How to Answer the Top 10 Interview Questions by Gill Buchanan FROM The Undercover Recruiter

Five Tips for Writing an Effective Résumé by Marielle Segarra FROM CFO.com

"When many people write résumés, they make modifications and changes and try to be all things to all people. That is a very flawed strategy."  - Cindy Kraft, CFO Career Strategist

Though targeting CFOs, others might still find some of the tips useful.

Do Social Networks Trump Résumés? by David McCann FROM CFO.com

"A person can exaggerate his credentials on a résumé, he pointed out, but on LinkedIn 'you're online for everybody you ever worked with to see. It's hard to exaggerate.' "

Avoiding Horror Words and Phrases in your Resume by Tom Hannemann FROM evancarmichael.com

The article makes a simple point: words such as liaise, involved, contributed, assisted, and participated do not reveal much about what was actually done on the job. Though he spills too much ink explaining this, it's still worth looking at the article to drive the point home. I confess, I used liaise in the sample resume I just posted. I'll now have to reconsider that.

"Like assist, contribute, involve and liaise, it does not inform the reader about what you actually did. What was your participation? In what way did you participated? What were you accountable for?" - Tom Hannemann

Sample edited and unedited resumes

Many Taiwanese seem reluctant to improve their SOPs too much for fear their English ability may appear better than that indicated by standardized tests or interviews. However, I don't think there is any reason to have the same concern regarding resumes. After all, there are standard ways of expressing job responsibilities and performance metrics. Even if English is not your first language, I think your resume should look pretty cleaned up. Below is an edited resume with the original information a student gave me. Hopefully it will motivate some to reexamine their resumes.

Sample Resume 1

CVtips Quizzes (free with your email submission)

The Not-So-Harmless Simple Interview Question by Katharine Brooks, Ed.D. FROM Psychology Today

"Are they simple questions designed to just start a conversation? Or do they have hidden meanings? Both, if you ask recruiters."

Interview Word List by Kenneth Beare FROM about.com

A list of words to explain what you did and to describe your skills.

10 Top Goofs Interns Make By Kerry Miller FROM Businessweek

1. THE ENTITLEMENT SYNDROME
2. NO FLIP-FLOPPING AT THE OFFICE
3. FORGETTING TO UNPLUGs
4. BEING A WALLFLOWER
5. DUCKING THE EXTRACURRICULARS
6. GRUNTING ABOUT GRUNT WORK
7. MISSING THE BIG PICTURE
8. FAILING TO ASK QUESTIONS
9. REJECTING CRITICISM
10. WASTING TIME

The 150 Typical Job Interview Questions FROM Quintessential Careers

"These 150 questions include both traditional and behavioral interview questions. For more information about types of interview questions, go to our Interviewing Resources section of Quintessential Careers."

10 Ways to Get Your Résumé Ignored By Kate Lorenz, CareerBuilder.com Editor

1. Not bothering with a cover letter.
Cover letters are so important to the application process that many hiring managers automatically reject résumés that arrive without them. Make the most of your cover letter by expanding on a few of your qualifications, explaining any gaps in employment or providing other information that will entice the employer to read your résumé.

Quiz from Snelling Staffing Services

Test Your Interview IQ

using a questions from US temporary employment agency:
http://www.snelling.com/Employees/ResourceCenter/TestYourInterviewIQ/tabid/111/Default.aspx (or click on title).

I have had managers complain about applicants taking phone calls during job interviews!

Evaluation of non-verbal signals FROM actingforbusiness.com

Many graduate school interviews are conducted over the phone, but it is still worth being aware of these points. Keeping track of some of these points might help break some bad habits.

Evaluation of non-verbal signals
	GREAT	GOOD	POOR	COMMENTS
Eye contact
Posture
Smiled
Didn't fidget
Voice volume
Voice speed
Grammar
Confidence
Sincerity
Enthusiasm

Autobiographical Essay: Two formats

Chronological Essay
As far as the presentation and essay format, I feel there are two major styles. Some people prefer to use a chronological style of writing, listing and describing their achievements by dates, and linking their personality to those anecdotes. This has the advantage of being an easy to follow system where the reader can easily visualize your personal development. However, it can be easy to get sidetracked using this method by focussing too much on each particular experience. It's also very easy to see any gaping holes if you have an unproductive period in your life.

Personality Traits Essay
Another method of presenting the content is to list 4-5 of the major personality characteristics that you feel you have, which are crucial to becoming a good doctor. Then, you describe experiences in your past where you have exhibited, or have worked, to develop those characteristics. . . . Pick whichever you feel are most relevant. Then, look towards your curriculum vitae to find experiences that relate to each of these categories. This system forces you to spend equal weight on each characteristic, which will make you look more well-rounded. If you have had an unproductive period in your life, using this type of an essay format will help "camofulage" that time period. A disadvantage is that you may have to exclude experiences that don't fit into the personality criteria you have already selected.

109 Typical Job Interview Questions FROM Saint Thomas University