really want to do, you could check out "Where Do I Start?" which is a free e-course to help you work out what's important to you about your career and how to find a job you'd enjoy.

Thank you to Yogesh for suggesting this topic.

If you have a topic you'd like us to cover in a future issue, please reply to this email.

CV & Resume Wonders

Creating a compelling CV or resume that gives you confidence in your job-hunting is about so much more than cramming 1000 words into 2 pages of paper.

It's about pulling out the essence of what makes you unique - worth considering over all other candidates - and making that easy to spot.

Easy to say.

So we've been working together with CV and resume experts worldwide to develop a fre*e 140 page guide to creating a CV / resume that virtually guarantees you interviews.

You can go to CV writers, if you prefer, but most recruiters agree that there's something much fresher and more interesting about a CV / resume that someone has taken the time to create themselves.

It can seem a daunting task, so CV Confidence takes you through it step by step.

You'll build up a Master CV / Resume and then learn how to quickly customise it for each application.

This means you'll never again miss a job application deadline and, by tailoring your CV to each position, you'll maximise your chances of being offered an interview.

CV Confidence costs you nothing. No catches. It's yours to download now, to start using as soon as you want.

If you have friends who are job-hunting, send it to them, too.

We hope you find it useful!

Tell us what you think!

We'd love to hear from you.

So if you have any feedback on this free-zine, a story to tell or ideas for topics you'd like to see in future issues, just reply to this email.

Also, you've probably noticed we've been experimenting with having full articles in this email and having links to articles on the website.

Which do you prefer? Articles in the email or links to articles on the website?

We'd love to know, so we can tailor the format to make it easy for you to use.

I personally read every email that replies to this e-zine and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Good luck with your job hunting!

Clare Jaques

On behalf of the Interview Stuff team.

P.S. Please excuse the occasional "*" in the middle of a word. It's to try to avoid this email accidentally being eaten by spa*m filters.

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So if you've found Interview Stuff useful, we invite you to make a donation to Action Against Hunger.

Of course, it's entirely your decision and there's no pressure. We simply offer this option because some people like to "pay it forward".