“Employers look for spelling mistakes. I was at a conference and every employer on the panel said that they go through each résumé and they look for spelling and grammar errors, and the minute they find one they throw them away!”, Sara Moore.

Evidently the simplest of things can keep you from not only a job, but a career as well.  Moore is a career counselor and Personal Growth professor at Mesa College.  As well as other advisors, she offers counseling in the career center located in the Modular Village (MV 20). Throughout February she has organized workshops involving the “art” of resumes and the interview process.

During a 45 min interview she explained the process of interviewing and the true “art” to a résumé.

According to her, your importance level is represented by your résumé. It should look professional and well organized. The same resume shouldn’t be sent to every employer you wish to be hired by.

“Tailor your resume to the specific job that you want by researching the job and the company”, Moore said. “Whatever the requirements are for the position, make sure that is listed on your résumé”.

Moore continued to state that potential employees should look up the website for the company they desire for employment and use key language you view there on your resumes.

Lack of experience or preferred requirements are an issue for a lot of students. Some students may want to work at a fast-food restaurant or clothing store but might not have experience in the particular field. The career center encourages you to “do something now that is related that transfers in some way like an internship or volunteering somewhere”, said Moore.

“A lot of times students may have more knowledge than experience in a specific field but they may not realize it. They should express this knowledge during the interview”, Moore said.

Sarah Moore believes that a lot of time students subconsciously undermine their own future. “If the job requires you to sell things but you think you don’t possess the personality of a salesmen, then don’t overly pursue it. You can either learn the qualities of bartering or you can look for a job that suits your abilities.”

Moore goes on to say that “the resume decides your interview, and your interview decides your hiring potential”.

Keys to aceing the interview are preparation, professional attire, and your knowledge of the company. One underestimated quality of the interview process is confidence.

“Research yourself and ask what skills do I have? What are the qualifications? And does it match with my skill set? After you know the answer about these things, you become confident in your knowledge and in your approach”, said Moore.

Confidence can be found in eye contact, your handshake, and even the tone of your voice. These things helped to establish confidence as well as presence. “These actions say that ‘I’m here! and I’m ready!”, says Moore.

One thing that was stressed during the conversation with Ms. Moore was that potential employees should always do their homework and research the companies they’re applying to. During the interview, if you want to ask questions, they should pertain to things you couldn’t easily find on the internet.

Before you arrive to the interview answer the basic questions you think you’ll be asked, i.e. “Why do you want to work for us?”, “What are your greatest weaknesses? and What would you do if…?”

After the interviews follow up with the companies and thank them but if you don’t get the job “don’t be disheartened. Dust yourself off and move on” Moore said.” You’re going to hear no more than you hear yes. It’s just the name of the game. Take what you can from it and learn from the experience”.

Students have a hard time finding jobs but according to most studies, internet ads and newspaper postings aren’t always the best and most efficient options available when job searching. Studies show that 61% of job seekers found employment through networking.

Networking is defined by Donna Fisher and Sandy Vilas’ book, “Power Networking: 55 Secrets for Personal and Professional Success”. In it, they describe “Networking” as “making links from people we know to people they know, in an organized way, for a specific purpose, while remaining committed to doing our part, expecting nothing in return.””

In practice, networking embodies the idiom, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know”.

*Additional Info – More tips and examples can be found in the Career Center in MV 20.

– Other counseling and Career Center information can be found on Mesa’s homepage.