No matter how many job interviews you may have been to, sitting in front of a potential employer and answering the question “why should we hire you?” can still be pretty nerve-racking.

Being well-prepared is by far the best way to ease the pre-interview jitters and show the interviewer your best side.

Kandi Mensing shares her knowledge. Read more at: http://www.opencolleges.edu.au/careers/resumes/job-interview-tips

Filing paperwork is a dreaded task in most businesses. Did you know you are required to keep more than one file per employee? Are you keeping your I-9 forms separate from your personnel files? There are a lot of regulatory requirements around personnel files, and internal audits can help uncover them before you face steep fines. The I-9 form alone contains potential fines of $110 to $16,000 per violation. Filing medical information in the wrong place could lead to a potential lawsuit, with lawyer’s fees averaging $85,000. And wrongful termination lawsuits, which can have payouts in the millions, can be avoided with proper documentation—if you can find it when you need it! That's why Personnel File Audits are number eight on our list of the Top 10 Outsourced HR Tasks. If you missed the first two issues, you can catch up on our blog.

Personnel File Audits are a great way to get your file drawers organized and legally compliant. Having an outside source come in and audit your personnel files ensures that you are starting fresh, keeping only the information you need, and filing it compliantly. Elite HR Team's color-coded label system makes keeping the files organized a snap.

We’ve always saved clients more than their investment to audit their files and correct non-compliance. Much like finding dust bunnies under the bed, our audit “deep cleans” your files and searches for every possible fine. We leave you with files that are separated into personnel, medical, and financial, and labelled with necessary documents that should be contained within. We can’t promise to bring you joy in filing, but we can make it easier!

Elite HR Team wants to give you the tools to organize your office and do things right. A Personnel File Audit can get you back on the right foot. Check out our solutions for your personnel files here.

Group Interviews Explained Have you ever been in or conducted a group interview? Group interviews involve having an interview with a range of 5-15 candidates at the same time. The interview can be conducted by asking the same question to the whole group and allowing each individual to answer among the group. Or, the group may also be divided into subgroups for group activities and assignments. Group interviews can save an employer a lot of time in the interview process. For example, a manager is more likely to have time for a 1-hour group interview with 10 people but making time for 10 one hour interviews may not be possible. Group interviews can aid in identifying those candidates with leadership skills as they stand out in the crowd and take the lead in the group. 

Group interviews are a great idea for certain types of positions, but for other positions should not be utilized. A group interview should not be conducted for mid-level management positions or higher. Upper management is an integral part of any company. It's important that their interview time is spent one-on-one to really get to know them. Plus, it can be perceived by the applicant as demeaning and degrading for an executive to be interviewed in this way. Let's be honest, it is difficult to find good managers. You want to spend one-on-one time with them for your own sake and for the sake of showing them respect in the recruiting process. Group interviews are a great tool for lower level positions, to entry-level management positions. These positions often have a lot more applicants than management positions, so you can really maximize your interview time with group interviews. Plus, as mentioned above, you can see what applicants show strength, confidence, and leadership. 

Would you consider a group interview situation? What roles would you put through a group interview? Leave your comment below. 

Don't let the resumes pile up on your desk. There's a better way for small businesses to recruit. Streamline your efforts with our affordable online recruiting portal. Your first posting is free, and there are plans as low as $29/month! Claim your free job posting here:

http://register.hiringthing.com/partners/elitehrteam

By: Kandi Mensing, SPHR, MBA
In my career as a professional recruiter, I’ve interviewed thousands of candidates, and hired hundreds! It seems like most applicants don’t put much time into their resume. The typos, the inconsistent formatting, the grammatical and punctuation errors all reflect negatively. In fact, when I’m looking at applicant resumes, I circle these items with a red pen. The point of your resume is to get the interview, not necessarily to get the job. It is the interview that determines whether you get the job. Today, we share with you 5 resume tips to get the interview. 

