Applying Jobs

I had the opportunity to join my company's recruitment team at a job fair... It was an enjoyable & insightful 5 hours of my life... I met so many people, so many characters, learned so many things... It was definitely a on the job soft skill training and development experience for me.

So today I want to share some of that experience. I hope this entry will provide useful information. I will only highlight some of the obvious DOs & DON'Ts... If you want to know more, you can always find them on the internet or get advice from people in HR or recruitment team.

1. ATTITUDE:
When you're looking for a job, you must not be so cocky or over confident, especially when you're talking to people from recruitment team. Even though they are not the ones who will interview you or has the final say, they are the ones who has the first say. And it is the same as everyting else... first impression counts. Perhaps you're holding a manager position in your current company, but in other companies, your job description might only be on the same level as a senior. So, you don't want to look like your position is soooo high coz you don't want the recruitment team to think that you're the kind of person that will cause stress to the people you work with.

You also don't want to look like you're really nervous and have very little confident. If you're just out of college or university with no working experience, I think I can understand your nervousness. But companies that set up booth at a career fair are there because they are looking for new hires. To you, maybe your working experience is so little or you CGPA is too low. Whatever it is, if you found a company that you like & you like the people at the booth & their explanations, just give it a shot. Fill in an application & submit your resume. YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE.

2. COVER LETTER & RESUME
These 2 documents are very important. Put a lot of thinking and effort in your cover letter and resume. There are so many examples on the internet for every job skills. But I think, the basic rule is... you must highlight your capabilities, your experience. In this case, don't be shy :) But, DON'T LIE. Another thing to remember... you don't want your cover letter or resume to look like short stories. It's very difficult for HR to read. If it's hard to read, they'll lose interest... and we don't want them to lose interest do we? Be very careful with your grammar and sentences. Grammatical error is such a turn off especially when you put your skill for that language as excellent. Read, re-read & edit your resume before you send it out.

Is it required to put your hobby or interest in your resume? Mmmmm... I don't think so. Some people put watching movies and working out in the gym in their resume which don't sound professional. So, I think better leave this one out...

What about photo? Some people have different opinions about this. Some think that if we provide a photo in our resume, people might choose us based on our looks not our skills, which is unfair... but this world is like that *sigh* So... if you want to provide a photo, a passport size is enough and make sure you clean up real nice for that photo. Clean face, neat hair, ironed clothes *wink* and put on a bit of a friendly face. For guys, a shirt is more appropriate that collared t-shirt (I think), and for the ladies... put on a bit of make-up, not too much... just enough so that your face doesn't look too dull.

Hmmmm... I guess that's all that I can remember. I wish all the best to all of us in our career!

Good luck!