Cv for Interviews

Archive for October, 2009

The job interview is the only chance you have to present yourself in a positive light
to a potential employer. If you fail to do that, you kill your chances for being hired.
Of course, most of us do not fail at interviews by choiceit is simply the employers
choice to hire someone else. However, some things a person may do that are
completely out of line and will kill all of their chances of being hired.
Being late to the interview
Although there may be some circumstances that are beyond your control, for the
most part if you schedule your time properly, there should be no reason for not
arriving at the interview on time. Things such as an unforeseen traffic delay or
being unable to find the employers place of business are acceptable if you have
allowed enough time initially. Do make sure to call and communicate with the
interviewer.

Inappropriate dress for the interview
In most cases it is inappropriate to go to an interview wearing jeans, shorts or
other casual attire. If this is acceptable the interviewer will tell you at the time they
schedule the interview. If you are leaving one job to go for the interview, make
sure to let the interviewer know that ahead of time in the event your current job
allows casual dress.

Taking calls on your cell phone during the interview
At no time is it acceptable to accept a phone call during an interview or to provide
the interviewers phone number to others. If you have children that may become ill,
make other arrangements for their care. The employer is going to see this as a sign
you will be unwilling to arrange care for your children and will expect to leave any
time they are ill.

Discussing personal business with the interviewer
Although the interviewer may ask you a series of personal questions during the
interview, do not offer any information that is not directly related to the job. For
instance, if you dont drive, he may ask how you will get back and forth to work if
there is no public transportation and you can say that your husband or boyfriend
will take you and pick you up, but there is no need to discuss other issues. The
interviewer doesnt care if you are buying a new house, getting married next week,
or having problems at home.

You may find it hard to use networking to find a job if you can’t rely on
your warm contacts to give you the information you need. At times,
you would have to ask your warm contacts to refer you to at least two
people that they know who will be able to give you the information you
needed.
However, there are times that your warm contact, particularly those
who don’t know you well, may not readily provide you with the
information. Some of your warm contacts may feel reluctant about
vouching for you to their other contacts.
Because of this, you may find it difficult to use your network. To make
networking and getting referrals an easy task for you, here are a few
tips.
* Nurture your warm contacts.
Before you even need your warm contacts or before you even
ask for help, keep in touch with your warm contacts. You may
send notes or greetings from time to time, call to “catch up” on
them, invite them to lunch, be interested or help in their
business or do anything just to cultivate your connection with
them.
In this way, by the time you need help, they can remember you
and can more readily give information about their other contacts
that will be able to help you.
* Be polite.
Since you might not have close personal relationships with some
of your valuable warm contacts, it is inappropriate to just give
them a call and ask them for information about your field of
interest.
Sometimes, sending a note in advance, or asking to meet them
for lunch is a better way to ask for their help.
* Listen to them.
Most of the time, even if your warm contact knows little in the
field where you are trying to find a job, they might offer you
advice. Be polite and interested in what they are saying. Who
knows, the information that they are giving may be valuable to
you in the future.
There are times that your warm contacts may be telling you tips
on what manner will work best when you talk to the persons to
whom you are being referred. Your warm contacts may also
imply what qualities and qualifications the person is looking for.
* Ask for at least two referrals.
Before you ask for referrals, make sure that your warm contact had
said everything that he or she can say about your field of interest.
Even if they know little about that field, it is impolite if you cut them
short while they are speaking to ask if they know somebody who will
be able to help you.
If they weren’t able to refer you to at least one of their contacts,
thoughtfully ask them why they couldn’t do so. They may give you
answers that may include indirect comments or suggestions. They
may also indicate a lack of confidence in your work strategy. If this is
so, you may have to make follow ups with them to prove that you are
indeed credible and match their requirements.
However, there are also times when they can’t refer you to their
contacts because they just don’t know anybody who might have the
information or might be interested in the product.
In this case, ask them to keep their eyes open for opportunities that
you might be interested in. You can also leave with them copies of
your resume.
* Just ask for two referrals.
Two referrals are enough from each warm contact. This is to have
another option in case the first one didn’t work out. Asking for more
than two referrals could be impolite as it can take much time from
your warm contact. Also, that will make your warm contact feel that
you are relying mostly on him or her for your job search. So, unless
they volunteer the information, don’t ask for more than 2 referrals.
* Contact referrals as soon as possible.
When your warm contacts give you referrals, there are times that they
also call these people personally to give more information about you.
On the other hand, when you contact the people to whom you were
referred, your referrals may call your warm contacts to verify the
information or to ask more information about you.
Either way, you have to contact your referrals soon enough that these
people can still remember their conversation with your warm contact,
or your warm contact can still remember that you have talked.
At times, after your referrals were called by your warm contacts, they
anticipate your call and even prepare questionnaires and exams for
you to take. Do not waste this opportunity by delaying follow-up on
referrals.
Keeping these tips in mind will be able to help you in asking for good
referrals from your warm contacts.

