Advice on a Rookie
I just graduated and looking for a job. I been out of the work force for about 5 years and need suggestion on interviews on my new career. Do any one can advice me how the process of an interview goes, do you have to take an exam, interview, and so on. If an exam is in order what are they asking for I am not a good test taker as it is but would like to be prepare for these things before I start interviewing.
I would appreciate any suggestion on interview procedures.
Thanks,
Comments
Some companies will make you
Some companies will make you take an exam, some won't. Some recruiters have them too. I've personally found that recruiters which use exams not specified by clients to be time wasters. Many candidates report that this kind of agency puts people through a big runaround with exams, personality tests, background and reference checks, often even when there is no real job opening. Another complaint is that often recruiting agency exams are of low quality and/or not very relevant, such as C++ or Java exams for programming jobs in other languages, etc.
Anyway, I wish you the best of luck and wish that you were entering the job market when things were better, especially for entry level candidates. You don't say what your degree is in or what kind of jobs you are planning to go for, so its hard to offer you any more concrete advice on how to proceed or what to expect.
Hopefully you can find a way to sell your previous career's skills towards your new one, that may help give you a leg up over other recent grads.
I appreciate your response I
I appreciate your response I am new to your website and I heard about it through my professor. I am looking for an Entry-level position in Local Area Networking and Security Administration or for now an internship that I have to do to be able to graduate in December, 2008. It would be nice that I can learn how to network and meet new people. I am very new at this since my devotion have been raising 3 boys by myself for the last couple of years.
So any advice would be greatly appreciated where to start.
Thanks for your response
Just for clarification it
Just for clarification it isn't "my" website, its Matt's, and I for one thank him for taking the time to start it.
As for advice... make sure you are taking advantage of all the ways this site can bring you opportunities such as making sure your profile is completely filled out and you've got your skill set posted. Then look at the job section and respond to jobs that might be a fit for you.
Do make sure to work other angles too... you probably should post your resume on at least dice.com, if not also monster, hotjobs, careerbuilder, etc. Make sure you search those sites as well as the job section on LinkedIn and Craigslist on a regular basis.
If possible try to attend some of the upcoming networking events and make sure to work your network on LinkedIn... connect to everyone you know. If possible try to get endorsements, because many people like to see them on profiles. You can draw attention to yourself by asking or even better answering questions on LinkedIn questions.
Anyone else got suggestions on ways people can network? I'm sure there are lots more that aren't popping into my head right now. If I think of more I will add them later.
Thanks for the info I have
Thanks for the info I have posted my resume on a few sites you mention but their is a few I haven't heard. I appreciate the response.
Hi prunicorn1970 -- By the
Hi prunicorn1970 -- By the way, do you have an account on LinkedIn.com?
Yes, I just register for an
Yes, I just register for an account on LinkedIn.com. I am still new at it but learning some information from it. Can you tell me more about this website? Have you used it and in what way has it helped you? Thanks for your response it helps me start to talk to people since I don't have any friends to talk too.
Thanks again
In order to benefit from
In order to benefit from LinkedIn, you need to build a network. Without a network your ability to see profiles and search for people will be limited. Chances are there are already a lot of people you know that use it. Search for them and send them invitations to get started building your network.
Make sure your profile is complete, the more you have there the more likely you will show up in search results, and also the more likely that old acquaintances of yours will be able to find you. This is especially true if you have a common name -- the more detail the more likely people can identify if you are the correct person they are looking for.
If you want a head start towards building your network feel free to send me an invitation, my contact information is on my LinkedIn profile, and that is linked from my profile here. If you connect with me you will have the advantage of being able to search through my 1700+ first level connections and hundreds of thousands of 2nd level connections. That strength of network will give you good visibility into the overall LinkedIn tree.
As has been mentioned before, another way to attract people's attention and build your network is by using the Q&A features of LinkedIn. If you ask questions or answer questions you will get your name out there.
