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.

Based on your research (online, through your network, using professional and business publications, etc.), what needs and opportunities does the company currently have? How can you help them effectively address these? Paying attention to the culture of the company and your industry is also important. Understanding the company or team’s culture and language will allow you to speak and interact with them in a way that fits their specific environment and will be familiar to them (and still reflects who you are as a professional).

For me, one of the most important things to keep in mind is that the interview is really a conversation. Approach it as an opportunity to engage in interesting, meaningful, and mutually respectful conversation. Relax (while remaining engaged and professional) and enjoy the exchange, and chances are the interviewer will as well. Do know in advance what’s important for them to know about you and what you’d bring to the organization? Look for opportunities to share/demonstrate these points during your meeting. Listen (actively and fully) when the interviewer speaks. Be aware of body language, tone, etc. too (theirs, and yours).

Of course, depending on your field and the type of interview the employer is conducting, other factors can come into play. Yes, you’ll want to have specific examples that will support the qualities and skills you state you have (and behavioral interview questions, which are pretty standard now, ask for this). Yes, you may be tested on specific skills and knowledge required for the position, or face a stress interview. However, a major part of the interview is almost always the focused conversation between you and the interviewer. Approach it as an opportunity to be a gracious guest in their “home,” to learn more about what matters to them and share how you may be helpful. You have skills and qualities that will help them with their needs and goals. They obviously have an interest in learning about these (or you wouldn’t be sitting in their office). Enjoy the collaborative, enthusiastic, and purposeful conversation that may lead to your next position! Then leave them impressed with your interpersonal, as well as professional, skills and already looking forward to the possibility of working with you. (Remember to send a thank you note!)

Please share any strategies that you have found to be helpful during job interviews.

Copyright © 2011. Shahrzad Arasteh. Printed with permission.

Shahrzad Arasteh is a holistic career counselor and trainer, and founder of Career Consulting Services (http://www.careerconsultmd.com). She provides training and career and professional development services to individuals, groups, and organizations; particularly those that are interested in making a positive and meaningful difference. Her areas of interest and specialization include career exploration and transition, assessment, effective career search planning and strategy, meaningful/encore careers, and social media for job search and career management.

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:

Reflect

• Do not just rush and slap something together. Sit down and bullet point the details of your current and past roles, dates, associations and memberships, publications and speaking events, awards, certifications and licenses, your current and past successes and accomplishments, your current and past projects, etc.
• Be resourceful. Gather the information that is found on your corporate resume when submitting proposals or Statements of Qualifications – this will save you lots of time.
• Be specific when it comes to noting your roles and your accomplishments. If you were directly responsible for generating a certain amount of revenue, note that revenue.  If you increased revenue year-over-year, note that percentage.  If a department or division grew under your leadership not only from a financial perspective, but from an employee perspective, note that.  Note utilization rates, profit margins, size of projects worked on,etc…numbers speak loud and clear.
• Do you have a life outside of work? I am a big fan of including activities as well at the end of your resume.  Whether its biking, guitar, rock climbing, volunteering, etc – they are all good ice breaking conversation starters and they show that you do indeed have a life outside of work.

Now that you’ve got all you need in front of you, it’s time to put it together.

Content / Length

• The one or two page resume is overrated. I’ve submitted 18 page resumes before with no complaints from my clients.  Now, if you’ve got 5 years of experience, 18 pages may be overkill; but if you’ve got 20 years of experience you can probably get away with it ( a combined chronological / project resume, that is).  Don’t be afraid to pack your resume with as much relevant information as possible – you can always trim it down.
• Chronological resume. This type of resume should have bullet points and/or short paragraphs and be to the point
• Corporate biographical / project resume. This style is more descriptive when it comes to the details of projects worked on, and is therefore more lengthy, but can often be used in lieu of a chronological resume.
• My personal preference.  Send a chronological resume that highlights your accomplishments and responsibilities, with a high level overview of your areas of expertise.  Attach an addendum that includes a list of some of the more prominent projects that you have worked on detailing the projects and the role that you had on them.