If you are still in the job search process, it is extremely important to follow up on all contacts. It is not good to just sit and wait for results
to come pouring in when you think that you’ve already done your part because your contact information has been distributed.
Consider two men applying for a prime position at a company. After the interview, the first applicant just sits around waiting to hear from
his prospective employer.

On the other hand, the second applicant distributes his contact information to some people that he met in the company. Furthermore,
applicant number two does a follow-up on the results of the job interview a few days later. The first applicant has not been heard from,
because he just relies on the basic “We’ll call you” routine. Who do you think will have a greater chance of getting the job?
Even though the first applicant is more qualified, since he did not follow up or even send a thank you note to the interviewer, in the end,
he does not get the job.

If you are still waiting for that job offer and you do not follow up on your contacts, your chances of getting hired become slimmer. In
business, following up on all of your contacts is a sure-fire way to spread the word about you, your business sense and expanding your
horizons.

I’ve seen it happen time and again to programmers, network engineers and administrators, and other IT personnel. They get a solid IT position, a good-paying job, and they get comfortable. They stop keeping up with the latest technologies, they stop studying, they no longer keep their CCNA, MCSE, and other industry certifications up-to-date…. and then one day, their comfortable job is gone.

Maybe they get laid off, maybe the company moves and they don’t want to move with it… but for one reason or another, they’re in the worst position possible. They have no job, and they have allowed their IT skills to deteriorate to the point where they are no longer employable.

If you’re in IT, you must be constantly learning. You must continually take the long view, and ask yourself three important questions. First, where do you want to be in three years? Second, what are you doing now in order to reach this goal? And finally, if you were laid off today, are your current skills sharp enough to quickly get another job?

That third question can be the hardest of all to answer honestly. I’m reminded of Microsoft announcing years ago that they would no longer be recognizing the MSCE 4.0 certification, since the network operating systems that certification was based upon would no longer be supported by MS. (Keep in mind that this change was announced months in advance, giving those holding the MCSE 4.0 plenty of time to earn the latest MS certification.)

Some MCSE 4.0s just went nuts. Microsoft’s certification magazine printed letter after letter from angry MCSEs saying that their company would always run NT 4.0, and that there was no reason for them to ever upgrade their certification.

This wasn’t just denial. This was career suicide. Let’s say that their network never moved from NT 4.0. Let’s also say that they got laid off yesterday. Would you want to go out into the current IT workplace and have your most recent network operating system experience be on NT 4.0 ? I sure wouldn’t.

The fact is that you’ve got to continue studying, continue growing, and continue learning new things if you want to have a successful long-term IT career. If you plan on studying only one topic, getting into IT, and then never cracking a book again, you’re entering the wrong field. And for those of us who have been in it for a while – again, ask yourself this question: “Am I prepared for what would happen if I were laid off today?” And if you’re not, do something about it!

Usually when you are looking for a job, you would ask for help from
family and friends. You would contact these people to ask for
information on current job openings, business opportunities and tips.
Your family, relatives and friends belong to your warm contact list.
The warm contact list is the list of people with whom you have or had
some personal association. A former classmate, officemate or
neighbor may belong to your warm contact list.

Who may be included in your warm contact list? Here are a number of selections.
* Relatives and Friends
These people are always willing to help you in your job search or
business venture. They will be able to provide you information if they
have some, or refer you to trustworthy people who will be able to help
you. If they will introduce you to some of their contacts, they can
surely provide honest information to you regarding the person you are
going to associate with.
* Members of the church, political party, social club or fraternity or
sorority

You probably did not expect it, but people who share the same faith,
beliefs or hobbies may also help you with finding a job. You may have
a different career from theirs, but they might know somebody who is
in the same field or will be able to help you in your career.

Whether you’re just starting your Information Technology career, or wanting to get further ahead in your current IT career, you have probably thought about earning one of the many popular computer certifications such as the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification, or the MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) cert.

A major point of frustration for individuals pursuing one of these certifications is a possible lack of experience with these technologies. Many future CCNAs or MCSEs simply stop trying to earn their certification, feeling that their lack of experience will hold them back.

Adding to this are those in IT who will stop everything they’re doing at the drop of a hat to stomp on the dreams of others. I recently saw a post by an IT newcomer on a popular website where he declared his intention of earning his CCNA. Within minutes, several naysayers popped up and told him that he shouldn’t bother, it wouldn’t do any good due to his lack of experience, etc. (Did you ever notice that people who bash certifications generally don’t have any themselves?)

I am in no way discounting the importance of experience. What I am saying is that every single one of us was a beginner at one point, and a lot of IT professionals forget this. None of us was born knowing everything we know today, and we shouldn’t spend any time dismissing the goals of others in the IT field, or those just breaking in.