Thanks for your response. I
Thanks for your response. I value the information that you just send me it sounds very interesting. When you talk about the profile being complete with my job information that's the one on LINKIN. Yes, I done that I guess like you said put more information. I will go back and put more information in it I just started out with some information. I don't have any contacts that I know of so I am starting from scratch. That's why it is very important to me to network so I can start meeting people. For the pass 12 years it has only been my children and me. I worked, care for my children and no social life to do anything. So that's why I decided to go back to school to be better financially. It has been a big accomplishment for me to be finally close to graduation. So, I want to do the best that I can do to learn to network and look for a job in the field of my study. I want to work so I can provide better opportunity for my children and myself. I appreciate your time for your response and the information. I am going to give it a try what do I have to lose. I would start my adding you so I can have a start in building my network.
Thanks again
Even if you weren't able to
Even if you weren't able to get out much over the past few years you probably still have some contacts. If nothing else, look up people who you've met through your education. both teachers and other students. And don't overlook your children's friend's parents -- here in the Austin area chances are that probably a lot of them are professionals which work for local tech companies and they may be able to help you in your networking. I don't know if you are religious or not (I'm not), but many people build their networks through their churches/synagogues.
I never thought about that
I never thought about that to look up people whom I have met through my education even though my children. I guess I need to look up names that I have to see if by any chances they probably work for local tech companies. I appreciate the info.
Thanks
I downloaded my contact
I downloaded my contact files into LinkedIn and was then able to ID people already in my names database. That led to others as you said. Importantly, as people in my names database register on LI, they show up on the homepage as having "joined." It does tend to steamroller. While its nothing to compare to yours, I was at 7 in mid-April and now at 139.
139 is a good start in a few
139 is a good start in a few months time. I've been on LinkedIn for a couple years now and I've been working it as hard as I can. If you do as well you will probably have a bigger and better network than me by the time you've been a member for a few years.
My database has over 2000,
My database has over 2000, so I'd expect my LI to grow...my names base has expanded since I came to Texas (it was approx. 1600 30 months ago).
With that many contacts in
With that many contacts in your database, I would guess that your LinkedIn network will probably surpass mine in size and surely in quality within the next year.
Over 15 years of meeting
Over 15 years of meeting people are in my database. "Quality" is in the eyes of the beholder.
That's great!!! I will keep
That's great!!! I will keep that in mind. Thanks
WOW!! That is amazing.
WOW!! That is amazing. Hopefully I can get their myself.
It is possible if you work
It is possible if you work at it. But people probably shouldn't look at the size of someone's network as being an accurate measure of much. There are a lot of people who have much smaller networks than me who have a lot more pull and influence in the world. Quality of connections matters too as the old saying goes 'its not what you know its who you know' -- and there is a kernel or three of truth to that. I've worked to build a big network because as a techie, I don't have as many high quality acquaintances as the average people in more social fields do. That said, I've tried to make sure I am Linked to as many quality people (in terms of knowing them well, etc) as possible too.
I see where you coming
I see where you coming from...... you get what you put into it. If I work hard building a good network I can also have many high quality acquaintances. Possible land a good job....well that's what I am hoping for. I know the feeling not having people to link to for possible job. That's how I am feeling at this point. I have gone to a lot of interviews and have made it to the top two but the other person had a little more experience than me. So, I haven't had no luck so far. I sometime wonder how employers want the experience in an applicant when they don't give a new rookie a chance. I am not going to get the experience that I need when employers don't want to hire new rookies.
Thanks for the info.
Unfortunately what you are
Unfortunately what you are running into is that there is a huge glut of educated, skills and experienced technical professionals here in the Austin area. That makes things difficult for recent grads with limited experience because employers have little trouble finding people who do already have experience. But it is not completely impossible, so be patient and keep working on it. Try to learn a little something from each interview you do. And be thankful you are getting interviews, that alone means you are doing something right.
And don't feel bad, because those of us who are over 35 and have been working in the business for a long time often get the opposite -- we often hear the dread word 'overqualified'.
