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From: Rob Williams,  Internet Strategist

Emurse.com has been a very useful resource for me. Having a clean place to post my resume with an easy to remember web address is very convenient! There’s been times I’ve met someone and could give them my resume by sending them to my Emurse page. I’ve gotten feedback from others who think it is a “great website — very slick”. It’s a cinch to update, create, and allow others to download it in any format they choose.

It’s been one of my top go-to websites for job hunting!

Alex,

I thought I would take a moment to provide some positive feedback to your resume creation service. I haven’t created a resume in nearly three years, and a college student like myself must squeeze every bit of credibility possible into a few short pages. Your website worked wonders, and I created a stunning resume - as stunning as my experience and education would truthfully allow - in less than an hour.

My thanks for a wonderful service. It sure beats manual editing or searching for templates.

-Shann C.

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Begin with an evaluation of your values, interests, skills, accomplishments, experience, and goals. This will help mold your resume to get a job that is satisfying and fun. In addition, if your values, skills, accomplishments, experience and goals are broad but could be grouped together, create more than one resume tailored to each group/industry or for specific job(s). Values make up things such as job security, working as part of a team, working independently, making a contribution, etc. Interests make up areas that arouse your attention or enthusiasm, they’re closely related to values and frequently trigger skill development. Skills are things you do well, including handling problems or tasks. Recognize your skills verbally and in writing, while keeping in mind that transferable skills are key ingredients (these are skills which are marketable to a wide variety of work). Describe these skills in concise, unambiguous terms. Also, behavioral traits are how you handle work assignments. Employers sometime like to ask how you handle stress or work under pressure. Be prepared with these behavioral traits for potential employers (usually just verbally).

Next, research employers and career options that match your values, interests and skills. Determine some career options you are most passionate about. To help narrow your career options, review job postings and see what interests you. Another way to determine your options and objectives is to figure out what job titles you want to pursue, what kind of employer you want to pursue, and a geographical location you want to work. You can also ask other people about their careers or jobs this is called Informational Interviewing. Information interviewing is a way to investigate a specific career field, assist in narrowing options, obtaining advice, learning the jargon, and broadening your network of contacts for future reference. It can also create a strategy for entering your field of interest. When researching employers use resources such as annual reports, directories, trade associations, newspapers, fellow professionals, competitors, public documents, and research executives. Also, attending career fairs is a great way to research employers and career options. What you’ll gain from career fairs is hiring trends, skills necessary for different jobs, current/future openings, salary, benefits, training, and other information about the organization, and who to contact for follow-up discussions.

Once you’ve determined your career options, target those related employers and job listings with a resume tailored to each employer or job listing. Emurse is a tool designed to help you create and maintain multiple resumes and will make the task super easy. In addition, include a cover letter tailored to these employers or job listings, briefly highlighting your skills, values, and interests related to the job and employer. Contact the employer directly by email or mail with your resume and cover letter, followed by a phone call.

Continue job searching online and in print (newspapers, newsletters, etc.). As far as online job searching, jobs.emurse.com is a good start. The hidden job market is another great place to pursue (these are positions that are not advertised). This is done by contacting companies that match your values, interests, and skills. Contact them by sending your cover letter and resume to the human resource department, managers and through your network. Your cover letter and resume again should be tailored to the employer and your related career/interest. The other hidden job market is through networking with friends, family, classmates, professors, business associates, neighbors, etc. These individuals are people that can give you an inside edge to your interested industry. Stress that their job is not to find you employment, but to help you collect information or carry out certain tasks.

Apply for employment and send your resume and cover letter to the person who has the power to hire you. Document all the job listings and employers you contact. Be detailed with what you send, when, to whom, any notes related to the employer, and the job listing you replied to. This helps when a potential employer contacts you, you will have reference material you can look back on. Emurse has a great documentation feature (it’s under Resume >> Distribution function).

Hopefully with the combination from above you will be contacted by an employer for an interview. Be prepared to ask questions yourself about the position, ask how you would carry out responsibilities of the position, and discuss how you have been of value to other employers. Inquire about the qualifications for the position and then discuss how you can meet those criteria. After having enough information about the position, determine what your salary requirements are (employers sometimes ask to be sure you’re in the same ball park). After your interview send a thank you letter, and follow up with a phone call if you have not heard back within a week.

If things went well with the job interview then you may be offered the position, take your time to decide if this is the right fit for you (no more than a week usually). There may be situations where you want to be sure the salary is up to industry standards, or your own standards (don’t forget to include benefits). Also, while you’re thinking about accepting, another job offer may come in. On the other hand, if you were rejected from a position, send a polite thank you letter, and let them know you would like to be considered for future positions (include a brief statement of your employment value and how it can be of use to the employer).

Save all your receipts from things like employment and outplacement agency fees, resume services, printing and mailing costs of search letters, want-ad placement fees, telephone calls, travel expenses, including out-of-tow job-hunting trips, because these are all tax-deductible.

