Job fairs are great places to network, learn about companies and possibly land a job.  If you plan on attending a job fair, we want to help you make the best of your experience. Be sure to take the following steps before, during and after you attend a job fair.

1. Pre-register - Your first step should be to go online to pre-register for the event. Pre-registering and bringing your confirmation page with you saves you time at the door. If you forget to bring your confirmation page or just forget to pre-register, we recommend that you attend the event early, so you do not end up in a long line.

2. Research - In most cases, companies that host a job fair will list the employers that will be in attendance and possibly some of the positions that they are hiring for. You should take advantage of this by looking up these companies online and reviewing the descriptions of the positions they're offering. This gives you time to think of how you are going to sell yourself as the top candidate for these positions.

3. Rehearse - Make sure that you rehearse some of the more commonly asked interview questions. Rehearsing is essential, especially for those who can't talk about their work history experience fluidly. Knowing how to answer the employers' questions effectively improves your chances of leaving a lasting impression in their minds.

4. Bring Résumés - You should bring plenty copies of your résumé for distribution to prospective employers. If you are attending a big job fair, it is recommended that you bring 25-40 copies. If you did research on attending employers and the positions that they are offering, you will have a better idea of how many copies that you'll really need.

5. Engage with Employers - Remember that each encounter is equivalent to a first round interview. These meetings are less formal but may be very vital in netting a job. These talks should be short because there are often long lines of anxious job seekers waiting for their turns with the employers. Make sure that you take notes on these conversations. If you land a follow-up interview with the recruiter that you talked with previously, notes will help you be consistent with what you told them before.

6. Follow-ups - As the conversation winds down, make sure you ask for a business card. You can either follow up with a letter or a phone call 24-48 hours later. This lets the recruiter know that you're genuinely interested. The lasting impression you make may be enough to get you an invited for a follow-up interview.

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There are certain sections of an interview that can either make or break you, depending on how you go about them. Employers lay out several traps during the interview to see how you react. You, as a job seeker, can lay traps yourself by not being prepared or not taking initiative to qualify yourself as a top job candidate afterwards. Since job seekers seem to fall for common interview traps all too often, we will go over some of the traps that are laid out before during and after an interview, and how to avoid them:

1. The “What do you know about our company?” Question: This question is a trap that can be avoided by studying a company’s website for an hour. Most companies just want you to give a brief overview of what they do, so don’t worry about remembering their mission statement verbatim. If you forget to study the company’s website, don’t fake an answer because the hiring manager will be able to tell.

2. The “What is you biggest weakness?” Question: Some like to answer this question by turning a positive to a negative, like “I work too hard.” Employers really want to see honesty in your answer. Pick an attribute that you feel that you could do better at and let them know how you plan to improve on that ability. 

3. The “Do you have any questions?” Question: “No” should never be your response to this question. Employers want to know that you are interested in the position. Don’t be afraid to ask about salary, duties, or steps to take after the interview because questions pertaining to the job are better than silence on your end. 

4. Waiting for a call bac:. Playing the waiting game after the interview is one trap that most job seekers fall for. Something as simple as a thank you card will make you more memorable to the hiring manager. When making a thank you letter, remember to bring up conversations that you had with them in order to stand out.

5. Cell Phones: This is a trap set by none other than you. Turn your cell phone off or silent. Never put your phone on “vibrate”. 

6. Bringing your Résumé: Some companies want you to bring two copies of your resume to an interview, even if you have submitted a resume online. This request is given simply to see if you can follow basic instructions. An interviewer will often ask for you to give them a copy of your resume at the beginning of an interview and not having it will give off a bad impression early.

Over the past few years, job hunting has undergone one of its biggest transformations since the first "help wanted" sign was chiseled in stone.

Job hunting has entered the world of social media. With this innovation a new breed of job seekers has emerged - call them 'social job seekers'.

Check out the infographic below to see how these 'social seekers' are landing their dream jobs using social media.

Created by: MBA Online

If you are searching for a job, chances are that you have passed out your résumé numerous times with no callbacks. The problem may not be that you are under qualified, but you may be overwhelming employers with unnecessary information. You may want to make revisions, as we list five top outdated elements on résumés.

1. Objective Statements: Objective statements are a waste of space nowadays. Most employers know that they are there to fluff up your profile, so use that space more effectively. You should prepare a cover letter in its place. Cover letters provide more substance as to why you deserve the position that you are applying for.

2. Personal Information: Information like your address, medical history and social security number are irrelevant on your résumé these days. Besides, employers may not shred rejected résumés, leaving your personal information out there to be swiped. An email address, telephone and your LinkedIn URL should suffice.

