1.
Get Noticed…
Get an Interview…
Get Hired!!!
helpaholic consulting
Jessica Karnes
Owner/Business Consultant

2.
Summary
 Resume
 Phone Interview
 Face to Face Interview
helpaholic consulting

3.
Resume
Your 1st and only chance to make an impression
It’s your job to make a recruiter’s job
easier to qualify you!
helpaholic consulting

4.
Key Concepts
 Top ½ of your resume should include the
things you really want a recruiter to know.
 Add a qualification summary & delete
your objective.
 Only list jobs from the past 10 – 15 years.
 Use a consistent format (style, font, layout).
 Add a bit of color.
helpaholic consulting

5.
More Concepts
 White space is ok 
 Your resume is a snapshot
of your experience.
 Don’t try cramming
everything in.
 Need more room?
 Add a 2nd page only if you
can fill at least ½ of it.
helpaholic consulting

6.
Do’s
 Do focus on what is relevant
to the job.
 Do keep job descriptions
short & sweet.
 If it’s more than 2 lines long,
add a new bullet.
 Write in the past tense.
 Do proofread your resume,
look for typos and repetition.
helpaholic consulting

7.
Don’ts
 Do NOT include personal
information.
 Do NOT list your references
on your resume.
 Do NOT type in 9pt or smaller
or over 14pt.
helpaholic consulting

8.
Contact Info
 Name
 Email
 Phone Number (only 1)
 Address (optional)
 LinkedIn (optional)
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9.
Qualification Summary
 Elevator speech…
 Skills, experience & passion
 Describe how you meet the
basic qualifications.
 5 – 7 bullets. No more than 2 lines each.
 Use action verbs & result oriented statements.
helpaholic consulting

10.
Education
 List what is required for the job and/or your
highest level of education.
 Technical training can also be listed.
 Include the following:
 Type of degree/diploma
 Major/Minor
 Name of Institution, City, State
 GPA & expected date of graduation if in
progress or applying for an internship
 Completion date of degree not required
helpaholic consulting

11.
Experience
 Chronological resumes work best… gives a recruiter
the most information.
 List jobs present first and back 10 – 15 years.
 Include the following:
 Job Title
 Employer
 Start and End Dates (MM/YYYY)
 City, State (optional)
 Do NOT include reason for leaving
 Do NOT include personal information – illness, pregnancy,
marriage, religion, etc.
helpaholic consulting

12.
Experience – What If’s?
 Little experience/new grad
 Internship
 Large Projects
 Volunteer/ Leadership
 Job hopper/various assignments
 Combine similar jobs and dates
 List jobs where you worked the longest
 Recently unemployed
 Be sure to list past employment
 Anything to fill in the dates of 6+ months (i.e. volunteer,
training, education, etc.)
helpaholic consulting

13.
Skills
 Companies love knowing they can put you
right to work.
 If you have room on your resume list the types
of tools you’ve used and skills you have.
 AP/AR
 Forecasting
 Presentations
 Excel abilities (i.e. pivot tables)
 SAP/ JD Edwards & other computer systems
helpaholic consulting

14.
Phone Interview
Communication Style
Sell your skills and experience
helpaholic consulting

15.
Basic Tips
 Answer the phone if you are fully awake!
 Recruiters will make first contact via phone
between 8am – 6pm.
 Schedule the phone interview so you can
prepare and do research.
 During the interview make sure you find a
quiet place.
 Stand or sit in front of a mirror – your facial
expressions can be heard.
 Relax! Be yourself.
 Research the company.
helpaholic consulting

16.
Interview Them
 Write down 3 – 5 questions to ask.
 How well do they perform?
 What does the company value?
 What type of overtime is required?
 How does the supervisor define success?
 How would they describe their team/
company culture?
helpaholic consulting

17.
Basic Questions to Answer
 Why did you apply?
 What interests you most about the
company?
 Confirm dates and gaps of employment,
education and experience.
 Why did you leave/change jobs?
helpaholic consulting

18.
More Basic Questions
 Be prepared to share
“negative information.”
 Its not what happened
necessarily … it’s how you
dealt with it.
 Answer some behavioral
interview questions.
helpaholic consulting

19.
Behavioral Based
Interview Questions
STAR…
Past behavior predict future behavior…
helpaholic consulting

20.
STAR Concept
Past behavior… Predicts future behavior
 Recruiters look for specific examples of
how you performed in the past.
 Think of telling a short story including:
 Beginning = Situation/Task
 Middle = Action
 End = Result
helpaholic consulting

21.
STAR Situation/Task Action Result
associate
the STAR
to a story
Beginning of the story:
Describe the
setting and
characters….
Middle of the story:
This is the core
of the story…
End of the story:
How it ends…
be sure to finish
the story!
questions
to ask
yourself…
• what was the issue,
task, project, or
problem?
• when did it take
place?
• where did you
work at the time &
who was involved?
• what was your
role?
• what steps did
you take?
• how did you deal
with the situation?
• how did you react
• why did you make
certain choices
• how did your
actions impact
the situation?
• how did things
work out, $/time
savings?
• what did you
learn/do
differently?
helpaholic consulting

22.
Prepare
 Write down 3 – 5 specific examples of
 Projects
 Situations
 Improvements
 Tasks you are proud of
 Associate your examples to the STAR story.
helpaholic consulting

23.
Practice Questions
initiating
action
Tell me about the last time you initiated a project with little or no
direction.
(Why did you have little/no direction? What did you do? What steps
did you take to complete the project? Who did you have to talk to?
What challenges did you encounter? How did it work out? Did you
save time or money?
conflict
Tell me about a boss you had difficulty working with.
(Why did you have difficulty? How did you react? What
happened? What would you have done differently?)
helpaholic consulting

24.
Practice Questions
stress
tolerance
When was the last time you felt stressed at work or were required to
work long hours for a long period of time?
(What were you working on? Why did you have to work more
hours? How did you feel about it? How did you react? Why did
you react a certain way? When did the stress stop/hours reduce?
Looking back what would you have changed?
leadership
Describe a technique you have used to lead and motivate others?
(Why did you use the technique? What steps did you take? What
impact did your technique have on others?)
helpaholic consulting

25.
Motivational Fit
 Location
 Job Fit
 Company Fit
 A recruiter is trained to analyze these.
 Be sure you are interviewing for the job
you are ABLE to do and LIKE to do.
helpaholic consulting

26.
Face to Face Interview
Be yourself, come prepared, dress appropriately
helpaholic consulting

27.
Before
 Research
 Know the schedule
 Prepare questions
for the interview
team
 STARS: remember
the high points in
your career
helpaholic consulting

28.
During
 Be prepared
 Communication
 Body language
 No gum, candy
helpaholic consulting

29.
After
 Thank you notes/emails
 Don’t overly bug the interview team
 Be patient
helpaholic consulting

30.
How I Can Help You…
 Custom prepared resume documents
 Link to your social networks
 Creative color graphics
 Free revisions for 60 days
 Interview skills
 Mock behavioral based interview questions
 Personalized phone/skype consultations
 Interview preparation worksheets
helpaholic consulting

31.
Want More Help???
helpaholic consulting
 Jessica Karnes
 business consultant, owner
 719.289.8432
 http://www.linkedin.com/in/jesskarnes
helpaholic consulting