Consistency. Lack of consistency is the number one reason resumes get kicked out of consideration. Some people don’t get chosen for an interview simply due to lack of consistency on their resume, especially if the job requires strong grammatical skills, attention to detail, or handling company correspondence internally or externally. Ensure your information is all formatted in the same way. If you have your job title first, then your company, format it the same for every job. Same with dates. Too often I see some jobs only have years, and some have months. Be consistent

Objective. An ‘Objective’ is often listed as one of the first things on a resume. Why? What is the point of the objective? Did you google “resume objective” and then choose the best sounding one? Yeah, so did everyone else. We see the same objectives all the time! Stop using objectives. If you insist on an ‘intro’ use a summary or a skills section instead. Objectives are not serving you. 

Your name. Make sure your name is large, and obvious. When a recruiter is looking at your resume, your name should make impression in their mind. All too often I see resumes that have the candidate’s name seemingly hidden in the text. This is YOUR resume; own it! 

Education. If you have a degree from a higher education institute, make sure it is listed first on your resume. The fact of the matter is that only 30.4% of the US population over the age of 25 holds a bachelor’s degree or higher (source: New York Times). The second component is to use the word “Acquired” next to your degree. If you just put dates, for example 1996-2000, that doesn't necessarily tell the recruiter that you obtained your degree, but rather that you attended that school for those years. Don’t short sell yourself. Make sure they know you have that degree. And, you don’t necessarily need to put the year you acquired the degree as much as you just need to make sure they know you have the degree. You will fill in the year on their application. Remember, the resume is intended to get you the interview. 

References. Stop using the phrase “references available upon request” on your resume. We all assume you’re going to give us references if we ask. Substitute that phrase for a quick “thank you” to the recruiter. You could say something like “Thank you for reviewing my resume. I look forward to interviewing with you” or anything that is friendly, thanks them, and speaks of you personally and the way you would talk with them. Let your personality come through. Another thing, don’t take up valuable space on your resume listing the references. Wait until we ask for them.

Do not sell yourself short on your resume. You only have 20-30 seconds to catch a recruiters attention before they move on to the next resume. In this video we give you a quick tip about listing your education on your resume. We hope you enjoy.

Objectives on your resume can be detrimental to your job search. This objective can eliminate you from consideration immediately because the position may not be challenging and the company may not be growing.

By: Kandi Mensing

{FORMATTING} A resume is a glimpse at your work history, an indicator of your grammar and punctuation skill set, and a look at your attention to detail. Resumes are intended to get applicants to the interviewing phase of the recruiting process. Many people compose 'paragraphical' resumes. If you learn one thing from this blog, please take this away: do not format your resume in paragraphs. {BULLET POINTS} Bullets are always the answer. In this economy, it is said that you have 15 seconds to catch a recruiter's attention. Look at your resume. Does it communicate the most important parts of your resume in that time? {BOLDING} Is the name of your company and years of experience in bold? If your answer to that question is 'yes', listen up! While your prior places of employment are relevant,  they are not near as important as the actual position you held with that organization. You should always bold your position/title, not the company or dates of service. Now, while we're talking about formatting, let's talk about those bullet points. First of all, each bullet point does not need to be a full sentence. Just make sure that within your bullet points for each position you include keywords that describe your work experience accurately. {KEYWORDS} Keep in mind that many application interfaces are able to identify applicants by keyword. Include keywords in your resume that you would use to search for candidates for employment such as yourself.{OBJECTIVE} I would argue that objectives actually hurt an applicants chances more than they help. Objectives are the first thing listed on a resume, the hardest part of a resume to author, and truly do not tell the recruiter much of anything because applicants purposefully compose them to be vague. All too often, I see the objective "To obtain a challenging position with a growing company." Well, the job may not be challenging and the company may not be growing.  With this objective and in this scenario, you have automatically eliminated yourself from being considered for employment on this basis alone.

