There will be 59 businesses and industries present at this year's Arkansas Northeastern College Job Fair, taking place from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursday in the college's Briggs/Sebaugh Wellness Center.
Louis Parchman, coordinator of career placement services at ANC, took time to offer some resume and interview tips that will helpful beyond the job fair.
"One of the issues with sending out resumes is only about 2-3 percent result in an interview, so you should expect about that level response," Parchman said. "One of the suggestions I would make on resume writing is to visit this Web site -- http://online.onetcenter.org -- that is available to everybody. Onet Center is a Web site that discusses, among other things, how to write resumes and has suggestions on the actual verbiage of the resume and is a really good tool to use.
"Another suggestion I would make, instead of trying to re-create the wheel, so to speak, is go to Microsoft Word and click on the icon on the top left corner and it will bring up a link called "new" and there will be about 75 different types of templates to use for your resume. This way you don't have to start from scratch. You can choose the resume that fits your situation. For example they have templates for registered nurses, practical nurses, sales and it covers several categories of jobs."
Parchman said one thing he often sees in resumes is that 30 to 40 percent of them have some kind of typo or mistake. He said a typo or mistake on a resume can often lead to a person not being considered for the job. Parchman also said not to rely on spell-check to catch errors.
"Spell-check will not catch words that are used incorrectly such as sale vs. sell, their vs. there, from vs. form and those kinds of things," Parchman said. "My recommendation is to have someone else read your resume before you hand it out. Those types of mistakes are hard to catch because the writer sees it wrong so many times they don't catch it, and I have been guilty of that my self."
Parchman said sources say that a person has about 10 seconds to catch the attention of the employer looking at his or her resume. It is recommended that resumes be one page and be printed on white or off-white resume paper. The ANC library, the Blytheville Public Library and the Mississippi County Library System has numerous excellent sources for people to use for not only resume writing, but cover letter writing and job search tips. The college has about 25 books on how to write resumes and conduct job searches.
Parchman went on to say that people can post their resume on sites like Monster.com, but they need to keep in mind that about 15 million people have done the same, so getting a response from posting a resume on those kinds of sites are slim.
"On interviews, the one thing that sticks out as an absolute is to be early," Parchman said. "If you are late for an interview, you have almost no chance of getting the job. By early I'm suggesting you get there about 20 to 30 minutes early. In interviews you want to dress appropriately. If you are in doubt of what to wear, wear what you would for church. Do not take your cell phone -- leave it in the car."
Other tips Parchman gave were to not mess with anything on the interviewer's desk or office, knock before entering the interviewer's office, sit up straight and don't mumble.
"In any interview you are going to get asked this question almost all the time and usually first: 'Tell me a little about yourself,'" Parchman said. "This is a time to discuss your accomplishments, your skills and what you can bring to the table. It is not a time to talk about your family or whether you like to go play golf or go hunting and so forth. Another absolute is never bring up money during the interview. You should also be prepared to ask two to three questions about the company, smile and ask for the job. The final thing you should do is send a hand-written thank you note thanking the person for the interview. When you leave your contact information, be sure to be sensitive to the ring tone or music the employer will hear on your phone when they call. Also be aware of any other information you have in the public domain like on your Facebook, MySpace and so forth."
ANC provides each semester free workshops on resume writing, interview tips and the overall process of searching for a career. Parchman said 600-700 people are expect to attend next week's job fair.
"My suggestion for the job fair is to come prepared to fill out an application," Parchman said. "Many employers will be glad to accept your resume but will want you to fill out an application as well. Do not put 'see resume' under employment history. Most employers want you to complete that section in detail even if you have given them a resume. The last issue on a job application is to make sure you read and sign the document. Many employers will not consider an application that has not been signed."
Parchman went on to suggest job fair attendees pick out three or four of the 59 businesses that they are most interested in and go to those first before going around to the other booths.
The job fair is free to all those that want to attend and is open for people to drop by any time between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Thursday.
czolman@blythevillecourier.com