Do This! Get Hired: Resume Tip #1

Do This! Get Hired: Resume Tip #1
By: Greg Hill

   For some, getting a job is easier than others. Some students have several dozen activities that they have done throughout their college career. Some have excellent GPA’s that they, and recruiters, can be proud of. But what if you don’t have the best CGPA? What if during your time at college those pesky “gen ed” courses, such as math and English, brought your excellent GPA down so far you don’t think you will ever get a dream job? Have no fear because Mark is here! In his book, “College Students, Do This: Get Hired! Mark Lyden describes the many tricks you can do to ACTUALLY put a GPA on your resume. Putting a GPA on your resume actually allows recruiters to distinguish your resume from the other 300 they get on a weekly basis for one job. Now if you are like me and the general education courses have been a burden to your CGPA, you can always calculate you MAJOR GPA and put that instead. Not only will you have a way of distinguishing your resume, but you have a greater chance of getting a call back from an employer about a job/internship. 

Do This! Get Hired! by Greg Hill

Getting a real life job could possibly be the scariest, and hardest, thing in the world to do. But do not fear there is help out there! Do not try to go down that dark path of employment alone! Many students have recently become plugged into a book called, “College Students: Do This! Get Hired!” by Mark Lyden and it is your look into a new way of going about getting that job, it’s called: The Right Way. So you think you got the interview thing down pat? Do you think your resume is flawless? Believe it or not, there are techniques so simple to getting that job/internship that you may not even think of doing them! Mark Lyden’s book, “Do This! Get Hired!” will expose those techniques to you and change your outlook on interviews, resume writing, and many other techniques to get you on your feet and making THAT salary you always dreamed of.       
            These are just a few examples of how “College Students: Do This! Get Hired!” by Mark Lyden has helped students here on campus and it can help you to! So get connected with your copy of “College Students: Do This! Get Hired!” at  DoThisGetHired.com or by visiting Amazon.com. Check it out and get a jump start on your dream job today! 

Recent Graduates Face an Unemployment Rate of 8.9%, and the Highest Debt-burden on Record

[January 2012] –The Unemployment for new graduates is about 8.9% (TheDailyTarheel.com, 2012). “The search for potential job opportunities has become frustrating,” according to Ms. Caison who writes for The Daily Tarheel. Add to this the fact that the class of 2010’s debt burden grew -- the highest debt on record. (NYTimes, 2011)

How are today’s universities ensuring their students get hired? By arming their students with the skills and knowledge to GET HIRED in today’s market. The Lally School of Technology and Management at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute  has made “College Students: DO THIS! GET HIRED!” required reading material for its MBA students.  According to Thomas Whalen, Director of Career Services, “[College Students: Do This! Get Hired!] ….gives  (an) 'insider's' perspective on the hiring process. [Mark’s] His work ethic gives him the energy and appetite to remain at the front of his field. His message is what gives everyone hope and confidence that the hiring process is not a fixed game. His message is fundamental, it is human, it is real and it is a message that is transformative when heard by an audience with open ears. I recommend Mark's books to any serious student of the hiring process. Mark really is his message and, at his core, he is utterly authentic and hopeful.” 

“College Students: DO THIS! GET HIRED!” Mr. Lyden’s first top selling book caught the eye of Senator John McCain’s son, Jim McCain and his fellow Marine Jesse Canella, both co-founders of HonorVet.org.  With their full endorsement and with the help from veterans from all four major branches of the military Mr. Lyden’s second book “Veterans: DO THIS! GET HIRED!” is hailed as the, “Best advice for getting hired that we have ever read." (Jesse Canella, CEO of HonorVet); and is helping reduce the high unemployment for our veterans and soldiers getting out of the military. Mark has now turned his success, attention, and expertise to helping today’s unemployed professionals with his book, “Professionals: DO THIS! GET HIRED!”

About the Author

Mark Lyden is an expert at getting people jobs.  He has already helped thousands get hired even in this difficult job market.  For over 15-years, he has been a Professional Lead Recruiter for a Fortune 50 company.  His approach is fresh, practical, easy to follow, and extremely effective. In his recruiting career he has recruited for small, medium, and large companies and organizations. Mark has screened, taught, mentored and interviewed thousands of candidates and has presented job search seminars across the country.  His extensive experience plus the fact that he recruits each day in this difficult job market, gives him the unique insight on the best ways--the proven ways to approach every major step of the job search process so candidates have the best chance at getting hired.

A substantial portion of the proceeds from book sales Mr. Lyden and his wife donate back to charity to help our military veterans and to help the stray and abandoned animals at Logan’s Run Rescue.  

Mark has been interviewed by or featured in The Washington Post, CNN MONEY, The Huffington Post, The Herald Tribune and many others. He has been a frequent guest on national and local talk radio shows including Ken Gaines (WKZK-103.7FM), Marc Bernier (WNDB-1150) The Marc Bernier Show  and with Howard Keating and Gail Kubiak, www.TheKeatingNetwork.com.

College Students: DO THIS! GET HIRED!

