Yesterday, I made my annual speech to students at Samford University about resume writing, interviewing, and the whole interview process. Much, if not all, of what I said should be common sense to middle-aged business people. However, it isn’t to fresh, young faces in their late teens and early twenties. Let me tell you, they took a lot of notes.
Here are some of the supposed pearls of wisdom:
- Although you might not want a job in sales, the difference between a job and a career is how well you can sell, particularly how well you can sell yourself
- Keep your resume to one page
- Keep the fonts and margins consistent
- Stick with Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri
- When emailing a resume, use a pdf, NOT a word, document
- Study up on the company before you walk in for an interview
- If you know who is going to interview you, study up on the interviewer
- Be prepared to answer the question: “where do you see yourself in five years?”
- Be prepared to answer the question: “what do you like to do for fun?”
- Take control by getting the interviewer to talk about themselves
The opinions expressed within this report are those of John Norris as of the initial publication of this blog. They are subject to change without notice, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Oakworth Capital Bank, its directors, shareholders, and employees.