of people. If you're not too keen on getting back to the
grind, here are 40 ways to put the nail in your career
coffin.
1-Wrong tweets
Be careful what you put out into the universe my
friends… it will return to haunt you. Twitter is an
excellent way to let people know you are searching
for a job - and what you are qualified for. Use Twitter
as a way to draw GOOD attention to your profile from
employers, not bad.
2-Posting photos that would make your
grandmother cringe.
"A recent
survey by
Vault.com
found that
44% of
employers
use social
networking sites to snoop the profiles of job
candidates" (foxbusiness.com). Uuuuhhhh, oops.
For every 10 jobs you apply for, at least four
employers are seeking out your online persona. This
may occur right when they receive a resume, when
they select their interview candidates, or after the
interview.
Need to do some online damage control? Start
with these small steps:
Ask friends NOT to tag you in photos. If you are
tagged in an inappropriate photo, remove it.
Move your account settings to private. 10 Privacy
Setting Every Facebook User Should Know
Google your own name to see what comes up. If you
find things that could be harmful to your future
employment do the best you can to get them
removed from the site. Career Development
Transforms into Personal Branding
These 3 small steps can make a big difference in
preserving your reputation and landing you that job.
3-Using an Email Address that Screams "Don't
Take me Seriously."
Similar to what has been stated above, the need for a
professional email address is a must when job
searching.
It's time to say goodbye to partylikearockstar@
email.com and say hello to janesmith@email.com.
For many of the same reasons stated above, a
professional email address shows you are serious
about your career future.
4-Skipping the small stuff. That's what spell
check is for, right?
Spelling and grammatical errors also topped the list
in terms of what will knock you out of the running…
even for an interview. In this tight job market, if your
resume is not 100% error-free, your chances of
getting an interview drop drastically.
Be sure to check and recheck your resume for
spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors. It's
also important to list your dates correctly (in order of
present to past) while being sure the layout is
consistent, easy-to-read and professional.
5-Only Applying to One Company Because you will Only Settle for the Best
The average job seeker is submitting anywhere from
10 to 20 resumes per week! Ideally, you should be
finding two to three jobs per day worth applying for.
The jobs that you pursue do not have to be "the
perfect job" or one that fits all your qualifications or
skills.
Sending out one resume per week will not get you the
results you desire. The more you apply, the more
chances you have to get an interview. The more you
interview, the more chances you have of getting an
offer. Offers = jobs! Utilize your connections, seek
out networking opportunities and get your resume out
there!
6-Looking at the Same Job Sites and Expecting
Different Results
Limiting yourself to only searching a few big online
career sites is really limiting your chances of finding
viable job leads. In fact, only using these searches
limits your chances.
7-Using an awful naija hip hop " Ring back tone or
Voicmail Message that Tells Your Future
Employers to "Holla at 'Ya"
When an employer calls you to set up an interview
the last thing they want to hear is "Baby Got Back."
Trust me. When you are applying for positions
PLEASE take the ring back OFF your phone.
An employer would much rather hear the old-
fashioned ringing of a phone instead of the latest
Top-40, Hip Hop, or R&B hit. Also, be sure your
voicemail is short, concise and professional.
Use this as a script: "Hello! You have reached the
voicemail of Jane Smith. I am currently unavailable
but please leave me a message and I will return your
call as soon as I can. Thank you and have a great
day". Now doesn't that sound better than "I know
who you called so say what you called to say"?? I
think so…
8-Not Following up after Sending your Resume.
There are about one million different things that
could happen to your resume after it leaves your
hands or computer. It could get lost in the mail, lost
in cyberspace, orwarded to the wrong person, land in
a junk mail folder, or even eaten by a printer.
For all these reasons, and 999,994 more, it's very
important you follow up after you send your resume.
A simple phone call or email stating, "Good
morning, I sent my resume to you on Monday for the
accounting clerk position; I'm calling to make sure it
has been received" is a perfect example of how you
can follow up!
If you are applying via online application you will
want to call the HR department and say something
like, "Hello, I filled out the online application for the
Pharmacy Technician position on Monday. Could
you tell me the status of that application? I want to be
sure it was submitted correctly". This will ensure your
resume made it to the Hiring Manager safe and
sound.