·         CreateSpace	·         ISBN: 978-1439229132
·         Price: $19.99	·         Pages: 94 pages, Paperback, 6 x 9
·         Pub Date: April 2009
www.DoThisGetHired.com

REVIEW COPIES AND INTERVIEWS AVAILABLE

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HUGE TIPS FOR THE JOB / CAREER FAIR

After 20 minutes of standing in line you finally get to talk to the recruiter at the career fair. Now what?!  Okay you gave him your resume. Now you are talking. Good progress. But wait… the conversation is ending. No offer for an interview yet? Then it happens. The recruiter that you stood in line for, printed this crisp resume for, and woke up early to talk to, now suggests you should apply online and someone will get back to you.  What did you do wrong?  After stressing out all day about trying to get that one interview with that one company you have blown it. Have no fear career fair go-ers here is your chance to figure out what exactly went 

In my book, “College Students: Do This! Get Hired!” there are not 30 things you need to do, but rather let’s stick with those that work! So let’s start with HUGE TIP #1: Ask yourself this question: “How can I show this recruiter that I am serious without ever having met them before?” Your resume is a huge part of it. This shows major accomplishments, but what about showing that company and their representatives exactly how you act in a working environment? (Remember your whole goal when it comes to recruiters is to impresses them!) So having available for them a performance evaluation from a previous internship is a great way to get recognized. There is nothing more powerful than basically handing that recruiter an outline of your skills and a real life example of how excellent you preformed them. It is one thing to say you were in a professional working group that did testing for a major airline than to have a breakdown of how well you worked in that group and the actual accomplishments you made all the while cohesively attaining the company’s objectives written by your previous employer. This will really raise your likelihood of getting that interview.

HUGE TIP #2 Listen for the questions! While in line, listen to the questions that is asked of the person in front of you. Do you really think recruiters are creative? They have a set of basic questions they ask at these events. Or simple walk up close –pretend you are looking for something….step to the side and LISTEN. Then get in back of the line and PRACTICE your answer to the questions! That wasn’t rocket science, right

HUGET TIP #3 Ask for the interview! Recruiters cannot resist if you make it personal. Simply ask for the interview this way, “I really would appreciate and interview with you ….I promise if you grant me the interview, I WON’T LET YOU DOWN.” Who in their right mind would not give you an interview? You’ve just made it personal. This will work! Try it.

So you’ve got the INTERVIEW…now practice your interview answers. This is all up to you now.

MARK LYDEN’S BIO

Mark Lyden is an expert at getting people jobs…in THIS difficult job market. He has already helped thousands with his advice because it is different and it is PROVEN to work! The advice he gives is not the traditional advice that can be found on the Internet or being given by most career professionals. Now and for the last 15-years, Mr. Lyden has been a Professional Lead Recruiter for a Fortune 50 company. Mark is the author of: College Students: Do This! Get Hired!; Veterans: Do This! Get Hired!; and, Professionals: Do This! Get Hired! Visit DoThisGetHired.com for additional information. A substantial portion of the proceeds from book sales are donated back to charity to help veterans and to help the stray and abandoned animals at Logan’s Run Rescue.

DoThisGetHired.com

To a Recruiter, Attitude is The Most Important Attribute

Your attitude is the most critical item when being evaluated or interviewed.  It is not your grades.  It is not how good you are as a team player.  It is not your leadership skills.  It is not even your intern, co-op or work experience.  All very important things I admit, but not nearly as important as you having the right attitude.

To illustrate this point and take it one step further, here is a question for you the reader: What do you think is the biggest fear of a hiring manager is when hiring a candidate?  Some might say it is hiring someone that can’t do the work.  But that’s not it.  In my experience, hiring managers are most fearful of hiring someone with a bad attitude.  Why?  Because it often has a domino effect that can be very damaging.  Hiring someone with a bad attitude negatively affects the whole team.  That in turn causes conflict.  Conflict lowers morale.  Lowering morale increases inefficiency.  Inefficiency translates into lost time and money….which is misery for guess who?  The hiring manager!  At least, if the hiring manager hires an employee that can’t do the work, they have a fighting chance to work around it by sending them off for training or giving them different assignments; having them do work they can do.  But having a candidate with a bad attitude is nothing short of throwing a psychological grenade in the middle of the room with all team members present.

Moreover, who do you think gets a lot of the blame, or even becomes the scapegoat if a candidate gets hired that has a bad attitude?  Yes, you are right; the recruiter!  So wouldn’t it be logical for a company to send out those people that tend to be the best at screening for this relatively subjective, very soft science attribute we call attitude?  That is why you see mostly HR and business type people out on job and career fairs doing the initial screening.  Engineers and technical people tend to concentrate and be more comfortable evaluating attributes that they can quantify, like GPA, months of intern or co-op experience, or even leadership.  But again, it is your attitude that is most important.  The recruiter’s mantra is, “hire for attitude, and train for skill.” 

Mark Lyden

DoThisGetHired.com

Mark Lyden is the author: College Students: Do This! Get Hired!; Veterans: Do This! Get Hired!; and Professionals: Do This! Get Hired! (Coming Summer 2011).  A substantial portion of the proceeds from book sales are donated back to charity to help veterans and to help the stray and abandoned animals at Logan’s Run Rescue.   

