Landing The Job

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-194392162012-01-06T00:46:10.059-08:00Landing The JobA plain and simple blog regarding career mobility encompassing--resumes, cover letters, salary negotiation, and anything else to help you land the jobRobert R. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18001894494043876484noreply@blogger.comBlogger341100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19439216.post-1160256306178237482006-10-07T14:13:00.000-07:002006-10-12T13:13:58.293-07:00Your Resume is Read for 15 Seconds on Average

If I could give only one bit of advice for writing a resume, it would be that most employers read a resume for 15 seconds (or at least make a decision within 15 seconds). This is a resume's job--to advocate you as a strong candidate during those 15 seconds. It's not about how much information your resume has on it--it's about how well it conveys important information. It's often the case that the

Robert R. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18001894494043876484noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19439216.post-1156255241672147772006-08-22T06:59:00.000-07:002006-08-22T07:02:47.290-07:00Behavioral Interview Questions on Working with Teams

Although a subset of situational questions, group questions come up so often in behavioral interviews that they deserve special attention. Team questions probe your previous experiences working in groups. What the interviewer is specifically looking for varies from organization to organization. For example, they may be evaluating how you would fit in a “virtual team” environment or they be

Robert R. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18001894494043876484noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19439216.post-1155786095475420942006-08-16T20:31:00.000-07:002006-08-18T12:36:17.213-07:00Average Salary Research Site

Have you ever wondered what other people are making for a particular profession or position? Sites such as Salary.com and Vault provide some help, but there is a new startup out there called WageExchange.com that takes compensation research to the next level.WageExchange.com is an online community where professionals in the IT, advertising & marketing, and accounting & finance industries

Robert R. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18001894494043876484noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19439216.post-1148849813502085442006-05-28T13:49:00.000-07:002006-06-17T19:49:54.263-07:00Successful Cover Letter

I recently had an interesting discussion with Melanie who wrote:Mr. Peterson, Thank you for your informational blog. I have a question regarding security clearances. As a recent college graduate, I do not have a clearance in a field where practically every open position requires one. Many times I have heard, "thanks, but we need an employee with an active clearance." How do I politely say

Robert R. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18001894494043876484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19439216.post-1148320127058858842006-05-22T10:26:00.000-07:002006-05-22T10:55:45.066-07:00Why a Resume Gap Beats Flipping Burgers

The Wall Street Journal is running a story titled Why a Resume Gap Beats Flipping Burgers. The article essentially advises to leave off remedial work from your resume. This applies for college resumes as well. Students are often of the opinion that including their fantastic performance at a restaurant chain or department store may be that little something that gets them a bit ahead from the

Robert R. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18001894494043876484noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19439216.post-1147279188641130772006-05-10T09:32:00.000-07:002006-05-22T10:11:31.910-07:00Tips on Reducing Nervousness

Apologies for the big gap in posts.Everyone gets a bit nervous before an important interview. Fortunately, there are some effective measures to take for what is a serious concern--many candidates are chosen simply because of what seems like natural confidence. If you are under the impression that thinking "Relax everything will work out if you try your best" is the only thing you can do to reduce

Robert R. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18001894494043876484noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19439216.post-1143765566749936112006-03-30T16:34:00.000-08:002006-03-30T16:39:26.763-08:00Questions to Ask at the End of an Interview

Thanks to Jordan for the great tip on an interesting forum discussion on what to ask at the end of an interivew:http://ask.metafilter.com/mefi/35287

Robert R. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18001894494043876484noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19439216.post-1143599362871021252006-03-28T18:20:00.000-08:002006-03-28T18:38:07.950-08:00Sales Job Interviews

The Wall Street Journal is running an article titled Six Tips for Acing the Sales-Job Interview. This is great advice for any customer-facing job interview.

