Job candidates

Unless you first impress an employer with your cover letter, many HR professionals won t bother to read your resume. Thus, there s a chance your cover letter will be your only opportunity to convince a potential employer that you are a viable job candidate. Both the wording and the overall appearance of your cover letter should complement your resume. 

Imagine you are a company representative sent to interview a candidate for a job. Write a paragraph describing specific characteristics of the ideal candidate. Now think of these characteristics from the interviewer s perspective. What ramifications does each have for a potential job candidate s interviewing behavior ... 

Form a team of three and role play a hypothetical job interview, with two of the group playing interviewers and the third playing the job candidate. Take turns until everyone has played the candidate. 

So, being past a certain age doesn t mean you re too old. It does mean, however, that you are experienced, dependable, and stable. In other words, you re a great job candidate ... 

The job analysis provides useful information for both employees and managers. For managers, information from the job analysis is used in writing job descriptions, interviewing job candidates, screening candidates, and setting performance criteria. For employees, information from the job analysis tells employees how work is to be done and the outcomes expected. 

For information on how to conduct useful and legal job interviews, see the section Interviewing Job Candidates. ... 

Background and reference checks on job candidates Always check references... 

More thorough evaluation of potential job candidates via summer employment of students. 

Depending on the job, your interviewer will be looking for certain kinds of success stories based on a number of factors, such as your ability to solve problems, think independently, take initiative, or communicate skillfully. The ten "success factors" that most employers expect from job candidates are listed in Exhibit 4-1. Your task is to weave these factors into your own success stories. 

Ten Success Factors Most Employers Look for in Job Candidates... 

Although it is generally agreed that a thank-you note should be short, opinions differ as to whether it should be handwritten or typed. It is safe to say, however, that if a company is conservative, the best bet would be to write your thanks by hand on a small, plain, good-quality note card (5" x 3/ "). On the other hand, you can type your thanks on good-quality, standard size (8/ " x 11") stationery. Some job candidates use the same paper and style of heading they used for their resumes and cover letters. (In this instance, the thank-you note is considered the final addition to the resume package they ve already submitted.) The format is less important than the time frame, however. A thank-you note should be mailed no later than a day after an interview. 

As you will remember from Chapter 4, each of your success stories should be built around one of the ten success factors that most employers look for in job candidates ... 

The bottom line is that hiring doesn t just happen to keep the HR folks busy. Every position represents a strong internal demand to fill a specific need. As a prospective employee, you will be evaluated depending on how well you fill that need. So it s in the best interest of both employer and job candidate that the right person is chosen for the position. To understand what makes a good match, we need to look at both sides of the coin and examine the needs and expectations of both parties. 

Two other factors that employers normally look for in job candidates are the ability to tolerates stress, which one is liable to get plenty of with modern short deadlines and high expectations, and, especially, self-motivation. The difference between a motivated and an unmotivated employee in any industry at any level is a quantum one. It s actually better to leave a position unfilled than to hire an individual lacking motivation. Candidates most likely to be hired will be the ones who seem to enjoy their work and give the impression that they ll get the job done, the ultimate industry accolade. 

What s it like being in industry What do you do all day Do you get projects assigned What do you look for in a job candidate ... 

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