I am speaking from experience on this point. I had a tough time breaking into the IT field, and made a lot of calls and knocked on a lot of doors before I got in. I found out later that the reason I got that entry-level job is that I had a professional certification where the other candidates did not.

The pursuit of certification is the pursuit of knowledge, and in our field, you can never have too much knowledge. If your work is strictly on the Local Area Network side, don’t let that stop you from pursuing a CCNA. If you work exclusively on the WAN side, don’t let that stop you from going after your MCSE. If you’re just breaking into Information Technology, don’t let a lack of experience prevent you from studying for your A+, Network+, or even your MCSE or CCNA.

Because one day, opportunity is going to knock – and the more you know, the readier you’ll be to answer that knock! Use your long-range vision to envision the day when you will have both experience and certification – an unbeatable combination.

Once the application has been sent and the resume has been received the next thing that would possibly happen is that the employer will be
calling to test communication skills by means of an interview. Allowing oneself to be given the option on which employer is best fitting the
applicant is one characteristic of being pro-active. Consider being called by multiple employers for a job interview in a day a good sign.
This only means that they were really impressed with the documents submitted, therefore, deserving a personal communication on how
most likely an applicant would land on the job.

Resumes can present an individual very well. Seventy-five per cent of employers say that applicants with resumes passing their standards
would definitely be invited for a job interview. Allow two or more interviews.

What Do You Do When Your Printer Runs Out Of Ink And You Have A Rush Printing Job?

It is always a pain in the neck when you run out of ink while printing a very important document on a deadline. When everything fails, make sure you keep your cool and you know what to do next. Dont worry! Youll have that paper in your boss or professors desk in time even if you run out of ink.

Undoubtedly, computer parts and accessories cost a lot. And you usually dont realize when these parts would reach the end of their lifespan, so be sure you are prepared. Running out of ink is not a funny situation, not when you have a deadline for a paper. And buying a refill in the middle of the night is not exactly a fun thing to do. Now, youd probably ask, How do I keep my cool? Heres how: Know about ink refilling and do it yourself!

Ink refilling is popular nowadays, that it has even given birth to lots of ink-refilling stations. But that would mean another expense to you too, although it might be cheaper compared to buying a new ink cartridge. You can actually do the refilling yourself provided you have the materials and the knowledge how to do it.

Anybody who can read a manual would surely be able to get on with the task. Below is the list of what you should have and what you should do when refilling your own ink cartridge. Remember, keep your cool and dont panic!

A place with a close access to running water is the best place to do the refilling. This is so as not to smear ink on furniture, other things most especially important documents.
The amount of ink to be refilled varies on the size of the cartridge. The cartridge states how many milliliters (ml.) of ink it can hold.

In your ink-refilling kit, a syringe is provided to draw the ink (of any color) to refill the empty (or near empty) cartridge. Along with it are bottles of ink of different colors, a bottle of cleaning solution especially designed for the sensitive parts of the cartridge and a users manual. Refer to the manual on how to properly inject the ink to the cartridge.

To transfer the ink from the syringe into the cartridge, there must be a very tiny hole (the size of the tip of a ball point pen) poked on top of the cartridge, near the label. Insert the needle of the syringe and slowly, very slowly inject the ink into the cartridge. It is necessary to do this process very slowly so that the ink would not form foam and the bubbles would prevent it from printing.

The newly created holes need not be sealed after refilling, as it would look like the other breather holes on top of the cartridge.

Left over ink inside the syringe can be returned to its original bottle. The syringe must be properly washed before using for another color. It is also preferable to use different syringes for different colors.

To make sure ink is not dripping out of the sponge, turn the cartridge upside down. Replace the cartridge back in the printer cradle, totally cleaned up. Run test print to see changes and to clear and clean any printing problems.

Few important things to remember:
It would be best to refill a near-empty cartridge than a totally empty one as dried up ink might cause clogging.
It would be best to let refilled ink cartridge stand overnight to let the newly injected ink even out.

It would be best to poke a tiny hole on top of the cartridge with UTMOST care so as not to cause a crack which will completely make it useless. Even a very thin crack might cause the newly refilled ink to dry up no sooner that when you put it in.

It would be best to inspect the cartridges to be refilled because there are some ink cartridges that say Single Use Only, and refilling it might cause damage to the printer especially when the ink injected is not the same with the previous content of the cartridge. Worse, when found out, the one who refilled it (you or some commercial refilling station) could face charges.

It would be best to check the cartridge (especially the newer models) for the green chip that keeps track of the levels of the ink. Its memory can be reset so as to be able to check the level of the cartridge with the newly-injected ink or when it is necessary to refill again before it has completely run out of ink.