Robert R. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18001894494043876484noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19439216.post-1140939947156988842006-02-25T23:38:00.000-08:002006-02-25T23:45:47.166-08:00Blog for a Job

A reader recently emailed me showcasing how successful a blog post has been for him in landing a job:"I've had 15 really cool companies from all over North America contact me, almost 800 reads on the blog post and almost 300 reads on my resume; all in 3 days."Quite impressive--take a look:

Robert R. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18001894494043876484noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19439216.post-1140764392425952552006-02-23T22:23:00.000-08:002006-02-23T22:59:59.340-08:00Free Resume Examples

The following is a collection of the actual resumes that candidates used to land the job.Melissa Lee--an MBA student at the University of Michigan--landed an internship with IBM Extreme Blue using this resume:Blake Robertson--a Computer Engineering student at the University of Maryland--landed an internship with IBM Extreme Blue using this resume:Ben Lewis--an MBA student at the University of

Robert R. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18001894494043876484noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19439216.post-1140280842715816732006-02-18T07:29:00.000-08:002006-02-21T19:29:43.156-08:00Going Back to Work After Children

I had a very interesting e-mail exchange recently regarding a return to work interview and absenteeism:Hello,I have been following your blog for some time. I am returning to the work force after having taken time off to have children. Due to the extenuating circumstance of having followed my husband back and forth across the continental USA to further his career goals, I have been "unemployed"

Robert R. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18001894494043876484noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19439216.post-1139894953595984672006-02-13T21:03:00.000-08:002006-02-23T16:38:22.930-08:00Best Internet Business Startups

I've been researching stats on internet startup companies lately in hopes to find some exciting opportunities for those who read Landing The Job. I've personally contacted executive-level leadership at the following startups which are looking for fresh talent. I was sure to include contact information (you can e-mail any of the representatives below by clicking on their names).If you know of an

Robert R. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18001894494043876484noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19439216.post-1138579800359842542006-01-29T16:09:00.000-08:002006-02-18T09:30:00.750-08:00Thank You Note After Last Job Interview

Career resources often state that thank you notes are important, but why are they important and what should you say in them?Thank you notes are sent the day of or the day after an interview. They are important for the following reasons: Thank you notes reinforce that you want the job. Few candidates realize how hard it is to find good help with limited resources and time. Hiring managers often

Robert R. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18001894494043876484noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19439216.post-1138239331945880172006-01-25T17:33:00.000-08:002006-01-25T17:35:31.956-08:00Clean Up Your Digital Dirt

The Wall Street Journal Career Site is running an article title How to Clean Up Your Digital Dirt Before it Trashes Your Job Search. Here are some excerpts:"Unflattering personal information drifting around the Internet, known by some as 'digital dirt,' can doom a job search before it even gets started. Job hunters should know that recruiters can, and often do, read much of what's posted about

Robert R. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18001894494043876484noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19439216.post-1137866042023456822006-01-21T09:30:00.000-08:002006-02-15T08:13:17.600-08:00Try Quotes in your Resume

I'm often asked what is the "best resume format" to use? I'm afraid to say there is no such thing. There are few solid rules to writing a resume--it is important that you find a style that reflects you. The following recommendation is likely to be for those that are little bit bolder or creative when presenting themselves to employers.It seems that one of the most under-appreciated additions to a

Robert R. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18001894494043876484noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19439216.post-1137818354708410492006-01-20T20:40:00.000-08:002006-02-05T22:32:11.026-08:00New Book Edition (sort of)

Due to some small grammatical errors (12 to be exact) that readers have kindly pointed out, I've asked the publisher to revise the book. It will still have the same ISBN; thus, the bookstores won't know the difference. The publisher said the wait will be about 2-3 weeks before the revised edition is out. I'll post again when it is in case anyone wants to wait for it.Update: The new edition is now

Robert R. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18001894494043876484noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19439216.post-1137559141863418872006-01-17T20:35:00.000-08:002006-01-17T20:39:01.873-08:00What Tech Skills Are Hot for 2006?

ComputerWorld is running a story titled What Tech Skills Are Hot for 2006?It's not all that insightful considering it suggests the top 3 skills needed are Development, Security, and Management, but it is still an interesting read.