Interviewing is Nothing More than Telling Stories

Interviewing is nothing more than telling stories. It really is that simple.  You are essentially scored on how well you tell stories about you and your experiences.  So, why is it so hard and stressful for some?  Some say because it is like a test.  You really never know what they are going to ask.  Plus, you are talking to a complete stranger and in a small time, trying to stand out, impress, and convince them that you are “all that and a bag of chips.”  This is nerve-racking for some.  I know it was for me when I was in your spot, but there is a solution.   

The key to all of these methods is to prepare and to have examples in the form of a story.  Any question they ask should be answered detailing: Situation –(S), Behavior –(B), Outcome –(O) and should be completed in about 90 seconds.  That leaves you approximately 30 seconds for Situation, 30 seconds for Behavior, and 30 seconds for Outcome.  I would say allow yourself 10 seconds total either way but no more and no less.  In other words, your entire answer should lie between 80 – 100 seconds with the sweet spot at 90 seconds.   If it is much shorter than this, usually there is not enough detail to warrant a really high score.  If it is much longer than this, there is usually too much detail or it is not organized enough for the interviewer to quickly see what they need to.  Although each section is very important and a must have to score high, if I had to choose which one was most important, I would have to pick Behavior.  This is because all recruiters or interviewers should know what I have told you already and that is past behavior is often a good indicator of future behavior.  

Here is how you get started:  You should have 6 or more stories ready to go.  Focus your stories on areas or topics that companies most likely will ask.  Here are some:

• Leadership
• Dealing with a difficult person
• Adaptability
• Helping others (without being told to do so)
• What did you do when something went wrong?
• Solving a Problem
• Your Greatest Strength
• Your Greatest Weakness
• Your Greatest Accomplishment
• Your Greatest Disappointment

Now I know what you are saying:  “I thought we weren’t supposed to memorize answers and regurgitate them back.”  This is different.  These are stories about your life -- your experiences.  You already know them because you lived them.  So really all you have to do is to tell your stories back to the interviewer in the S, B, O format.  That’s it!  You don’t have to memorize them because they are your experiences; you already know them.

What I suggest is to take a piece of paper and write down each of the topic areas above.  Then put S, B, O below them and start filling in your story.  Concentrate on the Situation first.  Then move to Behavior, YOUR behavior.  Finally, work on the Outcome.  Once you have that down, all you really need to do is make sure the timing and details are in each section and you got it!  Yes, you will have to practice them so they flow.  Yes, it will take you an hour or two to develop and practice your stories, but that is all.  Plus, you spent at least that much time on your resume, so if you just spend the same amount of time rehearsing your stories, you will do great.  This is a critical step if you want success.  Remember, companies hire the person, not the resume.  

Mark Lyden

DoThisGetHired.com

Mark Lyden is the author of: College Students: Do This! Get Hired!; Veterans: Do This! Get Hired!; and Professionals: Do This! Get Hired! (Coming Summer 2011).  A substantial portion of the proceeds from book sales are donated back to charity to help veterans and to help the stray and abandoned animals at Logan’s Run Rescue.   

Things You Should Never Say during an Interview

When interviewing you should never say you are a procrastinator.  To a hiring manager or recruiter even saying that you procrastinate from time-to-time will trigger them to think you are not going to be able to meet deadlines.   It will also lead them to think that when your boss gives you an assignment, you may leave it to the last minute and the final work will be poor quality.  If you say you procrastinate those interviewing you will know that eventually there will be a time where you let something go too long and you will prevent your boss from meeting one of his deadlines and that will reflect bad on him.

Another thing you should never say in an interview is anything dealing with salary or how much you will be paid.  Unless the interviewer brings it up specifically in the interview, it is not the right time to discuss compensation.  Concentrate on doing the best you can in the interview and that will hopefully lead to that discussion after you get an offer.  Leaving that topic until after you get an offer also prevents you from giving the impression that money is your motivating factor for wanting the job. 

Lastly, you should never bring up a time when you failed at something.  Everyone knows we all have times when we fail at something.  And sure, the interviewer might ask you a direct question about a time when you failed at something; if they do be honest and answer it.  But there is no need to bring up a failure in an interview unless you have to.  There are people out there that believe that if they bring up one of their failures but then explain what they learned from it -- this is good; if the interviewer asks you directly about a failure you should do just that.  However, there is no need to bring any negative story about yourself into the interview unless you’re directly asked to do so.  Keeping things positive and upbeat gives you the best chance at leaving them with a positive impression and those are the people most likely to get a job offer.

Mark Lyden

DoThisGetHired.com

Mark Lyden is the author of a number of books: College Students: Do This! Get Hired!; Veterans: Do This! Get Hired!; and Professionals: Do This! Get Hired! (Coming Summer 2011).  A substantial portion of the proceeds from book sales are donated back to charity to help veterans and to help the stray and abandoned animals at Logan’s Run Rescue.