Career Marketplace Blog

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.

Read On

In the SMARTMONEY BLOG, ENCORE, Kelly Eggers explains how to present your professional experience in her article, Age-Proofing Your Application.

Read an excerpt from Eggers’ article below. Read Full Article

It’s not about your age; it’s about how you present yourself.

Many job seekers believe they’re not considered for open positions because they are too old. The real reason their resumes wind up at the bottom of the pile has more to do with how they present themselves and their industry savvy, say recruiters and hiring managers.  (For the ten worst things you can put on your resume, click here.)

Those who present themselves as up-to-date on industry trends and fluent with new technologies will have a leg up, regardless of their age.

If you are worried that your many years of industry experience will submarine your chances of getting a job, there are things you can do to present yourself as a strong candidate, regardless of your age.

Provide the Right Kind of Contact Information

Read On

For the blog, Get A Job!, Kathy Bernard has advice on How to handle salary requirement requests*. Bernard list different scenarios and gives you risks and solutions that will help you comply with an employer’s request.

Scenarios discussed in this article

• “Ignore the request”
• “Include your salary history rather than your salary requirement”
• “State a range, rather than an exact figure…”

* Click link to read full article