Needle, Meet Haystack

In this week’s question, we’ll be dealing with a couple of issues that can arise from sources not really mentioned in this classic post.

Dear Andrew:

I recently re-entered the job market, and have been looking through postings online for a while.  However, I have a few questions about some of the postings, and whether they are safe to respond to.

How important is it for the company name to be listed?  And what about the organization’s website?  Also, I haven’t been receiving many responses, except from organizations where my income would only be based on commissions.  Should I keep looking into those?

- Diving Back In

Well, I didn’t know that we had started using pseudonyms, but other than that, I think that you have raised some valid questions.  Here’s my take:

If a company can’t be bothered to put its name on its ads, that should be a red flag.  Why would they be ashamed of posting that they are hiring?  There’s no legal reason that they HAVE to say who they are or what they do, but considering that these posts are on public websites, they must be okay with many different people applying.  If someone will not even say what their company is, that is usually a bad sign.  Regardless of the copy in the post, don’t apply for it.  Or if you do, don’t spend much time on your application, and definitely don’t pin your hopes on it.

As for the website, provided a name is listed, it should be easy to find.  I can understand a bit of difficulty tracking down an “ACME Repairs” on Google, but a bit more info (like the city and state, or any other info in the ad that might help) can narrow down the search.  And if they are not even on the front page of the search results, that’s usually a bad sign.  It’s cheap to make a website, and it doesn’t take long to establish a web presence and make things look snazzy.  Hell, I’ve done it for myself.  Also note the quality of their website – depending on the industry that the company is in, this could also be a red flag – or a green light.

And I know that it wasn’t mentioned in the email, but if the person you’re supposed to send your application to has a generic email address on a non-corporate site (yahoo, gmail, aol, hotmail, etc), that MIGHT be a problem.  It goes back to the website thing – it’s cheap and easy to have corporate emails, so what’s the problem? – although in some cases, the email might be for a specific program or position at the company (like the one I submitted a few applications to that I told you about).  If you’re being asked to send your resume about an engineering job to [email protected], though, you might want to rethink it.

Finally, when it comes to commissions, it’s up to you.  I’m not a fan of working for free (the company takes no risk as they don’t have to give you ANYTHING if you fail) for low reward (commission percentages are usually not that great).  If you think you would excel at it and want to take the chance, go for it – but it’s an easy way for companies to make money – and for you not to.

Staring.  We’ve all done it, and people have done it to us.  Sometimes it’s because of something embarrassing, sometimes it’s because of attraction, and sometimes it’s just due to boredom.  But when you’re on an interview, you should never stare, even when you’re making eye contact.

Body language experts say that a proper amount of eye contact is 60% of the time.  But how can you judge this?  I usually keep eye contact for a few sentences, then let them drift somewhere nearby, to a picture on the wall, an item on a desk, or what have you.  In other words:

INTERVIEWER: So, why do you think you are right for this position?

INTERVIEWEE (Make eye contact as you begin): Well, from my blah blah blah while blah blah blah with blah blah blah and blah blah blah…

…and in conclusion, blah blah blah is why I would be a great asset to your company in this position.  (Keep eye contact for a second or two after this is over, then look away a bit)

The key here is that if you are looking away while talking, it gives off a signal that even you don’t believe what you’re saying, or at least are not interested in it.  And keeping your eyes on them for a couple of extra seconds is like a good bit of punctuation on your statement.  Please try to avoid the bug-eyes or hard stares though.

When looking at someone’s face, there’s a certain area you should look at.  Do you know where that is?

Not the forehead – that’s like you’re looking down at them.

Not the lips – that’s a signal of sexual interest (unless this is a date or something – then go for it!).

It’s the triangle made from the far corners of the eyebrows to the bottom of the nose.  Pow.  That’s your target zone.  Stick with that area and you won’t seem too pompous or unnecessarily flirty.

So remember: no staring for more than 60% of the time, and stick with the triangle, and you’ll be looking at a job offer in no time!

Today’s post will be a bit short because it’s a bit late, I’m tired, and laziness has taken over.  We’ll be covering something you should be doing in your resume: bullet points.

Why?  They make things look snazzy, and direct the eye in a pleasing way.  For example, here’s the first sentence of this post, in bullet form.

