Four Ways to Get Hired Faster

The difference between being proactive and reactive is time. Reactive people wait for things to happen to them, while proactive people go out and make things happen. Timing is key in any career move, so it is up to you to make things happen. Be proactive and professional, and you will find yourself in the mix come decision time.

A typical hiring process takes anywhere from three to eight weeks, depending on the policies of the company and the scheduling that must take place to get all of the decision-makers aligned. A key to keeping to the shorter end of this three to eight week time frame is to have a thorough picture of the company's hiring process. If you are working with a recruiter, get the details from him or her. If you are going it alone, ask the following questions during the initial telephone interview: "When do you need this position filled?" "Can you describe for me your last successful hire?" "What is the process and time between each step, so I can get a clear picture of what to expect going forward?" Once you are aware of the process, you can set your expectations accordingly. If you want the job, you must be certain they know it. Let's explore four sure-fire ways to move a hiring process forward as quickly as the company will allow:

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Six Ways to Prepare for a Layoff

Bill Healy never saw it coming. The head of a successful division of a major financial institution, he'd just been interviewed for his company's newsletter when he got the call. He was to be one of the 103 employees let go as part of a corporate restructuring.

Healy felt blindsided and betrayed. "I had over 15 years of service and even sat on a restructuring task force," he relates. "I had no idea I was vulnerable."

When layoffs are ahead, you need to watch your behind. Here are six ways to prepare and protect yourself:

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10 Real-Life Interview Mistakes

Hiring managers don't want to hear a lot of things during an interview – confessions of a violent past, a cell phone ring, a toilet flush. Yet job seekers have committed these interview gaffes and worse, according to CareerBuilder.com's annual survey of the worst interview mistakes.

Odd behavior isn't the only way to ruin your chances of landing a job. When hiring managers were asked to name the most common and damaging interview mistakes a candidate can make, 51 percent listed dressing inappropriately. Forty-nine percent cited badmouthing a former boss as the worst offense, while 48 percent said appearing disinterested. Arrogance (44 percent), insufficient answers (30 percent) and not asking good questions (29 percent) were also top answers.

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7 Signs of Poor Productivity

If you're like most professionals, there never seems to be enough time in the day. A handful of e-mails may keep you in the office past the time you had planned to leave, or you might find yourself working on Saturday after barely touching a key project during the week. Short of adding an extra hour or two to the day, what can you do to complete everything on your plate?

One solution is to identify and eliminate productivity pitfalls from your workday. Consider the following signs of poor productivity and ways of improving your habits:

1. Not knowing what to tackle first.
If you have dozens of to-dos, it can be difficult to determine which to work on first; you may approach a low-priority project immediately only because it was top of mind. Spending just 10 to 15 minutes at the start of your day organizing your work is a simple and highly effective way to boost your productivity. You'll be able to prioritize and identify the most pressing projects.

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Five Steps to an E-friendly Résumé

Today's Internet-driven world has changed the way we look and apply for jobs. Gone are the days of handwritten cover letters, typewritten résumés and hand-delivered job applications. Given the increasing number of online job boards that require Web-based applications, many employers don't want a hard copy of your résumé. Instead, they'll ask you to submit an electronic résumé, either online or via e-mail.

Electronic résumés are plain text or HTML documents, which can also be included in the body of an e-mail for job applications online. It may not be as attractive as your word-formatted résumé in all its bulleted, bold-text, fancy-font glory, but it gets the job done.

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How to Identify Your Transferable Skills

This "finding a career" thing is tricky business.

You go to college and major in one thing -- but find yourself in a job opposite from what you spent four years studying. Or, you land a job that's exactly in line with your college major -- but discover it's not what you had in mind. Or even still, you score a gig doing what you love and are content for many years -- until you get bored and want to make a switch.

So what happens to the experience you've gained from your current job and those before it? What about the hours, years and dollars spent studying this vocation in school? Do you really have to start at square one if you decide to drastically switch careers?

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How to Handle References

Once you began the hunt for a new job, you updated your résumé, took your suit to the cleaners, practiced your handshake and interviewed yourself in the mirror until your answers came out just right. You’re prepared for everything.

Except a reference check.

Employers do make the call.

Many applicants are under the impression that employers no longer ask for references or that they never actually call them. Not so, says Linda Finkle, executive coach and CEO of Incedo Group, an organizational coaching and consulting company. “Reference checking is a critical factor in hiring.”

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25 Ways to Sabotage Your Job Search

When you're job hunting, you can go mad if you think about the amount of factors beyond your control that affect your chances of getting hired. The economy, your location, industry trends – even the hiring manager's mood – can influence whether or not you get a job. Still, as nice as it would be to blame your lack of offers on external factors, you can't forget that the common denominator in your job hunt – from the résumé to the interview – is you.

Here are 25 ways you might be unknowingly sabotaging your own job search:

The first steps

1. Not keeping track of your accomplishments

When you're happy with your job, it's easy to forget about possible future job hunts. You never know when you'll end up looking for new work, and if you don't keep a running list of awards, promotions and accomplishments, you might not remember them when it's time to update your résumé.