3. “References Upon Request”: Employers will usually consider this statement a given if they decide to bring you in for an interview. You can replace this by having a list of your most recent supervisors’ contact information on hand. You could also have people who worked with you, or have done business with you write recommendations on your behalf on LinkedIn.

4. Listing All Positions Held: If you held a lot of positions in your lifetime, you may want to refrain from posting all of them. Résumé space is limited, so is the attention span of the employer. Switch to a functional résumé to highlight skills that you have acquired, that are relevant to the position that you’re applying for. Remember: less is more.

5. Jargon: Using jargon that is utilized throughout the industry on your résumé may be a huge mistake. The folly in throwing around vernacular that is used within your industry is that the guy in HR, that reviews your résumé, may not.

Questions? Comments? Something I missed? Share with us on Facebook.

Recently, we stumbled upon a company that is trying to do something admirable for job seekers this holiday. Blake Bradford, a clothing company, is offering 1$ for any Like that they receive, up to the first $3,500, on Facebook. Donations will go to Career Gear, a non-profit dedicated to providing business attire male job seekers.

Blake Bradford will also donate $10 to every Career Gear inspired tie purchased. Check out their website or Facebook page if you want to contribute. Be sure to help out as soon as possible because this charity will only be going on until January 2nd, 2012.

Picture Soure: https://www.blakebradford.com/Career_Gear_Philanthropy_Partnership (Photographer: Courtney Parrie) 

This past Friday, we took part in another Hire Friday Chat forum on Twitter. If you were not a part of the fun, I’ll bring you up to speed. Our Hire Friday Chat topic was about The Art of Asking Interview Questions, and was hosted by John Kador (@jkador) and Adam Eisenstein (@McGrawHillJobs). This was a very educational forum, explaining why it is important for jobseekers to ask questions during the interview. Here is a recap of the chat’s questions and some of the best answers: 

Q1. Why is it important to ask questions? 

A1: @JanisSpirit: Asking questions shows engagement, involvement and wanting the job. ASK! 

Q2. What kinds of questions are appropriate to ask?

A2: @DavidALee: Ask questions you can't find answers elsewhere. If its on the website and you ask...Fail!

Q3. Should you save your questions until the end of the interview?

A3: @BrendenMWright: An interview is a conversation, a dialogue. It's not a cross-examination. Engage!  

Q4. What are the best questions you’ve heard?

A4: @prettypinkpro: What is the leadership like in the organization? What is the leadership like in this particular division?
A4: 
@comerecommended: That I've heard: "How would you define 'success' at this position?"

Q5. Should you ask the interviewer for a critique?

A5: @MikePetras: Ask in softer way: What is the next step in the process? Sometimes they'll tip their hand. 

Q6. Why should you ask for the job?

A6: @ResumeDrEliz: Sure. If you truly want the position, close with a powerful, enthusiastic statement that says just that. 

Have you been involved with #HFChat yet? Share your experiences with us on Facebook!

A lot of older jobseekers wonder whether their age is a disadvantage in this job market. The answer is yes and no. Unfortunately, employers may choose to pass on an older worker for a number of reasons. For example, hiring managers may feel that seasoned candidates are more expensive and less in touch with modern technology. To mitigate some of these perceptions, you need to bring some youth into your resume. To help you make some of these changes, I made a checklist of things you should look out for:

1. How much of your experience do you have listed? You’ll be showing your age if you have more than 15 years worth of experience on your resume. If the skills you’ve acquired during your most recent jobs are relevant to the job that you’re applying for, list it without indicating a year that those skills were gained. 

2. Are you listing dates too often? Years are an ultimate indication of age. If you list all of your experience with the years attached to them, employers will be able to approximate your age, which may scare them away. I would recommend not listing dates at all.

3. Is your resume specific? You’ve probably acquired many skills at places you’ve worked over the years. Use these to your advantage by highlighting the skills that are relevant to the job that you’re applying for. This works best if you turn your resume into a functional resume. 

4. Are you tech-savvy? Emphasize the fact that you’re up to date with the nuances of modern technology. If you have a LinkedIn account, make sure that it is updated and that you provide a link to your profile on your resume. I advise that you customize that URL to shorten the link and make it easier to memorize. You should also make sure that you are capable of emailing your resume because many employers request digital copies these days. 

Need more advice? Feel free to ask us on our Facebook page. 

Picture Source: http://www.conversationagent.com/2010/04/how-to-use-checklists-to-do-better-pr.html

Think that the holidays are a perfect time to take a break from your job search? Not so fast, my friends. The holidays are actually a prime opportunity to continue your job hunt. So before you kick back and put your job seeking efforts in hibernation, read this blog for a list of several reasons why you should keep at it:

1. A number of job hunters are taking a break as well: Don’t think that you are the only job seeker out there that is thinking about hanging it up for the holidays. Use this period as an opportunity to expose yourself to more employers, while there is less competition. 