9-Keeping your Resume Hidden
Keeping your resume all to yourself is just silly! Make
it perfect, then make it viewable. The more people
that can view your resume online the better - you can
opt to leave your phone number and address off if you
are worried about having that information online.
Do provide an email address or LinkedIn address
where the employer can contact you if they are
interested in your skills. Having good key words is
key - so look up some job descriptions and include
those words in your resume… as long as you know
what they mean.
10-Ignoring newspapers altogether, only old
people read them anyway.
While there may be less job postings printed these
days, there are still great reasons to read the paper.
Take time to review the Business section of your local
newspaper - what businesses are coming into town?
What businesses are leaving your town? Who got
promoted (leaving a job opening)? Who is
expanding?
All of these are insights into the future of the job
market in your city… or whichever city's newspaper
you choose to read!
11-Preparing for an interview the same way you
would get ready to go for an ordinary visit .
You have no resume, you have no portfolio, you are
underdressed and you ran out of time to brush your
teeth. Yikes. This is not a good way to start an
interview. Yes, there may be times when you get a
call at 2 pm and the interviewer would like to see you
at 3 pm. If this is the case, do the best you can to look
the part and try to gather as much of your materials
as you can.
Being well-dressed and looking great is the top
priority. Have your portfolio and resume ready to go
at all times. Company research in this case may be
difficult to do, but do the best you can. As you apply
for jobs, take a moment to jot down three to five
things about the company by searching its website.
Keep these notes in your portfolio to reference during
an interview.
Worst case scenario, ask the interviewer for an extra
half hour or see if there is another day you can meet.
This is really a last resort…but can be used if needed.
12-Why research them? They want to hire me,
not vice versa.
"What do you know about our company?" Don't let
this question catch you off guard. Take 10 minutes to
get on the company website and find three to five
easy-to-remember facts.
For example, I interviewed at ING in Des Moines, IA
quite a few years ago. When they asked me what I
knew about the company I stated, "Well, as an avid
runner I know that ING sponsors the New York
Marathon." DING DING DING! He said that is the
first time anyone had said that to him!
Finding something that interests you about the
company is a great way to ensure you will remember
it in the interview.
13-Believing there is such a thing as
"fashionably late" for a job interview(African time)
After polling staff, faculty, family and friends, this
was by far one of the No. 1 reasons. In fact, in a
Vault.com survey, 30% of employers stated a
candidate "only needs to be 15 minutes late to be
disqualified for a job." A shocking 12% said a
candidate only needs to be 5 minutes late to
disqualify them!
14-Not asking questions because you know
"everything" already. Duh...
82% of employers stated it is "extremely important"
for a candidate to ask questions during an interview,
according to a Vault.com survey. Many times your
chance to ask questions will come at the end of the
interview.
Come prepared with five to 10 questions ahead of
time - type them out, and take the list with you to
reference. You may only want to ask two or three, but
chances are many of the questions you have on your
list will be covered before you get the chance to ask.
Here are some good samples: "Could you tell me
about the training program for this position?" "What
company do you feel is your biggest competition?"
"How did you get started in this industry?" "Is this an
addition to the team, or a new position?" Asking
questions re-affirms your interest in the position and
shows you have prepared for the interview
adequately.
15-Talking trash about your "lazy boss" or your
"worthless coworkers" because you will never
see those losers again.
It's certainly possible that your last boss was "the
worst boss on earth" or that the last company you
worked for "failed miserably," but it's best to keep
that to yourself. This goes for before, during and after
the interview. (We'll discuss your online persona in a
moment).
When asked why you left your last position remain
calm, diplomatic and professional, "It turned out not
to be the position I expected" will suffice, or "I
wanted to move on to a more challenging/more
rewarding/more stable career field" would also do.
16-Avoiding Eye Contact Because You Don't
Want to "Stare"
Remember growing up and you tried to lie to your
parents and they always knew you were lying
because you didn't look at them? Or remember sitting
in History 101 in college and the professor called on
the students who were looking out the window?
These are two very good examples of times when you
should have had eye contact with the person you
were speaking with. It is also important to maintain
good eye contact with your interviewer; this will
show you are interested and engaged in the process…
and telling the truth.
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in comments are
those of the comment writers alone and does not
reflect or represent the views of Somayina.
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