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Confessions of Hiring Experts

If you worry about every possible way you can blow a job interview -- from mispronouncing the boss's name to babbling incessantly when you don't know what else to say -- you're going to walk in there feeling like you're destined to fail. True, job interviews are rife with opportunities for you to embarrass yourself, but hiring managers are more forgiving than you might think.

We consulted some hiring experts about what is really going on inside their heads when interviewing job applicants. They offered the following insights:

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Job Search Tips to Survive the Recession

Today's economic news may be gloom and doom but it needn't derail your job hunt. You can still win a great job, even in a lousy economy. You will have to get smarter in your job search strategy, though.

Here are five tips to incorporate into your job search approach during an economic downturn:

1. Research your options

Does your industry or line of work offer little promise of employment in the coming months? If so, now is a good time to step back to identify the projected top performing industries and jobs. The best place to find this info is on the Web through Google or Yahoo. Start with "best industries work recession" or "recession jobs 2008" to uncover articles describing some of the more "recession-proof" sectors to target.

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10 Things to Know About Background Checks

You have been working long and hard on your search for a new job opportunity. Finally, you have an awesome interview and you get a great offer. The hiring manager indicates that the only thing remaining is a background check (BC).

Your heart starts to pound and beads of sweat appear on your forehead. Questions fly through your mind: What are they looking for? What are they going to find? Who are they going to talk to? How do they conduct the process? Am I in trouble because of the DUI I got when I was 20 years old? Will they find out about the company I didn't include on my résumé because I only worked there for two months? Will they find out I got fired instead of quitting? Will my bankruptcy from 12 years ago prevent me from getting the job? What will my vindictive former boss say about me?

Let's answer these questions for you.

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Making the Best of a Bad Job Situation

If you find yourself in a job situation that's anything but rosy, here are some points to ponder that may help you cope more effectively.

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5 Important Interview Tip

To increase your chances of landing a great job, you should take time to define your strategy and prepare your resources. Successful job offers are direct results of effective planning, and a productive interview needs to be well-researched. Follow these tips and future interviews will deliver positive and powerful results.


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Résumé Lies Can Haunt‏

Build your résumé and your reputation on integrity for ultimate success

"I hate to tell you this," he said, "but Julie didn't lead any of those projects. She was a member of the team, but the leadership role as well as recognition for the results belongs to someone else." He shook his head sadly and said, "I'm sorry." So was I.

By the end of that day, Julie was no longer employed by my company. She tearfully explained that she had lied on her résumé, expanding the description of her former role in order to be given the chance to lead major projects – something she knew she could do.
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9 Ways to Win at Office Politics

Office politics is a part of your career, whether you like it or not, so best brush up on some tips to help you gain and keep others' respect. Read Article CareerBuilder.com

Top 10 Jobs in Information Technology

Business expansion and the increased reliance on technology within all sectors has resulted in a competitive environment for skilled IT professionals. Read Article CareerBuilder.com

Dos & Don'ts of a Good Cover Letter

"It's too bad many job hunters are too lazy to write one" says our expert, because "cover letters are very influential and a well-written letter can grab an interview just on its own merit." Read Article CareerBuilder.com

Seven Easy Steps to a Freelance Life

By Kate Lorenz, CareerBuilder.com Editor

Being a free agent is exciting, rewarding and gives you carte blanche to choose your own hours and assignments. But standing out from the more than the estimated 10 million independent contractors in the United States can be a challenge.

"Some workers freelance while they look for a traditional full-time job, but most are freelancing because they've made a conscious lifestyle choice," says Ben Jablow, Senior Business Development Director for Sologig.com, a Web site that connects consultants and freelance job seekers with more than 60,000 contract-based projects. "They want to better balance and integrate their life and work and to be able to control what they do, how many hours they work and how much money they make."

Hiring freelance workers is beneficial to employers, too, because it provides more latitude to conduct their operations. Employers can hire based on specific skill sets for individual projects and outsource more operations, ranging from design and marketing to IT. This allows businesses to easily augment or reduce staff levels based on workflow and control costs by dialing up or down payroll and minimizing benefits coverage.

Are you seeking the flexibility and autonomy of freelancing? Jablow offers seven ways to help build your client base and fatten your wallet:

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Eight Tips for Spring Cleaning Your Career

By Anthony Balderrama, CareerBuilder.com writer

Ah, the arrival of spring: The sun is out and it’s time to get your act together. You can pull down those holiday decorations. Wash the layers of mud and salt off your car. Take those running shoes – that you bought last spring – on their first jog around the park.

This is the one time of year when everybody’s eager to improve their lives.

Unfortunately, work life rarely gets the same attention. While your home might be in order, you won’t feel completely refreshed if your work situation is a mess. Whether you have a job or you’re looking for one, here are some tips to make the most of your spring cleaning.

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