When New Years rolls around, we all begin frantically trying to decide what our goals are for the next year will be, what we aim to accomplish and the things we would like to change. As everyone knows, after the month of January these goals and aspirations seem to dwindle away as we fall back into the same routine as the year before. This year I say we make a change! The perfect way to start is with a new job…whether it be that your unemployed or wanting to turn over a new leaf, landing a new job can be the ultimate and achievable goal! A lot of companies out there tend to take the later months of the year off in terms of hiring, but come January they are back in action!  Take your New Year’s goal gusto and put it towards a job search.

In the tough job market these days, looking for a new job can become frustrating pretty fast. It is a numbers game and the more résumés you send out the better chance you have in getting a call back. Unfortunately in these times, being picky about where you want to work isn’t going to get you very far, but who knows…looking outside the box could land you in a great job you would have never considered before. Make sure you aren’t “lazy” in your job search; what I mean by that is coming home once a week and browsing the web for an hour does not constitute as looking for a job. You need to exhaust all options in order to make it worth your while. Research companies who seem interesting to you, although they may not have postings up on job boards…sending them you résumé anyways can’t hurt! Utilize the social media world, a great deal of companies have Facebook pages, Twitter accounts and LinkedIn profiles. These can be a great way of reaching out and getting your résumé out there! Attend a career fair or your college career center, knowing all your options is your best bet in landing that new job. Lastly do not give up….if you don’t land your dream job in the first month of looking, this is totally normal. Just like anything else if you keep trying, you will come out on top.

How to Write a Razor-Edge Resume

Job seekers should pay attention on making a resume that stands out over the others because it is your ticket to landing to a job.

Recently I worked the registration desk at HireLive’s Orange County sales, retail and management career fair. I was passed resume after resume as each candidate came through and while walking around the career fair I got to watch the candidates, some nervously, sit down and interview with the awesome companies we had attending. I knew that some of the thoughts running through these job seekers heads had to be…does my resume look okay? Am I saying all the right things in the time I have during the interview? So I decided to sit down with one of HireLive’s very experienced recruiters and ask her some simple questions that most job seekers are dying to know. Here are the questions I asked her pertaining to resumes and interviews.

1. What keywords do you look for in a resume?

-This changes for each job I am searching for, but if it pertains to sales I look for achievements.  Things like sales rankings, percentage of sales quotas, president’s club, and any other awards and achievements.

2.   What characteristics do you look for in a candidate during an interview?

-Personality is huge.  Are they easy to talk to?  Are they able to build rapport?  I look for energy and enthusiasm.

3.   What are a few things that would make you skip over a certain candidates resume?

-Lack of stability or big gaps in their resume. It is good if they explain these on the resume.

4.   What are a few common mistakes candidates make in an interview?

-Candidates get nervous and talk too much.  It is also very important to give specific answers to the questions asked.  One huge mistake I have  seen over many years of recruiting that candidates don’t do is aggressively close an interview, especially in sales.  They must ask for the job or ask to schedule another interview.

5.   If you had to give one piece of advice pertaining to resumes and interviews for job seekers what would it be?

-Resumes – highlight your accomplishments.  Do not make your resume too wordy.  Remember that the average company only looks at your resume for less than a minute when deciding to call you.

-Interviews -Be prepared.  Have a plan.  Research the company, dress professionally, take resumes and any documentation you have about your successes.  NEVER BE LATE!!!  Show some personality.  These are all things that you can control.

Hopefully these couple of questions can help you out next time your rewriting your resume or preparing for an interview, they are simple enough to remember, and can really make you stand out above the rest!