Saturday, November 14, 2009
Saturday, November 7, 2009
what i've noticed when applying for jobs
I learned a lot of these the hard way....but I hope it helps for those who's planning on getting a job after you graduate!
-it's not a myth...you'll notice that degree won't really matter to a certain point when applying for jobs. Really, if you're not going into a specific field like engineering or into a medical field, then just major into something you'll truly like taking your time doing b/c you'll suffer completing your major requirements.
-what really REALLY becomes useful is the time you spend volunteering/internship/part-time job. Even if you only volunteered for a month or less, you can use that to elaborate your capabilities and skills. You can always make it sound like you were having the best time of your life doing it and that you've learned a lot from it blah blah. They'll be really impressed that you were exposed to what they want in you and just shows that you are capable of doing whatever it is that they're asking for.
-Cover letter when applying to a job is very very helpful. Just send it to them even if they don't require it. It'll catch their attention and will give you a call back more than if you just give them a resume. Just make sure they sound impressive and that you have a potential. Please please please revise. Go to career center. Give it to someone to proofread and make it sound like you're cool and skilled. I know you're cool and skilled but make it sound like that in paper.
-START APPLYING IN APRIL to get a job by June/July. Companies need more people during then. After you graduate, lot of jobs will be taken. Well, unless you're not planning to work until August or something. I learned this the hard way....sigh.
-when you do apply for jobs, apply in the morning. Literally wake up between 8-9am and sit in front of the computer until noon. If you think about it, most companies probably post job openings in the morning when they come into the office and will check their emails periodically. So the earlier you apply, the earlier the companies will look at your resume. Plus, your resume will be one of the first in their inbox so it's more likely for them to open it.
-and then, this only applied to craigslist for me, but check again for more job ads in the late afternoon, around 3pm ish. Again, if you think about it, some companies may post openings before they leave the office and expect some replies when they come into their office the next day. The trick to the late posting is to apply ASAP to try to take the earlier "spot" in their inbox, so they're more likely to read it. Some hiring guy was saying that they received over 400 replies by just posting the ad for 1 day, and imagine opening that much resumes...I would start skipping some emails if I were that person reading it...
-If you're the type who suck at interviews, which I was too, practice by going to ALL the interviews. If they're offered to you DON'T SKIP IT, JUST GO. Even if you don't want the job, at least you'll get practice answering questions.
-Also, look at their job descriptions and start making up questions they think they'll ask you, and practice answering them. They typically ask, "so, why are you interested in this position?" "do you have experiences in these things?" and some will go through your resume and start asking "tell me more of what you did with ____(the things you did that's listed on resume)" Make the answers not too long, and sound really confident.
-Oh, and I got a lot of scenario questions, but one common one was "give me a time when you were in a situation where a frustrated person came, can you describe of that experience and how you handled that situation." First time I got that, I was like...umm, I can't really think of anyyyy....but I would treat it with calmness and patience... But don't be like me! Think of a scenario (even if it was something small, make it sound like it was a big deal!!!) and how you handled it professionally.
-When they ask a yes or no question, sound confident. They might ask "We expect you to be here for at least a year, is this something you can commit yourself to?" Answer, "Yes, definitely" then answering "yeah, mm hm, sure".
-Last but not least, don't fret if you don't get the job you interviewed for. I read this somewhere and I kind of liked it. It said that this person felt mad and depressed and just felt like quitting when she failed in interviews, but looking back to what she applied to, she's happy now that she didn't get it b/c they were jobs that she would have probably hated if she worked there. So if you didn't get the jobs you interviewed for, it's not your fault. It just probably means that a better fitting job will be waiting for you in the future. So keep looking and never give up!!!!
I have a lot more to say but I didn't wna bore you guys too much hahahaa~ Even if you didn't read any of these, I have 3 quick summaries here: NEVER GIVE UP, BE PERSISTENT and BE CONFIDENT.
-it's not a myth...you'll notice that degree won't really matter to a certain point when applying for jobs. Really, if you're not going into a specific field like engineering or into a medical field, then just major into something you'll truly like taking your time doing b/c you'll suffer completing your major requirements.
-what really REALLY becomes useful is the time you spend volunteering/internship/part-time job. Even if you only volunteered for a month or less, you can use that to elaborate your capabilities and skills. You can always make it sound like you were having the best time of your life doing it and that you've learned a lot from it blah blah. They'll be really impressed that you were exposed to what they want in you and just shows that you are capable of doing whatever it is that they're asking for.
-Cover letter when applying to a job is very very helpful. Just send it to them even if they don't require it. It'll catch their attention and will give you a call back more than if you just give them a resume. Just make sure they sound impressive and that you have a potential. Please please please revise. Go to career center. Give it to someone to proofread and make it sound like you're cool and skilled. I know you're cool and skilled but make it sound like that in paper.
-START APPLYING IN APRIL to get a job by June/July. Companies need more people during then. After you graduate, lot of jobs will be taken. Well, unless you're not planning to work until August or something. I learned this the hard way....sigh.
-when you do apply for jobs, apply in the morning. Literally wake up between 8-9am and sit in front of the computer until noon. If you think about it, most companies probably post job openings in the morning when they come into the office and will check their emails periodically. So the earlier you apply, the earlier the companies will look at your resume. Plus, your resume will be one of the first in their inbox so it's more likely for them to open it.
-and then, this only applied to craigslist for me, but check again for more job ads in the late afternoon, around 3pm ish. Again, if you think about it, some companies may post openings before they leave the office and expect some replies when they come into their office the next day. The trick to the late posting is to apply ASAP to try to take the earlier "spot" in their inbox, so they're more likely to read it. Some hiring guy was saying that they received over 400 replies by just posting the ad for 1 day, and imagine opening that much resumes...I would start skipping some emails if I were that person reading it...
-If you're the type who suck at interviews, which I was too, practice by going to ALL the interviews. If they're offered to you DON'T SKIP IT, JUST GO. Even if you don't want the job, at least you'll get practice answering questions.
-Also, look at their job descriptions and start making up questions they think they'll ask you, and practice answering them. They typically ask, "so, why are you interested in this position?" "do you have experiences in these things?" and some will go through your resume and start asking "tell me more of what you did with ____(the things you did that's listed on resume)" Make the answers not too long, and sound really confident.
-Oh, and I got a lot of scenario questions, but one common one was "give me a time when you were in a situation where a frustrated person came, can you describe of that experience and how you handled that situation." First time I got that, I was like...umm, I can't really think of anyyyy....but I would treat it with calmness and patience... But don't be like me! Think of a scenario (even if it was something small, make it sound like it was a big deal!!!) and how you handled it professionally.
-When they ask a yes or no question, sound confident. They might ask "We expect you to be here for at least a year, is this something you can commit yourself to?" Answer, "Yes, definitely" then answering "yeah, mm hm, sure".
-Last but not least, don't fret if you don't get the job you interviewed for. I read this somewhere and I kind of liked it. It said that this person felt mad and depressed and just felt like quitting when she failed in interviews, but looking back to what she applied to, she's happy now that she didn't get it b/c they were jobs that she would have probably hated if she worked there. So if you didn't get the jobs you interviewed for, it's not your fault. It just probably means that a better fitting job will be waiting for you in the future. So keep looking and never give up!!!!
I have a lot more to say but I didn't wna bore you guys too much hahahaa~ Even if you didn't read any of these, I have 3 quick summaries here: NEVER GIVE UP, BE PERSISTENT and BE CONFIDENT.
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