The Hiring Guru: Job Hunting Obstacles... Are You Prepared?

A great deal can be said for the oft-repeated motto of the Boy Scouts of America: Be Prepared. Every area of life benefits from meticulous preparation, the quest for landing a good job included.
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We're up to Truth Three of my Ten Truths for Candidates to help you succeed at interviewing and finding a career. So just to recap, Truth 1 is Your Decision Comes First. You've got to first decide that you are the only person for that job, you want it and you're going to get it. Truth 2 is A Good Resume Gets You In The Door. A professional resume with a good, personal cover letter is a must have -- hard copy or electronic. Now, preparation is crucial. Obvious right? Not necessarily.

Truth 3. Like A Boy Scout, Be Prepared

If you read last week, you got a little sneak preview of this topic. Facebook follies can be disastrous. Not scrubbing your online presence in preparation for an important interview would be ill advised. There will likely be obstacles to your getting the job already, why add more? Why not prepare in advance for barriers you can predict and overcome. A great deal can be said for the oft-repeated motto of the Boy Scouts of America: Be Prepared. Every area of life benefits from meticulous preparation, the quest for landing a good job included.

The statement be prepared is broad and should be used as such in your preparation. Think about all of the different areas in which you need to be knowledgeable while job-hunting, not only for the interview but also during the entire process. An advance in technology, the Internet, has affected this preparation greatly. When I hear about a new prospect, I Google his or her name to learn about the potential candidate, and then I check if that person has a Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn page. Other little precursory actions can be taken by them to discover the candidate they're really hiring. Don't be tripped-up by an interviewer doing a search regarding you, and lose a valuable opportunity.

Your online presence should be clean and positive. Because you enjoyed the A-Team movie doesn't mean you need "I pity the fool" as your status update while you're out job-hunting. Be aware, extremely aware, that someone will research you and may or may not think your presentation is unprofessional.

Doing your own Internet research on the company will prepare you for the questions about how you'd fit in with the prospective employer. Have specific examples of the way your experience has led you to being the perfect candidate for this opening.

All 10 Truths and more tips are in my book at www.thenakedinterview.com

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