Simply Hired Blog

First Interview Do’s and Don’ts for Women

By Christine Kane

First impressions mean everything, especially in the interview process. What you say, do and wear will leave a lasting mark on your interviewer more than you think. You want to impress and get that second interview set up, so here are a few do’s and don’ts for women:

Do Have a Firm Hand Shake: Your handshake can tell a person a lot about you and your personality. Too soft, you may come off as timid and not confident. Too firm and rigid, you may come off as hard to work with and aggressive. Find the happy medium when it comes to shaking your interviewer’s hand. When you make a smooth contact for a handshake, have a firm but subtle squeeze and shake 2 times. If you need too, you can practice with a friend.

Do Smile: Smiling goes a long way. Smiling in your interview lets the interviewer know that you want to be there and that you are excited to be there. So often people make the mistake of not smiling and that can give off the wrong idea to the interviewer. Being positive and upbeat will leave a lasting impressing on your interviewer.

Do mind your wardrobe: In your first interview you want to put your best foot forward. This means wearing a suit, preferably a pant suit for the first interview. Skip the bold red’s and stick to the black and grays but pair it with a pop of color blouse underneath. Wearing your hair all down is not considered completely professional, so try a low pony tail or wearing your hair half way up. Shoes and accessories should not stand out, your smile and resume should be the stand outs.

Don’t Overdo: Watch your make up and nails. Clean and simple is best. A great rule of thumb is to give yourself a more ‘natural’ look and then highlight one feature to be the ‘stand out’. As far as your nails go, make sure they are not eye catching. The purpose of the first interview is to show the employer your talents for the job and not to distract them with your makeup and nails.

Do Be Confident: Body language is so important in your confidence. The best way to exude confidence is to sit up straight with your shoulders back. Avoid fidgeting with your hands and playing with your hair, which can lead to you looking nervous. Remember that they wanted to talk to you because they saw something in you. Be confident and proud of your achievements and have no problem sharing it with them.

First interviews are the most stressful but also could be the start to your next career. Remember to don’t overdo it and let your personality and talents shine through. Stand up straight and give them a great handshake. Don’t be afraid to toot your horn too! Good luck and get that second interview!

Christine Kane works at internet service providers and is a graduate of Communication and Journalism. She enjoys writing about a wide-variety of subjects for different blogs.

Preparing for your Career in College: Creating a Portfolio

While in college it is best to approach each endeavor as if it is a potential addition to your portfolio or a job interview talking point.  Thinking about chronicling the work you’ve done while in college will enable you to better showcase your accomplishments, growth, and level of professionalism.  Here are some things to keep in mind:

• Compile: Save and compile copies of all the significant pieces you produce in college, whether it’s something you created, a project you proposed, etc.

• Reviews: It’s important to make sure your portfolio is the best it can be, so when instructors and peers evaluate your work, whether it’s performance critiques, essay comments, etc., see if you can use their insight to improve your craft.   

• Consult Professionals’ Opinions: Since most professors, instructors, and teachers have worked as professionals in their field (a photography teacher has probably worked as a photographer) their insight into how to building a portfolio and prepare for your career can be invaluable.  If you are working towards a degree that does not require a portfolio, it is still a good idea to consult your instructors to see if they have any recommendations for preparing for your career—including possible internships to look for, books to read, blogs to follow, events to attend, and so forth.  Building a rapport with professors and instructors is also important as they can help you build your network and can write you letters of recommendation when you enter the job market.  

• Create an Online Portfolio: Whether you’re a writer, a designer, a software engineer, etc. you should create an online home for your portfolio.  An online portfolio helps building connections as it gives you a way to share your work with people you meet.  You can be as creative as you want when designing your online portfolio, if you keep in mind that you are trying to present your portfolio to professionals.  As for content, be sure to include your work and a description giving each entry some context, and keep it tasteful and professional. 

