Top 10 Interview Blunders

TOP TEN INTERVIEW BLUNDERS

A Holiday Season Gift for Recruiters and Their Candidates Everywhere

** As featured on the front page cover of December, 2006 issue of The Fordyce Letter by FRANK G. RISALVATO, CPC

The Top Ten interview blunders that cost people jobs and offers have been compiled from nineteen years of record keeping and observations. And now for the drum roll please.

The Top Ten Blunders are:
1. Poorly Designed/Unflattering Resume
2. Bad Telephone Interview Etiquette
3. Neglecting to Research Company
4. Lack of Position Knowledge or “Client M.D.O.”
5. Inadequate Interview Closing Techniques
6. Dropping the “Post-Interview Follow-up” ball
7. Failure to Follow Recruiter Instructions
8. Forgetting to Ask for the Job
9. Email Addiction
10. Circumventing your Executive Recruiter or Staffing Consultant

#1 Poorly Designed Resume
60% of the resumes floating around in cyberspace and landing in email inboxes are not doing the job their supposed to do which is to highlight the strengths of the underlying candidate in the best possible light. Expert staffing consultants and executive recruiters possess more sophisticated training than conventional corporate human resource staff � and may see past the formatting snafus to identify the candidate and help correct the resume for the candidate. But not everyone will be fortunate to encounter an executive recruiter to bail them out. The resume must:
– Present the strengths and highlights
– Be electronically scannable

In cases where the resume is well-composed it is usually not electronically friendly. This creates the next hurdle. Using excessive tables, cells and “styling” with MS Word actually works against you. MS Word also inserts excessive formatting when someone chooses the “Resume Template” option (one of the worst choices for building an electronically friendly resume). Search Google under “Scannable Resume” and you will find thousands of articles explaining why no one is calling you back.

Thank you for contacting us. We are sensitive to the fact that undergoing a career search may be an unfamiliar process to you. Because of this fact, we have compiled some very valuable information for you; including resume tips, interviewing tips, and strategies to help you in your search for a new career opportunity.

This has been compiled to help you – the candidate – to successfully land a new position. Please take the time to read this.

For additional information on interviewing, and career search methods I highly recommend a book called: Knock em Dead and Knock em Dead Resumes, written by Martin Yate.