Robert R. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18001894494043876484noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19439216.post-1137556178027482872006-01-17T19:22:00.000-08:002006-01-17T19:58:26.436-08:00Why I Quit Entrepreneurship

I was browsing Jobazaar and came across a blog post titled Why I Quit Entrepreneurship and Got a Real Job. It's a very provocative and real essay. Here is an excerpt:"Nobody cares that you are smart or knowledgeable (and you need to know if you really are) - Why not? Because everyone thinks they are smart and knowledgeable. Everyone is convinced they are good at business. Everyone thinks they can

Robert R. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18001894494043876484noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19439216.post-1137424328792578082006-01-16T06:43:00.000-08:002006-02-04T00:44:31.563-08:00College Resume Websites

An electrical engineering student just sent me a note asking for tips on his professional website.Naysawn,First of all, it looks excellent. You are already miles ahead of your competition considering that you put together a website in the first place. Here is what you did right that others often miss:• The college resume is in HTML form. This is important because search engines can index its

Robert R. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18001894494043876484noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19439216.post-1137163796013791442006-01-13T06:36:00.000-08:002006-02-18T09:13:44.256-08:00Best City or Town to Work in the United States

Forbes.com/work is running an excellent story titled "Best Places For Business And Careers." So where is the best place to work? San Fancisco perhaps? Surely New York is on the list? Try Boise, Idaho (#1) or Raleigh, North Carolina (#2).Their criteria is primarily cost-of-living / job growth. I was pleasantly surprised to find Austin, TX as #3 on the list (where I'm based).

Robert R. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18001894494043876484noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19439216.post-1137041907241844172006-01-11T20:02:00.000-08:002006-02-04T00:19:41.986-08:00Geographically Distant Job

Steven wrote with the following question:I am currently working for a company as a DBA, Web Developer, Network Administrator, System Administrator, and Help Desk. These are all jobs I can do, and do well, but I am not able to do any of them exceptionally well, since I change hats at least three times an hour. I took the position at the offered pay because it was the first opportunity I had to

Robert R. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18001894494043876484noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19439216.post-1136916100360908622006-01-10T09:43:00.000-08:002006-02-04T00:36:40.283-08:00Salary Questions in Interview

I want to thank Jake Carey-Rand, President of Innovative Visions, for emailing me today. He commented on my last post with the following:"While I agree with most of the points you've made, there are a couple of other ways of going about this which will better control the outcome in your favor. I have been in IT recruiting and IT consulting for about 5 years now and this is what I've learned/been

Robert R. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18001894494043876484noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19439216.post-1136862462512764442006-01-09T18:34:00.000-08:002006-02-05T22:23:19.296-08:00How to Write Salary Expectations in a Cover Letter

It seems someone reviewed my book on slashdot which has increased the amount of mail I get by about 1000 fold :) Thanks very much everyone--I hope to answer your kind notes as soon as time allows.Jeffrey wrote me with the following:I am a 25 year old who is currently transitioning out of the United States Army. I am sure coming out of the military is just as frustrating as trying to find a job

Robert R. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18001894494043876484noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19439216.post-1136689270214929192006-01-07T18:50:00.000-08:002006-02-04T20:15:42.070-08:00Free RSS Feeds

With companies investing significantly in marketing via blogs and podcasts, I find it astonishing how poor their strategies for investment are. I looked over the job sites for Google, Microsoft, and IBM--none of which have RSS feeds available with job postings. These are technology companies are they not? I suppose that this is to be expected as few job sites even offer agents to send job

Robert R. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18001894494043876484noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19439216.post-1136688253441490662006-01-07T18:42:00.000-08:002006-02-04T01:11:03.633-08:00Recruiting.com Blog of 2005

Jeff Hunter's Talentism Blog won Recruiting.com's blog of the year award (sponsored by Jobster). I hadn't looked at it until now, but it seems quite interesting although it is primarily for the HR community.