How to Market Yourself to Potential Employers

By Sean Weinberg

In the past, opening your resume with something to the effect of, “Seeking a position as an engineer” may have gotten you a job in your field. But today, focusing your resume solely around you probably won’t yield such great results. 

In a recent post by my colleague Gerrit, he shared tips for long-term unemployed job seekers, and one of those tips was to focus on selling yourself -- writing your resume to show the employer why they need to hire you, instead of focusing on your wants and needs. 

Not even sure where to begin? Here are some tips for effectively selling yourself on the job hunt: 

Inventory your strengths and skills. What are your best (personal or professional) qualities? Are you organized? A great leader? What skills do you have that make you a desirable employee? Whatever they may be, you need to recognize them -- and then show employers how those skills and traits would make you a great fit for the job opening at their company. You should certainly include them in your cover letter and resume where appropriate, but don’t forget to also bring them up during interviews or interactions with employers too. Creating an online portfolio couldn’t hurt, either. 

Write down all of your accomplishments at past positions. Simply put: you need accomplishment stories for your resume. Employers aren’t impressed to see that you “filed important documents” at your last position -- and it’s likely that is not the only thing you did to help your last employer. Did you create a new filing system that helped the company become more efficient? Or did you save a significant amount of money for the office by eliminating unnecessary expenditures? Think back to your achievements and provide numbers whenever possible to quantify your accomplishments. Not only is it much more impressive, but it’s also a great segue to telling these stories during an interview. 

Figure out the employer’s pain points. What does the organization need that you can help them with? Why are they currently hiring for this position? Do your research on the company and the position to determine how you can become a solution to a problem they’re having -- and then be sure to show an employer why you’re the solution through your job search documents, portfolio, and interview answers. Oh, and remember those accomplishment stories you wrote down? Choose which ones are the most important based on the employer’s pain points. Are they looking to save money in this position? Show them you’ve done that in the past. 

Although it would be great if an employer could magically peer into your past (think Harry Potter) and see why you’re a great fit, it’s ultimately your job to show them why you would be an asset if hired.

How do you sell yourself on your resume and on the job hunt?

Sean Weinberg is the COO and co-founder of RezScore,a free web application that reads, analyzes, and grades resumes – instantly. Also the founder of Freedom Resumes, Sean has dedicated his career to helping job seekers write the best possible resumes.

How Not to Ask for a Raise

By Mika Brzezinski

Many of us need to rethink the way we ask for promotions and raises, because when we do ask, often it ain't pretty. Just listen to the answers I hear when I ask, "Are there differences in the way men and women ask you for raises and promotions?"

"'I know you're busy, I know you don't have time . . . '" -- Valerie Jarrett

Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett has been the boss in a variety of workplaces. When I ask whether she sees a difference in approach between men and women when asking for raises and promotions, she says, "Amazingly, men are almost detached from it emotionally. They're really comfortable . . . Women are much more timid and appreciative and polite. Men are very matter of fact, businesslike, unemotional. It isn't really personal."

"Women are emotional?" I ask.

"Emotional in the sense of apologetic . . . I remember one woman in particular who started with, "I know you're busy, I know you don't have time . . . "

"Basically saying, 'Don't give me the raise'?"

"She backed into it badly, is the way I would say it." Valerie tells me.

"Apologetic" and "tentative" are two adjectives I heard over and over. The editor-in-chief of Newsweek and The Daily Beast, Tina Brown says women often start to apologize with their body language before they even open their mouth. Then they'll begin by saying, "Well, you know, I've been here for a while and I've been thinking a lot about this . . . Men come in and they just say, 'Hey, I'm not doing this anymore unless I get X.' And you think, 'Of course, of course, of course,' you know, you must take care of Joe, Fred, whomever. But women don't do that. They just come in and they look sad . . . And we can't do that!"

"'I didn't really want to come to you with this . . .'" -- Carol Bartz

I ask Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz, "Have you ever had a woman ask for a raise and apologize for imposing?"

