Before You Put out Your Resume Anywhere

910 Campisi Way, Suite 2D t: 1.408.343.0200 crawfordgroup.com Campbell, California 95008 f: 1.408.343.0900

Resume and Interview Tips & Tricks

Before you put out your resume anywhere:  Create/update your LinkedIn profile  Create a business appropriate email address  Leave a professional sounding voicemail on your home and cell phone  Do a clean sweep of your social media footprint, ensuring nothing is visible that will keep you from getting the job o What you say on social media and how you say it matters.  Google yourself and make sure no one else is saying damaging things about you  Keep it clean: If you will be expected to submit to a drug test, make sure you will pass

Pre-interview prep:  Do your homework on the company: research their website  Know their market position: are they the leader? 2nd? Promising up and comer? Trailing way behind?  Know (at a high level) what they do/what their products and solutions are/who they serve  Know where you will fit into their solutions for business problems  Come up with 5 good questions that prove to the interviewer that you’ve done your homework.

 A day or two prior, take a practice drive there or take the public transit you’d normally take during the same time as your planned interview. Gauge the traffic, distance, time to get there and determine the best route and have a Plan B route just in case.  Know how long your interview will last (approximately). If possible, try to arrange it during a time when you can be fully present and not rushed  Have your elevator pitch ready

Interview day:  Dress appropriately. If you don’t know what’s standardly acceptable, ask the person who is arranging the interview for guidance. If still in doubt, opt for business casual: A nice dress or skirt/shirt/jacket.  Cover visible tattoos, remove visible piercings  Avoid heavy perfume/cologne/body spray/hairspray  Know whom you’re meeting with, what building they’re in, the check in procedures to meet them, etc.  Arrive ten minutes prior (no more, no less). Be rested, well fed and not too full of caffeine.  Bring 5 copies of your current resume  Bring 5 copies of your references on a separate page. Make sure four of them are work related, and at least one of these is the person to whom you last reported.  Shake the interviewers’ hand with confidence, maintain eye contact.  If you’re nervous: Calmly fold your hands in your lap or place them casually by your sides and keep your feet planted neutrally on the floor. Breathe.  Don’t offer your opinion about off topics (politics, religion, and parenting. You never know where the interviewer stands on these and similar subjects.)  Ask the interviewer if you can take 2 minutes to relay the job as you understand it. This is your chance to hear their feedback, learn firsthand if anything’s shifted and then be able to address accordingly.  Take extra time to think before you respond. Listen well and make sure you actually answer the question that was asked of you. Avoid veering off topic. Answer truthfully, have a point and make it: Offer 2-3 shining examples in response, and then stop talking.  Don’t talk over the interviewer.  Be prepared for some behavioral interview questions: These are subjective-response questions (Example: If you were stuck on a deserted island and could bring only 10 things, what would you bring?) Don’t laugh or look clueless. These questions are designed not for accuracy, but to gauge how you react when you’re thrown off guard. Start by saying, “That’s a really interesting question….” and then give your most confident, true-to-you response.  Next steps: Ask openly how you fare against other candidates in consideration. Ask what the next steps will be in the interviewing process. Get a sense of their time to hire.  Thank the person for their time and interest in you.

Post interview:  Get the interviewers’ business card; send an email thank you to each interviewer that same day.  If you’ve been working with a Recruiter, HR representative or an Administrator, send an email thank you to each person.  If you have a sense of their time to hire and its past that date, call the Recruiter or HR rep and ask for an update. Don’t fall off their radar, but also don’t be a pest (wait a day for a response.)

crawfordgroup.com 910 Campisi Way, Suite 2D, Campbell, California 95008 t:1.408.343.0200 f: 1.408.343.0900