{ATTENTION-GETTER} So, how do you catch a potential employer's attention with your resume? First of all, your name needs to be LARGE. This is YOUR resume we're talking about. You want your name to stand out and be remembered. {PERSONALIZE} Resumes are almost always black and white, text and paper. It is refreshing to see a little color, or a designed/personalized letterhead. Add some color to your resume. Don't be afraid to be yourself!  I repeat, it's YOUR resume; a representation of YOU. Make sure your resume reflects who you are and what the potential employer is getting if they hire you (within reason of course!). If a job doesn't want you for you, then you probably don't want that job. You want to be happy right?

{SO, HOW DO YOU GET TO THE INTERVIEW?}

1. Proper Grammar
2. Correct Punctuation
3. Consistency in formatting
4. Keywords
5. A concise resume that quickly outlines your experience and has the ability to catch the recruiters attention quickly
6. Professional and proper correspondence (more information to come in our future blog)

Resumes are complicated, yet integral pieces in your job search. We offer resume and image consulting for interview and job search preparation. Contact us for more details.

By: Kandi Mensing

YOU’RE UNEMPLOYED.
NOW WHAT?

It is time to hunt for a job; that’s what! Sure, you could live off of government money, i.e. unemployment compensations, but that is one of the worst things that a job seeker can do. In adverse economic climates hiring managers are understanding of job seekers who are unemployed due to a lay off or other form of reduction in workforce. However, that does not mean they are understanding of people who make a living on unemployment compensations. Despite a down economy,  hiring managers are having a difficult time filling their vacancies. That means that the right candidates simply are not applying for the right jobs. Do you find yourself applying for every job that seems to relatively fit the bill? FOCUS.  Hone your efforts in the areas of the job sector that are relevant to your educational and professional experience. Don’t apply for any and every job just because you think it increases your chances of finding work. It doesn’t. Companies do not want to hire a prior Executive Assistant to work as a Receptionist. Not only is their pay rate likely far above the budgeted rate for the receptionist position, but they will also be under-utilized and therefore more likely to jump ship when a better opportunity arises. Hiring managers would rather wait for the right person for the job than to place some warm body.

DO WHATEVER IT TAKES. I once lived in downtown Saint Louis, Missouri while job seeking. What I did was walk from building to building downtown attempting to get ‘face time’ with any and every hiring manager or human resource department that I could. I left copies of my resume with every stop. In the end, I landed a recruiting job because of my strategy. After I was hired, I was told that I really impressed them by just walking into their building and applying. It showed them that I wasn’t going to sit at home waiting for an emailed resume to get me at least a phone call. I was out actively looking for an opportunity. I wasn’t afraid of rejection or an honest day’s work. I was motivated and outgoing. In general, you just need to do whatever it takes. Follow up as necessary and track what jobs you’re applying for. All too often I call candidates to phone screen them and they have no clue that they even applied with me. It would really impress a hiring manager if you were able to show your high level of responsibility, accountability, and organization, by asking them to hold while you reference your application tracker. I always suggest a three-ring binder with divided sections that fit your needs. You can organize it by interest level, date applied, application level (applied,  received call, sent follow-up email, phone screened, interviewed, etc.), or any method you would prefer.

NETWORK. When you are unemployed, one of the most important things you can be doing is networking. The purpose is to keep your eyes and ears peeled for opportunities, but also to let everyone around you know that you are actively looking for work. Referral applicants always have a leg up on random applicants. There are many platforms used for networking this day in age. LinkedIn can be a powerful tool. I call LinkedIn the professional Facebook. Even if you are currently employed, you should be using LinkedIn. You can add all of your professional and personal contacts. This can be a powerful tool in reaching a substantial audience with your message. You can always network in person too. Anywhere you go you should be asking if they are hiring or at least inquiring as to how that facility or organization could use your talent or background. While unemployed, always, and I mean always have copies of your resume on you (even if they’re in your vehicle). Attend cheap or free local and/or professional events. Have personal business cards made perhaps with bullet points of your skills. Denote on the networking cards that you are currently looking for an opportunity. Volunteering is another highly effective method of networking, however it can also help to further build your resume and personal brand. Plus, it’s for a good cause and can also aid your well-being by providing you with a sense of purpose and contribution during your uneventful days of being unemployed.

FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS. Apply in the manner the job requisition asks of applicants. If the ad says “Apply by visiting our website at…” then do just that. If the ad says “no phone calls please”, don’t bother the hiring manager by calling them to check on the status of your application. It will appear as if you don’t pay attention to detail and that you don’t follow instructions. With that, you don’t want to exclude yourself from any opportunities. If the ad says to apply by mailing your resume and you respond to the ad by email, your resume may not be considered for the job. If they ask you to reference a requisition number in your application; DO IT. Requisition numbers tie your application to a specific job vacancy within the organization. Without the requisition number referenced, you may get tossed into a ‘general resume’ folder and may not be considered for the opportunity that you were interested in. If they ask you to provide salary history and expectation; DO IT. I think you get my point. It’s pretty simple.

WALK IN SOMEONE ELSE’S SHOES.  Think about what the process is for recruiting talent. A hiring manager may scan in your resume to their resume database which can detect key words in the particular documents scanned. In addition, they may search resume databases such as CareerBuilder. It is important to have key words on your resume so that you may be found in such searches. If you were a hiring manager, what key words would you use to search for applicants with your background? I always suggest that applicants have a “Skills” section in their resume. Below is an example of items you might include in a ‘Skills’ section of your resume so as to maximize your opportunity to appear in search results within said resume databases. I suggest formatting it into two to three columns within your resume rather than in one column as illustrated below.

Professional Skills:

• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Word
• Microsoft PowerPoint
• Microsoft Outlook
• Microsoft Windows
• QuickBooks
• PeopleSoft
• Citrix
• Typing: 80+ wpm
• Data Entry: 11,000 ksph
• Payroll & Scheduling
• Sales & Marketing
• Safety & Compliance
• Management
• Inventory Control

You also need to be mindful of what is going on in the hiring manager’s world. Too many people get discouraged if they have reached out to the hiring manager and don’t hear back from them. They are busy. They are recruiting for, most likely, more than just the position that you applied for. Don’t get discouraged. Be persistent, but mindful of their schedules and workload. You are unemployed with nothing to do but to wait for a return call on your application, they are not. They are employed with a burgeoning list of responsibilities as companies are doing more with less staff these days.
BE GRATEFUL. Thank the hiring managers for reviewing your resume. Thank them for their time on the phone or in the interview. You are grateful for their time and consideration, right? Humble yourself to thank them. They have very unappreciated jobs and it can go a long way in impressing the hiring manager.

BE PASSIONATE. Show passion for the job you’re applying for, the company you’re applying with, and for life, in general. Nobody wants to interview someone who is depressed and down on their luck. I once had a grown woman crying in the interview about being unemployed. I don’t know if she thought it would tug at my heart-strings or what, but quite frankly she made a fool of herself. You shouldn’t be that emotional over being out of work. I understand that it can be a tough time, but at least pull yourself together during the interviewing process.

BE CONSISTENT. Correct resume errors and inconsistencies. Make sure all relative resume parts are in corresponding font, text size, color, bold, italics, etc. Ensure all bullets and columns are aligned and the order in which you present your job data is consistent (job title, location, dates, etc.). Stay tuned for our upcoming blog on resume branding. 

BE CLEAN.  Do not ever give a resume that has been folded, is stained, or has a raunchy smell. If sending your resume by mail, spend the extra money in postage to send your resume in a full-size envelope. Don’t mail a resume with a coffee splash, shoe print, etc. Also, resumes hold smell. It is going to reflect negatively on you if a hiring opens your resume to the smell of cat urine (trust me, it happens!) or stale cigarette smoke. Even when just out applying for jobs, dress to impress. You never know what opportunities might present themselves and you need to be prepared. In addition, even the receptionists of companies make note of your appearance and will pass on to hiring managers. In general, just be a clean person!

Sure the job market is tough, but if you work on finding work, there are jobs to be had and there are ways to set yourself apart from other applicants. Ending on that note, happy hunting!

Don’t forget to subscribe to our blog so that you don’t miss future posts!