"Oh, absolutely," she says. Bartz trots out a few she's heard: "'I didn't really want to come to you with this, but, gosh, do you think my bonus percentage could be higher?' And, 'Gee could you just think about it?' When they say, 'I don't know if you'll consider,' right away they are giving you an out. Of course I wouldn't consider, you just told me not to consider . . . when somebody gives you the reason you can say no, it just makes your job easier."

And men?

Men will say '"I believe I'm undervalued here,'" Bartz tells me. "And that's always code for 'I'm going someplace where they value me, and it's for these reasons.'"

"When men ask for raises there's always some cost," ad exec Donny Deutsch says. "It's always 'because I did this' and 'if I don't get the raise . . . ' There's always [an imaginary] gun to the head, some gamesmanship. First of all, women don't ask as much. And when they do ask, it's not 'Give it to me or else.'"

When you combine my experience with what I heard from the bosses above, I have to say we women stink at this. Just look at our best opening lines:

• "I'm sorry."
• "I know you're busy."
• "I don't know if you have the time."
• "I don't know if you'll consider . . . "
• "I don't know if this is possible . . . "
• "I hate to do this."
• "I don't know if there's room for this in the budget."
• "I'm sorry if the timing is bad."

I think I've managed to use everyone of those phrases in my attempts to get a raise. Of course, I used an additional strategy, too -- what More editor Lesley Jane Seymour calls "playing the victim card." Seymour says women "present their personal challenges, saying things like, 'Well, I have this situation' or 'I have that burden' or 'My mother is ill and I have to support her' or whatever. Women present their cause, and you have to realize it's not a manager's job to support your causes, whatever they might be . . . The companies can't say, 'Oh, I feel sorry for you.'''

The above is an excerpt from the book Knowing Your Value: Women, Money, and Getting What You're Worth by Mika Brzezinski. 

Mika Brzezinski, author of Knowing Your Value: Women, Money, and Getting What You're Worth, is a co-host of Morning Joe, an MSNBC anchor and author of All Things at Once. She is also co-host of The Joe Scarborough Show on Citadel Media. She is the mother of two daughters, Emilie and Carlie, and has been married for fifteen years to an investigative journalist at ABC.

For more information please visit Amazon.

The above excerpt is a digitally scanned reproduction of text from print. Although this excerpt has been proofread, occasional errors may appear due to the scanning process. Please refer to the finished book for accuracy.

Copyright © 2012 Mika Brzezinski, author of Knowing Your Value: Women, Money, and Getting What You're Worth

Preparing for Your Career in College: A Qualified Resume

As a new, or soon to be, new graduate, employers understand that you have limited work experience.  So what can you do?  You can always work an internship or two while you're earning your degree.  But how else can you prepare for your career?  Putting together a well-rounded resume is a great way to start!  Here are a few ways you can build your resume, while still in college, to set yourself up for job hunt success.

• Student Organizations: An active membership in an organization is great to include as an activity.  By taking it a step further and holding an officer position, you will be able to potentially list it is as a job on your resume, demonstrating your initiative and leadership skills.

• Volunteer Work and Work Study: You can volunteer at tutoring centers, libraries, and departmental offices to develop valuable career-related skills including: business/office etiquette, computer and phone skills, time management, and more.  While you can acquire these skills at your first job, having them already on your resume when you graduate will set you apart from other job candidates.  Anywhere on campus that offers work study hours will give you the opportunity to develop these skills. 

• Scholarships and Awards: Awards are an excellent way to distinguish yourself as a student and set you apart from your peers, showing employers you are driven to success.  You can find awards by searching online for grants and scholarships related to your major.  Most grants will require some additional work, but this will pay off in money in your pocket while you are still in school and when you graduate and are applying to jobs.  Also remember you can include in your resume any other awards of distinction like admittance to honor societies, Dean’s lists, and so forth.