Be persistent! Finding a job is a full time job, so don’t get discouraged, and just keep at it! Don’t cut corners; spend adequate time on each job listing or employer. Have goals, be flexible and be prepared to pursue alternate options. Remember, employers are only looking out for themselves and specifically how the company can prosper as a business. Begin this process immediately, and don’t wait; getting hired takes some time!

We’ll start with leaving on your own terms:

• It is typical in most organizations to give two weeks notice. However, there are some circumstances where one month or less than two weeks is appropriate. Managers usually give one month notice, and two weeks notice is given for entry level positions.
  Do not quit on a whim, it will harm your cause in the future. Prospective employers sometimes ask why did you leave your previous position? You never want to be in a position where you speak negatively about your previous employer.
• Do not burn any bridges, which means on your last day, don’t tell the Vice President how you feel about him. Hopefully, you’ll be leaving a job where you’ve done a good job. If that’s the case, you may want to send a thank you email or thank you card to your colleagues that you feel made you a better employee. Even saying thank you in person with a firm handshake and meaning it, makes a world of difference. Do not tell any co-workers how much you hate this or you hate that about the company, because it could get back to those you may later need as reference. You don’t want to ruin existing good connections you might need later.
• Ask those people you have good connections with if you can use them as a reference and get their full contact information (name, email, address, and phone number). It’s suggested these people be supervisors and managers, but co-workers will work also. Some companies do not allow using supervisors or managers as a reference instead you can usually use an individual from the Human Resources department as the reference (again be sure to inform them). Remember to get any business contacts and phone numbers to stay in touch or for future networking purposes.
• Within your two weeks take any belongings you may have, and clean up your area the best you can.
• Communicate to your team, supervisors, managers any email correspondence you can, or any phone correspondence, and the status of your tasks. Finish as many of your tasks as possible in the time allotted.
• Assuming you already have a job lined up you should be all set. On the other hand if you don’t have a job, you should have your resume updated and you should begin networking through friends or colleagues and let them know you’re searching. Begin applying immediately, for getting hired sometimes takes some time.

Now leaving a job where you are fired or laid off is a different story and requires a much different approach.

• Do not get hasty and do something irrational, such as telling the Vice President something you may regret later. No need to burn bridges, you may need their resources or references in the near future.
• Tell them “thank you” for the opportunity and experience (with the most sincere smile possible).
• Ask if this decision is performance based or a financial decision. If it’s performance based ask them what specific things you could have improved upon. If you have solid reason why you were not fulfilling your responsibilities completely, let them know politely. Listen to these criticisms and learn from them. If this is a financial decision, then are you willing to take a pay cut for the opportunity and experience, if so let them know. Otherwise tell them thank you and if anything changes financially you’d like to be contacted to come back, you enjoyed working with everyone and you enjoyed your responsibilities.
• As soon as you leave, begin contacting and using your network of friends, colleagues and anyone else and let them know of your employment status. Let them know you’re looking, and you’ll send them your updated resume as soon as possible.
• Update your resume immediately. Job searching sometimes takes longer than you expect, which means begin applying to jobs as soon as you can.

No matter what your situation; laid off, fired or quitting, remember not to ruin any relationships, burn any bridges or hurt anyone’s feelings. You might need their resources, reference or help in some form or fashion in the near future.

Having an updated resume on file is always very helpful; Emurse is a great resource to easily do that for you.

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In addition to our article on standard interview questions, this article aims to help increase your awareness and ability to ace any interview thrown your way. Just because these questions are illegal, it doesn’t mean that they won’t be asked in an interview. After this primer, you’ll be aware of what you don’t have to answer.

What Makes an Interview Question Illegal?

For the most part, common social graces dictate the legality of an interview question. Any information that can be used for discriminatory practices would be defined as illegal. From the interviewers point of view, these questions should be avoided not only for their legality, but also for liability reasons (not to mention poor taste). From the interviewees perspective, know that you do not have to answer the question.

Keep in mind that most illegal questions are asked simply out of ignorance of the law. Outside of the workplace, many illegal job interview questions would seem like small talk. In our hyper-sensitive culture however, they can be used as proof of discrimination. Fortunately though, if you are truly discriminated against with illegal questions, you are covered under U.S. law.

Illegal Interview Questions

• “Are you married?” or “Is that your maiden name?”
• “Where did you grow up?” or “Where were you born?”
• “What did your parents do for a living?”
• “How old are you?”
• “Do you have children?” or “Are you planning on having children?”
• “Are you in the military?”
• “Do you observe [insert religious holiday here]?”
• Any questioning of disabilities (”Can you use your legs?”)

How to Respond to an Illegal Interview Question

If you feel comfortable enough, you can respond to the intent of the question. “Were you born in the United States?” can be met with “I am authorized to work in the United States”. If the questioning persists, ask yourself whether or not you would want to work in that kind of environment to begin with.

Who do I complain to about Illegal Interview Questions?

If you feel you’ve been discriminated against while job hunting, you can file a claim with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) by contacting a lawyer or your local EEOC office.

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