The key to my database is
The key to my database is having categories of capability sets. So even if I don't remember someone's name, but remember a piece of information about them, I can generally find them. I work my list extensively to identify people who can address issues faced by my business. I'll give you a perfect example. My company is commercializing two distinct security technologies (neither is digital). One of the technologies involves encryption software embedded into the eventual hardware; communication of data both locally to the application and to a remote database; imaging; and optics.
Information is only power if you use it the right way.
#1: English mastery. You
#1: English mastery. You won't even get the call to set up a phone screen if there are as many grammatical errors in your resume as in these posts. Same problem with accent. If I'm straining during a conversation to understand someone, I'm not going want to have many conversations with them. If I'm a manager, that's a big deal.
You are right about that --
You are right about that -- bad English skills are a major turn-off for hiring managers. Unfortunately, many techies even if they are native English speakers struggle with grammar, myself included. English was always my worst subject in school compared to math, history or science, although by the time I got to college I consider myself to actually be a little above average as far as hard-core techies go. Everyone should make sure their resume and cover letters are carefully proofread, and preferably by several people with good English skills. Don't depend on automated spelling and grammar checkers because while they are helpful to catch simple errors, they are nowhere near good enough. For spoken English in interviews most techies could probably benefit from some coaching, especially for those who are not native speakers. For those still in school or recent grads make sure to take advantage of any help that your school's guidance counselors and placement office can give you. They may be able to help with some of the aforementioned things. Also there are support groups for job seekers such as Launch Pad, which has been mentioned on this forum before -- they may be able to help you and also help your in-person networking. And don't overlook the Texas Workforce Commission, as they may have programs to help job seekers who need help with some of these things.
Yes, you are right. I know
Yes, you are right. I know this is one of my weak areas and that's why I have taken extra classes in grammar and other relative classes to improve this weakness. I have gotten my resume looked by several people and have gotten coached for my interviews. I have attend several Texas Workforce Commission training classes that they have like building a good resume, how to interview and the do's and don't when you go to interview. I have built a job portfolio and created a plan of action - 30 , 60 and 90 days when I go to interviews. Believe me even if my first language is not English I have done my very best to direct my focus to my weak area that I have. Plus, my interview techniques have gotten better and better every time that I go to one.
Thanks for the advice I will keep that in mind.
Sorry, I didn't know that I
Sorry, I didn't know that I needed to be more grammatical errors free on this website. I was trying to chat with folks to see how this website works. I usually do check my work. I didn't think I needed to do it here. I was just treating this website as a chat line which gramma errors doesn't better. I guess here it does. FYI!!! My resume has been checked my several people before I posted it on any website. I am not that ignorant.
Thanks for the info I will keep that in mind.
I don't think the intent was
I don't think the intent was to slag you on your writing, but just as a gentle reminder of how important it is, especially for job seekers, to present a favorable image and how important English skills are to that. As to whether grammar matters on networking sites, it does to the extent that many people who are involved in the hiring process with local employers are active here including recruiters and hiring managers. When you look at it from that perspective, its more important than just a "chat line", even when the subjects here may not always be formal or business related. I personally find that it is best to always strive to write correctly because it helps keep one in the habit. Its too easy to let bad habits creep in, especially under duress. All that said, as I've mentioned before, English and grammar skills are a weak area for myself, as they are for many techies, but I do try.
No, intent taken. I ask for
No, intent taken. I ask for advice and that's the way I took it. At the same time I just wanted to express that I do take precaution on important documents like my resume and cover letters. I am also taking care of my weak area by taking additional classes to help in this area. For me is not a bad habit it comes naturally I think Spanish and I write that way so I don't do it intentionally. I have to check what I write constant before I send it out. I agree this would be a good practice for me to strive to write correctly to help keep a good habit. I also didn't realize that local employers are active here in this website.
Thanks for the info.
My weakness is diplomacy. :D
My weakness is diplomacy. :D I was trying to point out what appears to be a significant potential blocker in your job hunt. And yes, I have developed a relationship with a recruiter because of his activity here. No telling how many lurkers there are.