Seth Godin recently made interesting point in his blog..
The whole premise of the post is that for job seekers most of the time, being first is an advantage..
I think the same. I have seen that in job interviews if you are the first guy you set the agenda. You make an impression that is carried forward to the rest of the candidates.
Here are my two practical tips that I have learnt about any walk in.
1. Be the first... when the walk in is on Saturday and Sunday, I saw many people go there on Sunday thinking Saturday will be crowded or other similar reasons. But going on the very first day at the very first hour has advantages.
See if you have the required experience and you match to the requirement, go on the first day, since you are usually the first so the HR people will screen the resumes leniently. Filtering process is fluid and small experience and skills gaps are tolerated but as time progresses and they begin getting lot of resumes or candidates, they become more strict, more choosy and more focused on the resume screening and only let the right candidates in. So be the first.
2. Second tip is make your resume easy to read or scan. Have all the relevant words, skills up front. Incidentally first page should have all the relevant related points regarding the requirement. Write it clearly and preferably in bullet format.
If someone has recommended you, write his/her name on the top of the resume. I have seen this technique work. Once yours truly and my friend while doing training after AeSI degree, went for an infotech walk in. After scanning my resume I was immediately asked to return and told “we will call you, do submit your resume”. While my friend having the similar experience and profile but having only the name of an employee on the resume got the chance to be interviewed. So if you have reference from someone inside the company, mention it its always gets a preference.
So this is what I have learnt from my walk0in that has come my way during my training period. Do tell me yours and what and how you tackled them.
Related post that you might want to read: A practical tip to accelerate your job search