The hard part is over – you’ve got everything you want on your resume, now it’s time to pretty it up a bit.  There are dozens of templates that you can find on MS Word or on the internet, some work and look better than others, but try one that speaks to you.  Once you’ve selected the desired template it’s time to adjust the formatting in a way that comes across as professional and well thought out.

Formatting

• Spacing. Mix it up a bit.  Single space between bullet points or if you are writing in paragraph form, double space between different sections.
• Bold & Italics. It’s much easier on the eyes if you use bold and italics throughout your resume to differentiate between sections, titles, employers, etc.  For example, put the company name in bold, and then directly underneath you may want to put your title in italics. 
• Fonts. Most word processing programs give you dozens of fonts to choose from.  Unless you you are an artist or a graphic designer, stick to the simple ones – Verdana, Georgia, Calibri, and Times New Roman.

Talking about resume writing gets my juices flowing into discussions of the actual job search and the interviewing process, but I will save that for another day as I try to stay to the task that what was put before me!  That being said, I have a couple final tidbits that I would like to throw out there for you:

• Resume writing services. If you are not confident in your ability to put together a resume that will rise to the top of the pile, hire a professional resume writer that will accurately portray your career in a nicely formatted form.
• Cover letter. One is usually not necessary if working through  an executive search consultant, but if you are applying on your own be sure to include one that is simple, straight forward, enthusiastic, and that is specific the company you are applying to.
• Smoke & Mirrors. Save them for David Copperfield.  No need to hide the year you graduated, the job you had for 9 months, or  the job you got fired from, and no need to embellish.  Just be honest. Enough said.
• Make it easy on yourself. From this point forward, regularly update your resume and project list so should you be in the situation again where you need to search for a new opportunity, you will be ready to rock-and-roll.

There are many factors that can result in your ability to get an interview.  But having a poorly written resume can knock you out of contention before you even give yourself a chance…so take the time to do it right, and give yourself a chance!

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.

I understand that being a graduate and having “nowhere to turn” with respect to a career in your field can be extremely frustrating, but it also might provide an opportunity for other things.  There have been several discussions on LinkedIn and other sites about what to do while unemployed.  Here are a few that I would like to offer.  Please note some of these may or not be financially affordable at the time, but I am throwing out everything I have:

• Use some of this time to travel to places you have always wanted to go or visit family or friends,
• Spend some extra time with your children because you never know when a job may come along and how demanding it will be,
• Spend some time in the local libraries reading career advancement and personal development books to get ahead, or read books that you have always wanted to read purely for enjoyment,
• Look for career advancement courses at your local library (these are usually FREE),
• Stay up to date on your industry through websites, blogs, magazines, etc.,
• Attend networking events wherever and whenever you can.  There are usually fairly low cost events through the local chamber of commerce.
• Improve upon your public speaking and presenting skills through taking a course, joining a Toastmasters chapter or reading books on those topics.  These skills are so critical to career advancement and will help during the interviewing process.
• Spend time thinking of skills that set you apart from others, that you can discuss in your interviews.
• If you do take a temporary job outside of your industry (absolutely nothing wrong with doing this), look to improve skills on the job that will apply to a job in your industry, i.e. people skills.
• Improve your writing skills in any way possible as writing is so important in our world yet so underrated.  Some of the e-mails I have seen go out…..ughhhh!

Whatever you do, don’t give up and don’t compromise your true passions.  The job you want is out there and you are on the path to finding it.  The path isn’t always flat and straight, but no matter what path you have stumbled upon, there is opportunity in it somewhere, you just have to find it.

All of that hard work in college will pay off.

Happy Trails!

Please feel free to comment and leave any other helpful tips for those looking to find a job right now.

Anthony Fasano, P.E., LEED AP, CPESC, CPSWQ, CPC

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