WHAT IS AN INFORMATION INTERVIEW

Boring, you can’t bear another day going into your job.  You thought you were a salesman but hate cold calls.  Graduation day is approaching and you don’t know what to do.  Now is the time to set up some Information Interviews.

An Information Interview is just what its name implies.  It is a way for you to find out information about different types of jobs and companies.

Your first step is to:

1. Make a list of companies and jobs you think you might like.
2. Research these companies and job types, both through their webpages and through job search engines like Workopolis and Monster.
3. Make a list of questions about the companies and the different positions they have

 

Networking is your next step:

1. Ask people you know who work for these companies if they could recommend someone you could go and talk to about the company and types of jobs
2. Look around your community.  If you are thinking about banking then the bank manager is a great person to talk to or he/she may be able to recommend someone in head office that would be helpful
3. Sports teams and gyms are great places to network.  Right away you have something in common so ask them who they work for and how they got started.
4. Coffee shops, if there is a specific company you are interested in, yes go and hang around the closest coffee shop to their office.  Strike up a conversation
5. LinkedIn is a great place to find people who work for specific companies. Ask to connect with them and then follow their updates.  LinkedIn Groups are also a great way to find out about different things that are going on in your field and to connect with people with the same interests.

It is important to remember that this is an Information Interview not a Job Interview.  So you are the one asking the questions, you are in control.  Break your interview into 4 parts:

1. A brief introduction of yourself:  your education, your achievements and your interests.  This gives the person you are interviewing an idea of your skills and how they will relate to different positions in their company.  Explain to them you are trying to get into a new field or have just graduated.  Tell him “I really don’t like doing cold calls”, “I love working with numbers”, “I have a real interest in people”, etc.
2. Next would come questions about the company:  trends, challenges, organization, etc.
3. Specifics about particular jobs will be the most detailed part of the interview:
   1. what training is required
   2. what type of things would be done in a typical day
   3. what do you enjoy most/least about your job

4.  Finally a thank you for their time and ask if they can recommend/refer anyone that may be able to help you in your job search/analysis

 

This person is doing you a favour so remember:

1. Be punctual
2. Be prepared
3. Be polite
4. Bring a resume but DO NOT give it to them unless they ask you for one.
5. Dress professionally
6. Don’t waste their time

Finally as with anything in life, this person has done you a service and set aside some of their time to help you so remember to send a Thank You Note as soon as possible after the interview.  And don’t forget to add them to your network on your social media sites.

 

 Good Luck job huntingLynne Carlson started her career off in administration, moved to Cobol Programming and for the last 14 years worked in all things recruitment.  Absolutely loves social media and excited about all the new innovations appearing every day!

Job Tips

#JobTips: Please don’t use grey for the font colour of your #resume, it is very hard to read.  Stick with black

 

Job Tips

#JobTip:  Don’t get fancy with your names. Just vetted a resume where they had “Qualifications in Action” for their “Professional Experience”

 

The next industrial revolution – The Conclusion

This week, the P4Capital team continues it’s discussion into the Next Industrial Revolution.

Stay tuned.

Job Tips

#JobTip: Keep your exp in rev chronological order. Don’t sort it by categories. If the 1st page has a big discrepancy in yrs, I’ll toss it.

 

Ping Pong Diplomacy – Round One COMPLETE

Ping Pong Diplomacy ROUND ONE

Forrest Gump Protege James Ashley Lou Jeremy Jim Nadine Rose King Pong Justin Harnoor Andre Andrew Archana Mary Grace Shaheerah Match One Match Two Match Three Match Four Match Five Match Six Match Seven Match Eight

Stay tuned for ROUND TWO starting Tomorrow

Job Tips

#JobTip: Some other words that you don’t normally #pluralize are: training, management, documentation

 

How are jobs and careers changing in the Digital Age?

Welcome to a new edition of the P4Digital Round Tables!

Digital marketing is changing the face and infrastructure of the world. The job of recruiting is not exempt from this. This week, the P4Digital executive team examines how their jobs are changing in this new age.

Stay tuned and enjoy

Transcript

Job Tips

Don’t break your #resume into types of jobs. Put your positions in reverse chronological order

 

Your Resume Check List

Before you submit that resume, have a 2nd and a 3rd look. Below are some do’s and don’ts to help you with your resume submission.

• Your name (first and last) is bolded on the first page, followed by contact information (town/city, country, phone, email, linkedin) in a smaller font.  On subsequent pages include your name, email and phone number in a smaller font at the top of the resume.
• Do not include personal information like:  marital status, children, father’s name (yes I have seen it on resumes), passport number or SIN number.
• How long is your Professional Profile.  Keep it to 1 paragraph, 5 to 6 sentences and possibly a couple of bullets.  Make sure they highlight the skills you have that match the job you are applying for.  A 1-page profile will lose the interest of the recruiter after about the 5th line.  Keep it short and concise.
• Is your Education listed with the highest degree on the top, followed by certifications and training in reverse chronological order

• If you are applying for a technical position.  This is a good spot to list your most current technologies.  Needless to say if there are specific technical skills in the job ad and you have them, then put them in here so they will stand out.
• The next section should be your Professional Experience.  Again the jobs should be listed in reverse chronological order, with the most current position first.
• Do your achievements start with action words:  Develop, Create, Built, Performed, Managed, Coordinated, etc.  Here is a webpage with 100’s of action words http://jobmob.co.il/blog/positive-resume-action-verbs/ or just type “List of Action Words” in Google.
• NEVER NEVER NEVER start a sentence with “I” or “your name”.
  • “John created a test plan and test cases” or “I created a test plan and test cases” should become
  • Created a test plan and test cases.
• Put your keywords from the job ad in your achievements as often as you can.  If the job is looking for someone who has worked on an “on-line banking system”  then say so.
  • Created detailed test plans for the CIBC On-line Banking System using Mercury Tools
• If you notice that it is taking you a long time to read your resume, then it is probably too long, cut it down to 2 or 3 pages.  You can always put in a line that says
  • Detailed job information from 1999 and back is available upon request.
• Hobbies – not needed on the resume.  This is a question that may come up at the interview to get the conversation going.  Be careful what you tell them.  Reading, Golf, Skiing, etc are probably good topics of conversation.  Telling your interviewer that you like to go to the casino every Saturday night might set off some warning bells for him.
• References – don’t go on the resume, in fact don’t even put in the line “references available upon request”, that’s a known.
• Take out the graphics, logos, graphs, pictures.
• Don’t include a letter from your mother, yes it has happened.
• Don’t lie on your resume, this is a legal document.
• Have someone proofread it, have them read the job ad as well.