Jobs and Interviewing and Fear.

(photo found here)

Jobs are hard to come by lately, but they are out there. I recently helped two of my friends by rewriting their resume in the hopes of landing them that beautiful and scary thang --

The Interview

Ugh. I know it's tough, but get over it and prepare yourself. It wasn't until I started practicing my job interviewing skills that I actually saw a huge improvement, and received a job offer. Here are a few tips, peeps --

1) Go to a local bookstore and run straight to the "Careers" or "Jobs" section and grab a few books on those respective subject matters. Buy one or two and then make yourself practice two exercises from each book a day, such as following up with networking contacts or calling companies to see if they are hiring. If you can't afford to buy the books, then just read a chapter a day and write excellent notes.

2) Practice with friends and family. But, uh, don't practice with your Boo. Ya'll know each other too well.

3) Research the heck out of the company you're trying to join. Know it like the back of your hand. I've screwed up on this before and looked like a total idiot when I didn't know the answer to an easy question about a company I failed to learn about. Ya live and you learn!

4) Dress well. Look, interviews are not for jeans and T-shirts. I don't care if you're applying to be a janitor at Burger King. Put on some slacks and a nice, ironed top. No exceptions. I've seen individuals called out for not dressing the part. Plus, you feel more confident when you look/feel good. If you can't afford to buy clothes, try a thrift store.

5) Practice in front of a mirror. This allows you to pick up on your body language and anything you do that isn't so hot, like twitch or blink too often.

6) Always start off by handing that person your resume. He or she may be looking for you to do this, or simply didn't bring it. This always makes you look good. Also, it's always great if it's wrinkle free and on a white sheet of paper. Common sense to most, but not to all.

7) Know your place. Don't pretend to be a Know-It-All. Answer any and all questions. Say what you need to say to present yourself as the best for that position and that's it.

Interviewing is hard, but it's totally fun once you get the hang of it. If you're straight out of college or a young person looking for your first job, follow the above tips and you'll be golden.