- Job Search Tip of the Week, by Brian Krueger, author of "College Grad Job Hunter," the #1 book for entry level job search:
"Don't Commit One Of The Worst Interview Sins"
One of the worst "sins" an interviewee can commit is to speak in
generalities rather than specifics. It is not enough to say, "I'm a
very goal-oriented person." You have to back it up with specifics.
For example: "I'm a very goal-oriented person. In fact, I regularly
update a list of personal and business goals with specific time
frames. Since I started keeping this goal list three years ago,
I've successfully reached or surpassed over 90 percent of these
goals. I'm confident that the other 10 percent are also within
reach in the coming year."
If you are prone to using generalities, a sharp interviewer will
usually follow with the behavioral question "Can you give me a
specific example?" So beware! In fact, a favorite dual interview
question of mine is: "Do you consider yourself to be goal
oriented?" (which to date has been answered 100 percent of the time
with "Yes"), followed by: "Can you give me a specific example?"
It's amazing how many people could not answer the second question
or (worse yet) attempted to lie their way past it. The best answers
came from those who did not even need the prompting of my second
question, but gave specifics in response to my initial question.
That is what a good interviewer will be seeking.
An important aspect of being specific is to use the quantitative
approach. Don't just say, "I increased productivity." Instead use,
"I increased staff meeting productivity 25 percent in one year
within our department by implementing a videoconferencing system
for participants at our other location on campus, thereby reducing
travel time. And as a by-product of this focus on the needs of our
employees, meeting attendance is up over 10 percent. In fact, the
videoconferencing system was showcased in the August newsletter.
Let me show you a copy."
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There are at least two other entry level Web sites that offer books on job searching, proclaming that they will tell you everything you need to know about entry level job search.
However, there is a very important point about these books they don't mention up front: they cost money.
At CollegeGrad.com, we give you two things they don't:
1. The #1 entry level job search book ("College Grad Job Hunter"). 2. It's free.
It's that simple. So don't buy the hype. Read the real information you need for FREE:
Don't ever pay for books or reports or resources of lower quality when you can access the very best quality information for free.
P.S. Yes, you can buy "College Grad Job Hunter" in hardcopy format as well at Amazon.com for $15 (actually, 30% off that price), but the online version is better. Why? Because the version at Amazon.com (the 2003 edition) is being continually updated at CollegeGrad.com. So the most current version of the book is actually the online, free version.