by Orrin Konheim and Shy Pahvelani

It is important to be able to stand out from your competition. A video resume can go a long way towards having an employer understand more about you than can be expressed on a paper and are particuarly important in jobs where the ability to communicate is an important part of the work. Best case scenario: It could even save the employer the trouble of a job interview.

Just like whenever someone is watching a video of practically anything, it's important to hook the viewer. It is first important to understand what the prospective employer might be looking for. Is it a job that requires creative thought? You might want to get creative with your video or how you present yourself in that case. If it's a job in sales that you're looking for, you want to show them your charisma as a salesman and show them you're pitching skills.

Whatever the nature of the position is, however, some things remain standard. You will always want to:

1) Look and sound good-Maintain eye contact with the camera and speak in a commanding but not too stiff of a voice. Practice a little on your own before committing yourself to the video. This has the added benefits of eliminating "ums" and "likes" in your speech, which are definitely a negative. Dress in business attire.

2) Act relaxed-Although the business attire is important, try to dress in something you're most comfortable in. If you're not comfortable wearing a double-breasted armani suit, it will show. Pick something formal that you're comfortable in. Act relaxed and take a few deep breaths. This is supposed to be conversational. Sounding overly rehearsed might make an employer question who the real you is.

3) Be concise-If you noticed the fact, that lately 2-minute youtube videos are more popular than full-length tv shows, than you're probably aware that we all have short attention spans. You don't want to lose your audiences. Try to keep your video resume to just one minute, and do not deviate from your main points.

4) Plan for what interview questions you might receive-Think of a couple interview questions you think you would be asked if you were getting an interview in this field. Ask a peer or try to work from personal memory. Without repeating the question, try to work your answers into the content of your video

5) Talk about results-Don't talk about you but talk about what you would bring for them. Don't focus heavily on all your accomplishments. These need to be much more brief for a video resume. The focus would be on what you bring to the team and what kinds of results you would bring to them if you were hired. You can support this with examples but don't overdo it (i.e. I would fit in well with a publishing company because I have over 6 years of experience writing in local newspapers and I interned at a publishing house). Unlike a written resume, this is conversational. Act as though you happened to bump into one of the leaders in your field at a baseball game and he wanted to know briefly what accomplishments you have in your field. You wouldn't list your whole resume to him, right? You give a short summary of what kinds of experience you have without going into the details. If they want more details they can look at your resume or contact you further.

6) Briefly, thank the employer for listening to you at the end of the interview.

Interviews: A two way street

by Matt Muller

Good morning sunshine! Today's a big day. Today's the day that all of that Monster.com and newspaper searches come to fruition because today's the day that you have finally landed that "real" interview for that "real" job. Now this isn't a shot at Mini-golf customer relations rep. or Micky D's drop cook technician, this is an interview for not just a job, but a potential career. This is a chance for salary, benefits, and (perhaps most importantly and if you're lucky) to use what you have studied for the last 4(+) years. So you need to add an extra level of preparation in order to distinguish yourself from the dozen other applicants interviewing for YOUR spot.

Research:

Hopefully by now you have done some research on your potential position and new employer. There are two big reasons for this:

1)      For starters the interviewer is looking to gauge interest level of the interviewee as well as overall competence. Don't be surprised to hear questions that don't pertain exactly to the position for which you're interviewing. "What are your thoughts on our company's efforts to become more "green"?" or "How would you handle the rising fuel prices on our distribution mechanisms?" The interviewer is not looking for a right answer here, just that you took the time to educate yourself on some of the company's happenings and goings on.

2)      Also you should have questions for your interviewer. Is there room for advancement? How many people will I be working with? Who would be my direct supervisor? Etc. This is another opportunity to show that you will go above and beyond the call of duty.

Before the Interview:

You should go through the following items before you head off to your interview:

1)      Know the name(s) of the person or people conducting the interview and use it throughout the process. Remember people love hearing their own name and it could make a difference.

2)      Make sure you have the proper attire. At this point you should know what is and what isn't appropriate for the position you are trying to get. Also be sure to bring along copies of your resume, a pen and a pad of paper (legal size is usually the best).

3)      Know how to get where you're going for this interview, scout it out early if needed and if nothing else on this day BE ON TIME! The only thing worse than a bad first impression at an interview is a late one.

At the Interview:

1)      You only know what you know. It is ok to answer questions with "I don't know" (although you can mention something like "I'm willing to learn, however")  Don't BS anyone in that room. Nothing good can come from it. It can also portray honesty which can score big.

2)      So relax. There is no real reason to be nervous. But if you do, just slow down, take a second to regroup and maintain eye contact with the interviewer.

3)      When answering questions that you do know, try to relate to the company's needs in your answers (again this comes back to good research beforehand).

4)      When finished be sure to thank everyone in the room; a follow-up email or phone call is always a good idea.

So there you go. You are ready for your job interview. Think of it like a first date, all you really need to do is be yourself, if you are there is a great chance at a second. Now go get 'em tiger.

By Michael J. Smith

Most new graduates should put a lot of time, effort and thought into their resumes. For those who do, and do it correctly, it's obvious for employers. And, in some cases, that can be the difference between your resume being read or thrown out.

And, as you know, you can't be considered for a position if your resume is not read.

To ensure that your resume is read, make sure that you present yourself professionally. I should be able to glance at your resume and tell, by the formatting, if it is something I want to read. Formatting and presentation can be as important as the information on the resume.

With the visual presentation of your resume influencing my first impression, it should be as professional as possible, which means no typos and no strange formatting.

As a senior on the verge of graduating college, I didn't particularly look forward to the world beyond because I never had much information about it. My friends who had already graduated seemed unable to illustrate what life was like in their jobs after college. I noticed that in response to the question, people fall into two categories when you ask them what do for a living: one is self-loathing and the other is people in non-stop interview mode.

The first is the self-loathing 20-something who doesn't think much of what they do. They might say, "I just work for a non-profit," even though that doesn't explain too much. Defining your life by your company's designation in the U.S. 401K tax code seems to be trendy and I'm not sure why. These people are depressing to listen to and they are probably depressing themselves whenever they speak about their job. When you ask them how life is after college, they often say "nothing much, I just work," as if they're in serving time in prison. Most of their advice centers on enjoying college life while you can because it all goes downhill from there. There probably are few worse pieces of advice one can receive and hopefully most college students will not take it to heart.