Guest Post - Zhi Li

Zhi is one of Chris' Spring 2012 Professional Speaking students at Carnegie Mellon. Here he writes about job interviews.

Many people are trying to get a full-time position or internship from a company in the U.S while they are still at school and are about to graduate. And the first step and one of the most critical parts would be getting the job interview which is the only chance that let your employer know more about you and decide to whether or not to hire you. In the following of this passage I’d like to talk about how to get interviews from the company you want.

First of all, you should think of a list of companies that you wish to work for. This is important because I always consider one should try his best to find a job that match the combination of personal interests and skills. Otherwise he will find the job boring, which is not good for personal growth and career path.

After you have your own list, you can begin browse their websites for more information and available positions that offered. Then, just pick some positions that you are interested and match your academic and professional skills and also make a list, separate them into different group according to their main functions, like “Software Developer”, “Technology Analyst” and so on. According to different groups you should prepare different resume.

Preparation of Resume is the core part of this passage. A brilliant resume would definitely help you get interviews from companies that you want to work for. It is the only way through which the recruiting team to know about you before giving you the interview. Thus it would be very important to have an attractive resume.

A good resume focus more on the content itself other than the format. A beautifully formatted resume with boring or not match contents definitely would not let you to gain an interview. A good resume is generated through multiple modified and updated.

Actually, I think the process of writing resume is a good opportunity for ones to reflect on themselves. They have to figure out what they did and accomplished which making themselves match the positions they are applying for. So, trust me, just spend more time on writing the resume. 

Another significant thing is your submitted resume should show that you are the right person who is matching the posted position. Do not only put everything you do previously on the resume to show you are experienced. What the employee looking for is whether you are Mr. Right for the position.

There are lots of factors in whether one can get interview from a company. But better preparation always makes you exposed to more opportunity.