The Phone is Ringing

This week at work I received more than the usual amount of unsolicited calls asking about job openings. This is a sure sign it's getting tough out there. If you're thinking about making these calls, do it! Have your professional voice on and be ready to fax or e-mail resumes as soon as possible.

I appreciate when people call me looking for jobs. If their background might match a possible future opening, I'll let them know I don't have anything now, but will keep their resume on file.
Check out my eHow article http://www.ehow.com/how_4847662_unsolicited-calls-potential-employers.html for more tips and suggestions. Good luck with your job search!

I've Earned 10 Cents!

My third eHow article just earned 10 cents! I know I shouldn't get excited over such a small amount, but maybe now the $$ will start rolling in. Soon I'll need a wheel barrow. Oh, wait. They won't even make a deposit into my account until I earn $10! Only need 100 x what I've got now. Good thing I have a good sense of humor about this.

Job Applicants Who Won't Even Get an Interview

My latest article for eHow is on "How to Apply for a Job" http://www.ehow.com/how_4835590_apply-job.html . While this may seem like a simple task and there should be no need to discuss it, you would be amazed at what I see. People come into the office to fill out applications wearing bright orange sweats and with greasy hair.

Others are rude to the receptionist or call me to see if they can fax their resume rather than come in. Nothing screams lazy like a request like that, especially since our offices are available 24/7.

Another fun applicant is the one that refuses to fill out the application until I meet with them. Yeah, I'll meet with you long enough to let you know not to waste my time or yours. If you're this particular during the application process, I definitely don't want you as a co-worker.

Even more fun is the applicant who calls each morning to see if I reviewed his resume yet. After the third time, it's in the shredder.

And I'm sorry, but the person who comes in wreaking of body odor, pot or alcohol definitely is not getting an interview!

Blood shot eyes and dilated pupils without a medical excuse aren't in the running either.

Yeah, we've seen it all and laughed. So the article is on eHow. Enjoy and good luck with the job hunting!

By the way, for some jobs, I do look past tattoos & piercings, but for some positions I can't. So before you tattoo or pierce, be careful where you put it. If you can't cover it, you're barring yourself from a good portion of the jobs available.

It Really Isn't You!

Are you getting discouraged about not being called back after interviews? Don't. As long as you are being professional and dressing nicely for the interview, it's not you, it's the job or the company's fault!

Last week I interviewing applicants for an inside sales position. We're looking for the specific ability to turn a query into a sale. Not very many people have this skill naturally and few can learn it.

Anyway, during the interviewing process, a really nice applicant (we'll call him Bob) came in. The guy is smart, appears dedicated and may be able to do the job basics, but doesn't have the sales experience. Unfortunately someone else came in with the qualifications we wanted and I'm very excited about the 2nd guy starting on Monday.

There's nothing wrong with Bob and I'll call him Monday and let him know that I'll keep his application in a folder in case we need someone with his abilities. Or, if I hear from a colleague that they need someone with his skills, I'll forward his information. Bob exemplifies the difficult part of my job -- finding someone you like but you don't have a place for them in your organization.

The moral to this story is that if you don't get a job after an interview, don't take it hard. The interviewer's job is to match the applicant with the job. In this case, Bob didn't meet all the qualifications, but he is still a great guy.

By the way, for more information on how to interview, check out my e-how article: http://www.ehow.com/how_4782875_prepare-job-interview.html