In this article from U.S. News and World Report’s On Careers, Lindsay Olson explains The Ins and Outs of Providing References.

Read an excerpt of Olson’s article below. Read full article

You’ve likely been asked for references in an interview or during the application process. Rather than scrambling to pull a few together, you should have these all prepared well in advance and keep the reference information in one place.

Step 1: Create a Separate Document

You shouldn’t include references in your resume. You don’t want to risk a recruiter or hiring manager reaching out to your references prematurely or without permission. Instead, guard your references’ time and contact information as if it were your own. Fielding too many calls could make them think twice about offering their experiences working with you. To avoid this, keep your references noted on a separate document and send them along only when asked.

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In this video from the Wall Street Journal’s News Hub, Lauren Weber explains what happens to your resume after it’s submitted online.

What Happens When you Submit a Resume Online

Read more about this topic in Weber’s article, Your Resume vs. Oblivion

In this article for About.com, Alison Doyle gives you helpful information about Pre-Interview Questionnaires and Tips for Answering Pre-Interview Questions.

Read an excerpt of Doyle’s article below. Read full article.

In this article from lifehacker, Melanie Pinola show you how to Prepare to Ace Your Job Interview with this Interview One-Sheeter.

Read an excerpt of Pinola’s article below. Read full article and Interview One-Sheeter

As you know, preparation is the key to doing well on a job interview and hirers tend to ask the same kinds of questions. This job interview one-sheeter is like a CliffsNotes for getting your strategic answers together.

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In this photo slideshow for U.S. News and World Report, Alison Green shows you, 10 Surefire Ways to Annoy a Hiring Manager.

Some of the mistakes listed in this article are:

• Ignore Application Instructions
• Arrive late for your interview
• Being unprepared for your interview

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In this article from U.S. News & World Report, Alison Green explains, How to Follow Up on Your Job Application.

Read an excerpt from Green’s article. Read Full Article

Job seekers often struggle to figure out when they should follow up with an employer after applying for a job, or whether they should follow up at all. Here’s some guidance on how you can follow up appropriately at each stage of the hiring process.

After you submit your application. Like it or not, after you submit your application, the ball is in the employer’s court. They might not even be reviewing applications for a few weeks, or they might have hundreds to sift through. So this stage of the game is about being patient.

Job seekers are sometimes advised that they should call at this stage to “check on their application” or to try to schedule an interview. But most employers don’t respond well to this, viewing it as overly aggressive and, yes, annoying. After all, you’re not the only person applying for the job; multiply your phone call by 200 to 300 applicants, and you’ll see why employers are annoyed.

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In the SimplyHired.com blog, simplyblog, Martin Yate CPC explains, How to Handle the Five Killer Telephone Interview Questions.

Read an excerpt of Yate’s article below. Read Full Article

A telephone interview is usually short, just enough time to rule you in or out, so the focus is on questions that help evaluate you quickly. Your goal is to turn it into a face-to-face meeting, so your answers need to be concise. As a rule of thumb, keep your answers to less than two minutes, if an interviewer wants to know more s/he will ask.

“Tell me a little about yourself,”

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In this article for U.S. News and World Report, Alison Green explains, Everything You Need to Know About Submitting a Resume. 

Read and excerpt from Green’s article below. Read Full Article

Job seekers are constantly asking questions about the mechanics of submitting a resume to an employer: What file format should a resume be in? Should the cover letter be attached to the email, or sent in the body of the email itself? Does it matter what the file is named?

These are all minor issues, but ones that job seekers nonetheless can find themselves agonizing over. So let’s get these questions answered once and for all and eliminate any anxiety over this portion of a job search.

But before we do, here’s a hopefully obvious caveat: If an employer’s instructions contradict any of the below, you should follow those instructions instead. Curious job seekers, here are some answers to your questions:

What format should my resume be in—PDF or Microsoft Word?

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This article from Lifehacker answers the question, How Can I Make Sure My Resume Gets Past Resume Robots and into a Human’s Hand?

Read an excerpt from the Lifehacker article. Read Full Article

Dear Lifehacker,
I heard that a lot of companies use software to weed out “good” from “bad” resumes. How do those systems work, and is there anything I can do to improve my chances of my resume getting through the system and into the hands of a real person?

Thanks,
Resume Revamper

Dear RR,
It’s true: Employers and hiring managers are turning more than ever to resume screening software, thanks to the overwhelming number of job applications they get. It pays to know how these systems (called Applicant Tracking Systems or Automated Resume Screeners) work so you can make your resume more relevant to the job you’re applying for. Here’s a brief overview of how the software analyzes your resume and what you can do about it.

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