Enjoy the Interview!

Featured Guest Blogger: Shahrzad Arasteh

Job seekers are usually happy when they’re invited for an interview; many also say “I don’t enjoy interviewing!” If that sounds like you, let’s talk about how preparing well for the interview process and reframing how you think about it can make a positive difference.

Chances are by the time you schedule the in-person interview, you’ve had at least one phone (screening) interview. Remind yourself that you are being invited for the interview because the employer considers you a candidate for the position and is interested in learning more about you. As you prepare for this meeting, review any information you have about the position and organization. Think about skills, experiences, achievements, values, and qualities you have that are a good fit for this specific company and job (and, how this company and job are a fit for you!). I recommend writing them down so you can refer to them as you prepare, and adding actual examples that demonstrate each one. [Read more...]

How to Write a Resume: A Recruiter's Perspective

Matt Barcus

Featured Guest Blogger: Matt Barcus

Matt is the President of Precision Executive Search and has been specializing in the executive search and placement of civil engineers for almost 14 years.  He is also a Managing Partner of CivilEngineeringCentral.com, a niche job board, blog, and social networking community catering exclusively to the civil engineering industry.

Connect with Matt on LinkedIn.

When Anthony first asked me to write this blog I thought to myself, are there really professionals out there who need advice on how to write a resume? Then it occurred to me that many folks  have never even had to write a resume because they have never switched employers or they have always been able to secure a new gig as a result of business or personal relationships they have where no paper was needed.  Please keep in mind I am not an expert resume writer, but I have been recruiting civil engineers for almost 14 years now and I have seen thousands of civil engineering resumes…thousands! That being said, let me break it down for you in regards to some basic considerations that can make a great impact and increase your percentages to get an interview: [Read more...]

Congrats on Engineering Your Way through College: Now Try Finding A Job!

The engineering curriculum at many colleges is among the most tedious and time consuming of all majors.  While students in other majors can spend a portion of junior year and most of senior year “enjoying” their college lives, engineers are often up late at night in the labs and libraries working on design projects and research papers.  Isn’t it a great feeling to finally get that engineering degree on graduation day?  The question then becomes, where do I go now?

Guest blogger William Merunka touched on some similar points in his inspirational article last week, however I have had so many inquiries from graduates about their current situations that I felt this topic warranted another post.

The bottom line is that the economy is still in rough shape and most engineering companies are still not hiring, but that doesn’t mean you should give up at all.  There is a great quote by an unknown person that goes, “When you want your goal badly enough, feel the intensity of it, let it fuel your waking thoughts and actions, let it influence you in all ways possible and let nothing get in the way of achieving it.”  I keep that quote taped to my monitor and refer to it regularly for inspiration and motivation, and it works very well. [Read more...]