Today’s post will be a bit short because:

• It’s a bit late
• I’m tired
• Laziness has taken over

See?  Pretty easy to do (highlight and select the formatting), and makes things look more organized.  Use them along with action verbs to make your resume pop a bit more and get a little more attention.

By the way, please use them sparingly for job responsibilities and such only.  Too many of them looks tacky and undoes the effect.

And don’t shoot literal bullets through your resume either.  Unless it’s an old version.

You have to be ready for any questions you might get during an interview.  And while many of them can vary depending on the job, company and interviewer, there are a good number of questions that persist regardless of where you are and who you may be talking with.

Here’s a list of 50 of them, as well as some hints and suggestions on how to answer.  Please keep in mind that I do not endorse all of the advice on responses, but the list itself is worth reading.

50 Common Interview Q&A

In honor of birthdays and (more importantly) my most favorite food, today we’ll be talking about cake.  To paraphrase Greg Behrendt, just think about cake for a minute – it’s a miracle!  Honestly, if you don’t like cake, chances are that we are not friends.  Acquaintances, sure, but not friends.

Now, considering the new rush of cake-based TV in the form of Food Network’s Ace of Cakes (and all those cake challenges they have) and TLC’s Cake Boss, it’s an opportunity to look into the amazing world of cake.  So should you join in the fun?  Let’s find out…

The job: Cake Decorator

You might like this job if: You like cake.  And decorating.  Maybe you’re a fan of sculpture, or pastry, or fondant (whatever the hell that is), or you want a reality show.  Either way, your life should be consumed by cake.

The good: Cake!  How many ways can I friggin’ tell you?!  It’s cake!

The bad: You have to fill out some interesting requests.  Like this:

Or this:

And you have to be good.  It’s a lot of work to create some disposable art.  Plus you might not want to ever eat cake again.  And you have to admit, that might be the worst punishment of all.

Summary: Like cake and sculpting?  Enough to not eat cake ever again?  Okay with making some effed-up cakes?  If so, go for it!  Otherwise, just keep watching the Food Network and buying them.

Rating: Three Harry Potter Sorting Hat cakes out of five

Special thanks to my favorite cake blog, Cake Wrecks, for the awful cake pictures.

Wow, has it been two months already?  Well, in honor of this special day, here’s a list of the search terms you guys have used to find this site, spelling and syntax left as originally typed in.  And I must say, it’s nice that you all are diversifying from Mr. Potato Head, even if some of your searches are a bit…kinkier than I’d expected…

Search Views

hipster 26

food stylist 20

potatoe head 14

potato head 10

mister potato 7

mr potato head 7

mr potato 7

haute couture 4

how do i decide whether or not to take a 4

mr potato head hat 4

potato heads 3

mr. potato 3

michael jackson history book 2 3

potatoe 3

how to decide which job to take 2

card castle 2

michael jackson uniform 2

michael jackson sega genesis 2

the legend michael jackson 2

digital tvs 2

far side better work 2

picture of mr potato head 2

“potatoe head” 2

how to decide to take a job 2

hipster guy 2

jackson michael blog 2

mister potatohead 2

decide take job 2

hipster fashion 2

potate head 2

haystack potatoes in china 1

hipster model 1

mr. potato head original 1

mr. potatohead 1

mr. potato head 1

fancy clothes 1

mr potoato head 1

head 1

how to decide if you should take up the 1

how does digital tv work 1

potatohead 1

iconic michael jackson 1

whether to take a job 1

how to decide if i should take a job. 1

mr. potatoehead 1

making fashion jobs 1

haute-couture 1

mr potatoe head 1

restaurant chef 1

gaultier haute couture 1

So, I went for an interview today.  For a job.

Wait, I got an interview?  So I sort-of know what I’m talking about sometimes?

Yep.  And it went well, too!

So what did I do that helped things go well?

Besides pulling off what I thought was a decent handshake, I kept rapport with the interviewer, stayed on topic, used some stories and previous experiences to help support why the firm should hire me, and asked questions when the interview concluded.

I know that we’ve only covered one of those in any detail, but over the next few weeks, I’ll go over these topics with you.  But there’s one thing that I always do (and did today) that probably helped.

I talked with the receptionist.

If you want to get a good feel for the workplace environment, how smoothly things are run, and the type of people you’ll be working with, talk to the person at the front desk.  After all, the company has chosen this person to be the first representative that you see when you walk in the door.  And as they usually deal with a good number of other people in the office, seeing how they act around your potential co-workers and boss(es) is a great way to get a sense of the office culture.