Robert R. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18001894494043876484noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19439216.post-1136525030568623662006-01-05T20:53:00.000-08:002006-02-04T00:37:30.580-08:00Examples of Resume Bullet Statements

Did you know that most online text forms support bullets and underlines? It is commonly assumed that text resumes must use the ascii character set which essentially is what you see on your keyboard, but this is not the case. Nearly all online forms--for instance Monster.com's submission form--support Unicode 2.0 text which includes many more characters.As an example, let's create some text with

Robert R. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18001894494043876484noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19439216.post-1136273136042373002006-01-02T23:04:00.000-08:002006-02-18T09:30:54.703-08:00How to Contact Me

I'd like to invite anyone to contact me regarding career mobility. You can reach me at landthecareer@gmail.com or by phone at (512) 825-5309.

Robert R. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18001894494043876484noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19439216.post-1135372136364173472005-12-23T12:34:00.000-08:002006-02-04T01:10:13.260-08:00Google, Microsoft, Amazon Interview Profile

Something that is often overlooked about Landing the Internship or Full-Time Job During College is that each chapter ends with a profile. These profiles are quite impressive including new hires and interns from top employers such as EA Games, Intel, and Boeing. Below is the profile of Rhett Aultman who is deciding between employment at Google, Microsoft, and Amazon.ProfileRhett Aultman You’re in

Robert R. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18001894494043876484noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19439216.post-1135019962374876682005-12-19T11:10:00.000-08:002005-12-19T11:25:45.656-08:002006 Job Outlook

According to the California Job Journal, the job outlook for 2006 looks rosy. Here are some excerpts:"The biggest job gains are expected to come in the financial services, technology, healthcare, energy and international business sectors...""A return to a late 1990s-style hiring frenzy may be only a matter of time."

Robert R. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18001894494043876484noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19439216.post-1134843114403598512005-12-17T10:09:00.000-08:002006-02-18T08:49:27.136-08:00Free Info on What to Wear to an Interview

Consider the following advice while deciding what to wear for a job interview:• Do not wear bright colors such as red• Do not chew gum or smoke• Make sure your pockets do not have bulges or coins• Consider using a briefcase or portfolio (black or dark brown)• Avoid strong cologne or perfumeMen, follow these rules:• Do not wear jewelry other than a watch or wedding ring• Make sure you have a clean

Robert R. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18001894494043876484noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19439216.post-1134842960230400552005-12-17T10:03:00.000-08:002006-02-18T08:54:28.290-08:00How to Interview Dress for Success

Everyone questions themselves a little bit while deciding what to wear for an interview or job event.Unfortunately, the answer to this question is “it depends.” What to wear greatly depends on the organization’s culture. The golden rule to follow is to be more formal than the general dress code for the organization. This way you match their culture, but still show that you want to impress them.If

Robert R. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18001894494043876484noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19439216.post-1134663442027392762005-12-15T08:06:00.000-08:002006-02-04T01:09:17.160-08:00IT Conversations

For those of you who are interested in technical-related careers, IT Conversations really is a hidden gem out there. They often have talks on IT trends such as offshoring, open source, and fascinating subjects in general such as Malcolm Galdwell's talk on Human Nature. IT Conversations rates their talks which I find to be very helpful (I filter out anything less than 3 stars). Additionally, you

Robert R. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18001894494043876484noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19439216.post-1134600585806043102005-12-14T14:33:00.000-08:002006-02-04T00:49:56.426-08:00Phone Interviews

For my first real content post I think it's appropriate to start with something that isn't discussed specifically on career sites or at interviewing seminars--Phone Interviews. They are the most common type of interview and certainly deserve special attention.Phone interviews can range from HR screening interviews to two hour long sessions (for example, Extreme Blue is famous for long phone

Robert R. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18001894494043876484noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19439216.post-1133319878470698092005-11-29T19:04:00.000-08:002006-02-05T10:27:35.236-08:00What Landing The Job Is About

I've finally finished Landing the Internship or Full-Time Job During College. The publisher just sent me the first ten copies. I have to admit it looks quite impressive even though I've read my own book at least a dozen times.Now that the book is finalized, I've decided to start this blog to continue sharing news, experiences, and tips regarding career mobility. The reason I wrote the book was

Robert R. Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18001894494043876484noreply@blogger.com10