One of the keys to nailing an interview is to have a good variety of stories prepared ahead of time. And one thing I really love about my job is that for the last 15 years I have heard some truly amazing stories. But a story is only effective when the interviewer has a good appreciation […]
Transition
Don’t let your iPhone cost you an interview
This week I want to share the many ways your very expensive high-tech cell phone could hurt you in an interview. And by the way, you should expect that you will have to conduct a telephonic interview at some point. Several of our corporate partners like to conduct interim follow-up interviews over the phone. While […]
Wasted Space
When teaching resume classes, I like to say that you should treat your resume like a valuable piece of real estate. But here’s the thing: it’s also a very tiny piece of real estate measuring at a mere 93.5 square inches! That’s assuming it’s a one-page resume, which we require at Alliance. So given this valuable real estate, you […]
Resume Tip: Quantify – but within reason
Most people have heard that it is important to quantify things on your resume. Numbers don’t lie. Well actually they can, but that’s another story. But the point is that quantifying a responsibility or result can help the hiring manager better understand the scale of your achievement. The corporate world is very numbers- and result-driven. […]
Interviewing Tip: Eliminating Uh’s And Um’s
Recently we covered how to overcome nervous jitters in an interview. Obviously, one way that people display nervousness is by inserting filler words like uh’s and um’s throughout their responses. Yet, these annoying utterances aren’t always due to nervousness. Whatever the cause, it can derail an interview. Here are several effective techniques that will help […]
Resume Tip: How to Proofread a Resume
If we had better foresight we would have published today’s resume tip two weeks ago. That is, before the deadline for our April conference candidates to submit their first resume draft. If you are an Alliance candidate, we hope you will refer to this tip prior to your first submission because it will make everyone’s […]
Resume Tip of the Week: Say it with Less
How to say more with less on your resume
Virtual Interviews: What you need to know
I recently conducted a free webinar for military veterans on how to prepare for virtual interviews and thought it might be worthwhile to share a narrative of that webinar to a wider audience here on LinkedIn. More and more companies are making use of technology to complement their talent acquisition strategies. The advent of COVID-19 has […]
How to Conquer a Professional Reading List without Breaking the Bank
One of the common questions we receive from new candidates entering our program: Do you really expect me to read all of the books on the Alliance reading list? Here is my answer: It is not an absolute requirement (we won’t stop you from attending a conference if you haven’t completed it), but I feel […]
Developing Resume Bullets that Pop
One of the most important (if not the most important) goals of your resume is to develop effective achievement bullets. In a competitive hiring environment, it’s not enough to simply describe your duties. You have to develop strong bullets that illustrate how you excelled in those duties. There are two components to a strong achievement bullet: An Action A Result. […]