You can talk about anything, though sticking with small talk and pleasant (and neutral) topics can help.  You don’t want to share details of last weekend’s debauchery, or that rash you’ve been getting on your armpit (unless you’re going to be working in the nightlife or dermatology industries), but rather things like music, the career field, something you’ve noticed about the office, and so on.

This also helps in three other ways: 1) your interviewer will see that you’re a social, pleasant person when they come to meet you (judging by how your conversation with the receptionist is going); 2) the receptionist may be the one filing your file, and would be more inclined to make sure it doesn’t go into the “put off unless we’re REALLY desperate for help” files; and 3) you can make a new friend!

This week’s question is a good one – how do you deal with employment gaps in your resume?

Dear Andrew,

I have been out of work for the past six months.  During that time, I have been looking for work.  However, I need to cover this period of time in my resume.  What do I do?

The answer to this question actually lies in what else you’ve been doing since losing your job.  If you’ve been volunteering, helping friends with their businesses, freelancing, working on your own business, or doing some other extracurricular activity, mention that!  It shows that you are well-rounded and don’t just sit around when you don’t have anything to do.

But if you have been just sitting around, filling out applications and doing nothing else?  It’s best to fess up.  In the current economic climate, many employers are sympathetic to potential new hires who have been scouring the job market for extended periods of time.  However, I strongly recommend picking up some other activity, as it never hurts to look busy.

So I was talking with a friend of mine a couple of weeks ago, and he lamented that he’s having trouble finding work because all of his previous work experience is unrelated.  Basically, he couldn’t convince places to hire him because his job history was too varied.  He would put whatever he could on his one resume and send it out.

What we did was create different resumes that highlighted different aspects of his past jobs, and nixed some of them from the list entirely.  Just because he had experience in construction, for example, didn’t mean that he had to put it on a resume for work at a marketing firm.

It’s easy to want to overcompensate and put all of your past work and experience on a resume.  However, you should make sure that you are only mentioning and highlighting the pertinent aspects of your old jobs.  My rule of thumb is nothing more than seven years old, but I’ve heard some people say ten.  Keep in mind that your resume should be no more than a page long.  And the rule of brevity and pertinent info is also true for your “special skills” section.

So what happened with my friend?  He changed his resume and just started at his new job this past Monday.

“Say, Andrew, didn’t you spend some time working for a body language expert?”

Why yes, hypothetical audience member who has spent way too much time stalking me on the Internet, I DID!  And so begins a new feature, “Body Language Basics,” where we will discuss some simple things you can do to kill it at your next interview, networking event, job fair or other employment-(or life-)related event!

So the handshake is simple, right?  Grab, shake, done.  Well, no.  If that was it, I wouldn’t be posting about it.

Basically, you need to be cautious of three things: pressure, angle, and time.  Here’s how to tell:

Pressure: Ever shook hands with someone and it went limp?  Or they gripped onto you and squoze so hard you thought your hand was going to fall off?  Both are bad – the limp one shows weakness, the crusher shows overconfidence and aggressive tendencies.  So what do you do?

If it’s a new boss, be a little weaker, but not too much.  It shows that you’re not gunning for their spot in the company (yet).  If it’s with a new subordinate, a tiny bit of extra pressure is fine.  And if it’s with a hiring manager, a firm grasp (think of the ideal handshake pressure – that’s usually just right) works great.

Angle: I hate when someone puts their hand in from an over-the-top angle like in an old movie where you then kiss the hand or something.  Don’t be that person!  Similarly, the angle on a good connection (thumbs cross over, hands form an almost “x” shape) can be a problem.

If you tilt your hand too much inwards (since you should be using your right hand, unless you don’t have one, I will skip more imagery here) it’s another sign of aggression.  Palm-out and away tilting gestures show that you’re ready to be someone’s bitch.  Unless it’s with someone who you want to show a sign of deference to (and even then, barely tilt outwards), never change the position from a straight-on angle.

Time: Don’t let the handshake go on forever, or cut off too quick!  A quick three pumps or so (one up-down move is a pump) should do it.   And move your hand away from theirs cleanly; don’t just drop your hand or let your fingers linger on theirs.  Both of those are just creepy.

So now that you know how to shake hands the right way, you’ll always be able to make a great first impression!

Provided your hands are washed, that is.