Job Advice Blog

There are many aspects to searching for a job that are intuitive, but there are also many times where our intuition steers us in the wrong direction. This can be extremely frustrating, as we take action that seems like it would increase our odds of getting hired only to find diminished results. Today we are going to look at some common ways that our intuition wrongs, and look at some alternatives to taking intuitive action.

When we go into a job interview it is easy to forget that it is a two-sided street. We often think of job interviews as exclusively a chance for the company to determine if you are competent enough to work for them, but it is also a chance for you to see if the company is competent enough for you to work for them! The interview is your opportunity to see how the company is run, and see if you even would like working for them. There are many companies that you do not want to work for, so today we are going to look at ways to tell if you are interviewing at a company that you should not join.

As children we are taught to apologize when we have clearly wronged someone around us. After punching our brother, stealing a playmate’s toy, or throwing a tantrum we apologize. These were good examples of the proper use of an apology, the crime was obvious, all people were aware of the situation, and we attempted to show genuine regret. In the modern adult world, the word sorry does not have this kind of clarity. Often we will say sorry whenever any situation is less than ideal- regardless of whether or not we have anything to do with it. This seems rather benign, but can actually damage your career a lot! Saying “sorry” makes people assume that you are responsible for the issue, even if you had nothing to do with it. Today we are going to look at some common work place situations where we shouldn’t apologize (but often do!).

These days automation plays a role in nearly every field. Some automated machines drive mass transit, some perform simple and repetitive tasks, and some throw away resumes. In large companies it is not uncommon to use an applicant tracking system (or ATS), a program that scans resumes and decides whether or not they deserve be seen by human eyes. Hiring managers for large firms love these, as it saves them a lot of time and hassle to be able to skip all the incomplete, inconsistent, and inane resumes. As a candidate, however, these ATS can be terrifying. Today we are going to look at some ways to keep the ATS on your side, so you will at least be seen by human eyes.