1. Do not give reasons for termination or leaving a job on the resume. The reader can invariably find negative connotations to even the best reason. Rather than including this in your professional resume, it is much better to discuss it in person.

2. Do not include items like hobbies, sports and social activities. They rarely help in getting the job, and may bias readers against a candidate (e.g., membership in a hunting or gun club could be viewed negatively by someone who is against guns or in favor of animal rights).

3. Do not include social security number, spouse’s occupation and/or personal philosophies toward religion, politics and related topics (i.e., unless germane to the position applied for).

4. Do not list references on the resume. They can easily be provided separately if requested. There is nothing to be gained for candidate or referencing individuals by exposing names of references to prospective employer.

5. Do not use exact dates (e.g., 10/23/07). Month and year are sufficient.

6. Do not include the date your resume was prepared (i.e., this is auto-formatted in some word processing templates). If your search takes longer than a few months, the professional resumes will appear outdated.

7. Do not include height, weight or remarks about physical appearance or health unless somehow germane to the position applied for.

8. Do not list high school or elementary school if a college graduate.

9. Do not state job objectives on resume unless resume is targeted to a particular job or occupation.

10. Do not use professional jargon unless absolutely sure resume will be read by someone who understands those terms.

11. Do not provide salary information on the resume, but save it for the interview. If required to provide that information, do so in cover letter.

12. Do not lie. If it is discovered before a job offer it can prevent an offer. If it is discovered after being hired, it can result in loss of job.

Avoiding these twelve “Do Not’s” can help you create a better resume and land the job.

Vision
The term “vision” has become a haggard cliché. It can mean everything or nothing. It is often used to describe the high-level objectives leaders want to achieve, and, other times, is actually a mission statement. Often these are but slogans or lists of desired objectives or “values” that are put up on the wall and left on tables in the lobby, but do not impact behaviors and attitudes.

A vision is a vibrant mental image that depicts your view of the desired future state of the organization in an inspiring way. It is not a statement of mission, a set of objectives, or a list of values. It is a word picture of what will be seen, heard, and felt when the organization fulfills that mission, and achieves results. It’s about the culture, environment, and values. If it’s not inspiring, then it’s not a vision.

Unfocused Vision
Without a clear vision, candidates create a vacuum of understanding and connection with interviewers that undermines their effectiveness.  Why?  Because most interviewers judge actions and words closely and critically, hunting for signals of direction, purpose, motives, and, especially, for the answer to “who is this person?”  Job candidates begin down the path to failure when they do not gain control of their own career objectives.  The result is not effectively getting their messages across, shaping a job plan, or gaining the confidence of those in a position to judge results of their job candidacy. Career objectives need to be clear to the job candidate and presented in both the candidate’s professional resumes and job interviews

Fulfilling Your Vision
To create momentum, you must make some quick successes. By the end of the first six months, at the most, you must have made substantial progress in addressing your job’s most pressing problems. This means marshaling resources to focus on issues that meet three criteria:  clearly defined assessment of financial needs, consciously address issues that employers understand to be important, and strive to make it to the next step in the process.

Vision in the Job Search
Job candidates secure early successes in job interview process by identifying problems that can be tackled in a reasonable period of time and whose solutions result in tangible improvements in performance.   They can supplement these points in their professional resume when identifying skills and creating an objective.  Job interviewees should focus attention on the few key issues that are central.  In doing this, they seek to get results, set the right tone, and energize their candidacy.

Body Language Basics
Body language can speak louder than words and is critically important.  Most people are aware of the basics:

• Importance of a firm handshake
• Maintaining good eye contact
• Practicing good posture

Subtle Body Language
Most people, however, do not think about what is communicated by the many subtle movements, gestures, looks and actions under the total body language “umbrella.”  Body language includes actions such as:

• Movement of head
• Facial expressions (e.g., movement of eyebrows, eyes, nose, etc.)
• Body posture (i.e., the way body is placed, including arms and legs, in relation to each other, and in relation to other people)
• Body proximity
• Shoulder movement
• Hand and finger gestures
• Handling and placement of objects (e.g., pens, papers, etc)

There are other body language movements that telegraph intent, such as gestures (e.g., the particular way a hand is shaken, or someone winking after a particular comment), and vocal cues, including: pitch of voice, volume (e.g., shouting, whispering, etc).

Body Language To Avoid
Nonverbal cues can say a lot about personality and interest in the open job.  Seemingly small movements can send un-intended messages.  Examples include:

• Crossing arms (closed; keeps people at bay)
• Over-reacting (nodding hurriedly, insincere, unprofessional)
• Tense facial expressions (nervous, control-oriented, or angry)

It is normal to be nervous, and some tension is to be expected.  Take a few long, slow breaths to calm down.