2. More events to network at: One of your friends may invite you to an office party. What better way to network? Get introduced to people who know people, while working in the fact that you’re looking for work into the conversation. People will be willing to help you find leads at these events as long as you take it easy on the eggnog. 

3. Check in while others are checking out: After the holidays, many companies have some turnover. Use this knowledge as an opportunity to get interviewed before the new years. You may get an offer take a position that will be vacant soon.

4. People will see your desire for employment more: Employers will notice how many people are taking a break from their job hunt. They will also notice the few that are still going strong during the holidays. Be apart of the latter group to better your chances of gaining employment.

5. Stay motivated: We all have been job hunting at one point or another. Most of us have been to a point where we wanted to take a break. The problem with taking an elongated break is getting the motivation to start again. Stay determined  in your job hunt until you exhaust every resource and turned over every stone.  There is no problem with taking a day off here and there to recharge your batteries, though. 

Have questions, comments or need advice? Share with us on Facebook. 

Happy Friday everyone! Every Friday, there is a huge forum on Twitter amongst HR professionals and jobseekers called #HFChat. I encourage you guys to hop in on these conversations because valuable information and advice are shared during this hour. Another perk of joining in is that you can contribute to the conversation and network with everyone involved through Twitter. 

If you’re not able to attend, don’t worry because I have you covered. Every week I will do a recap of what went down by letting you know the weekly topic, questions and answers. This week’s topic, hosted by Paul Anderson, was Critiquing Companies as Part of Your Job Search. Here are some questions, with great answers by participants:

Q1. If you see a poorly written or confusing job description, what should you do?

A1: “Poorly written - Use as excuse to call and ask for clarification?” - @MaureenSharib

Q2. Do employers prefer applicants from job boards, employee referrals networking, or …?

A2: “Employers prefer the RIGHT candidate - no matter how they get in front of them. Being a referral is big.” – @HeyOverbey 

Q3. What would cause an employer to blacklist you as an applicant?

A3: “Being a pest rather than being merely persistent. Do not go overboard and forget to respect the employer.” – @cachinko

Q4. How can you make your resume stand out before the holidays?

A4: “Discuss your availability to interview and be available during the holidays – a lot of candidates disappear during this time.” – @BruceRecruiter

Q5. What are some of the ways used by recruiters to cull through all the resumes they receive?

A5: “They may deep six resumes that are too short or too long. Jam packed with verbiage, difficult to understand, too many buzz words.” - @CyndyTrivella 

Have you been involved with #HFChat yet? Share your experiences with us on Facebook!

If you want to land a job, you may want to think about rewriting your résumé. Chances are you have cliché phrases, buzzwords, or annoying jargon that drive the Human Resources guys nuts. To help you appease the HR gods, we will give you a quick list of some of the most common résumé words that they want retired:

1. “Salary Negotiable”: Don’t you think it would be odd if your salary were NOT negotiable? You may want to think twice before wasting space on your résumé to state the obvious. An HR professional may think that you are just adding this to pad space on your résumé. 

2. “Career Objective”: Back in the day, it was popular to have the top section of your résumé stamped with an objective, like “To obtain a position as a [insert job title here] that leverages my skills and experience as well as promoting growth.” HR professionals have seen this one too many times, and it drives them crazy. You should replace your “Career Objective” with a “Mission Statement” that summarizes your background, core competencies and accomplishments to show what you have to offer to employers. 

3. “Team Player”: When you consider that there are few jobs where you don’t work with others, “team player” becomes an overrated term. Regardless of how talented you are most companies will not hire someone that does not work well with others, so consider team player as a given. 

4. “Experienced”:  This is a vague term especially if you’re not putting a specific length of time behind it. Saying “Created Excel spreadsheets for marketing strategy meetings” is a lot more specific than “experienced at creating Excel spreadsheets.” 

5. “Detail-oriented”: So you pay attention to details to prevent from making mistakes? Awesome. Unfortunately, employers are not fans of mistakes either, and tend to hire a lot of “detailed oriented” individuals. Having this quality doesn’t make you special in a work environment; it just means you’re like everyone else. What qualities truly set you apart from the rest? 

6. “Hard Working”:  Anyone can say that they’re a hard worker. The description of your work history should imply how hard you worked over the years. 

7. “Proactive”: This is another word that is overrated and overused. Without explaining a scenario where being proactive paid off at a job, the word has no substance to HR. 

8. References Available Upon Request: This is another statement that HR will consider a given. If a manager wants to hire you, they will assume that you will have references available. 

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