Show Good Body Language From The Start
Many hiring managers say they can often tell if someone is the right fit for his or her organization just minutes after the handshake. In a recent Robert Half survey, executives said they typically form an opinion of a candidate within the first ten minutes of an employment interview. With such a short amount of time to interact with a hiring manager, what can the candidate do to achieve a positive response?

The Most Important Body Language
The most important body language cue to me is remembering to smile. I know for some people this may be painful, but a ready smile says you are confidant and positive. Being positive goes a long way toward convincing the interviewer that you’re right for the job. Consider whether you’re making any common nervous mistakes (e.g., such as rushing your responses or not listening to the full questions), and adjust your communications as necessary. Many employers want positive people. They are nice to work with and customers appreciate them. A smile says you are that person.

While prepping for your next interview, remember to spend some time in front of a mirror, or better yet, video yourself.  Talk through answers to commonly asked interview questions and watch for messages your body language may send.  If you see anything negative or weak, take action to correct.

There is value in the details. These days especially, hiring managers are often incredibly busy, which makes for short interviews.  Therefore additional importance is placed on maximizing the time available and requires a focus on the more subtle points of the interview, such as giving a firm handshake, maintaining eye contact and practicing good posture.  Your nonverbal cues can say a lot about your personality and interest in the position.  Seemingly small behaviors can send un-intended messages.  Things like body language are important.  Examples of body language to avoid include: 

• Crossed arms.  People with crossed arms are frequently interpreted as being closed, uninterested, and sends the message that you are keeping someone at bay.
• Too animated, over-reacting, exaggerated actions (e.g., nodding hurriedly, arm waving outside the “TV box).  People exhibiting such behaviors are interpreted as being insincere and unprofessional.
• Overly tense facial expressions.  Telegraphs that you are nervous, potentially control-oriented, or angry.

Nervous is normal.  It is normal to be nervous, and some tension is to be expected.  Resist the temptation to beat yourself up over past interview mistakes.  Also do not keep reminding yourself how important this interview is.  Successful candidates have mastered the ability to drive such thoughts aside and are able to focus on the task at hand.

Beware of the small talk.  Small talk plays an important role in the interview by helping to break the ice and put both parties at ease.  But be careful: it is easy to make costly mistakes during the informal periods like walking between interviews or at lunch when your guard is down.  Strive for a happy medium in your comments.

Tell yourself that everything you say and do from when you walk through the front door to leaving the parking lot is potentially part of the interview.  Saying too little at lunch when between interviews can make you seem aloof or afraid.  Saying too much can alienate, and cause you to come across as obnoxious or worse.  If the hiring manager asks whether traffic was heavy or if you had problems with the directions they provided, feel free to offer more than just a “yes” or “no” answer, but be sure not to complain and chatter needlessly.  Truth is it does not really matter so just go with the flow. 

It should go without saying that this probably is not the time to ask for a date with the administrative assistant who first greeted you.  Social interactions must be friendly and professional… period.

The most macho of people can be daunted and undone when it comes to facing a job interview.  Like public speaking, many have interviewing on their list of their top five most dreaded things to experience.  Is it possible to embrace or almost enjoy job interviews?  Answer:  yes.  Following are some behaviors to keep in mind that should help maximize your potential for a successful outcome:

Be cool.  A great way to make a good first impression in an interview is to master the interview butterflies.  I agree, this can be very hard, but you must try.  Feeling stress is a natural response to the interviewing process, and most candidates experience it at some level.  The trick is not to show it. 

Leverage.  Though most aspects of the interview are outside a candidate’s control, it is important to leverage the things that are in your power.  One example: give yourself a time cushion, and plan to arrive at the interview destination 10-15 minutes early.  The consequences of arriving late to an interview are huge.  Even if only a few minutes late, you will arrive breathless and already on the defensive.  Your goal for the interview is to appear confident and in control, and the need to give excuses for tardiness is inconsistent with that goal.  Planning for some extra time in case you get lost or find unexpected traffic travel conditions also allows you to compose yourself and relax a little.  Sweaty palms also do not help achieve your goal of a confident persona.  Practice at getting yourself to gear down through use of long, slow breathing and other time-tested relaxation techniques.

Anticipate questions.  Another thing successful job candidates do is to anticipate questions they are likely to be asked, and give pre-thought to the answers.  This bit of preparation will be a confidence booster and stress reliever. Whether any or all of those specific questions are asked, many of the answers often prove useful with respect to other questions.  The more pre-work you do for the interview, the more it calms nerves.

No matter what your career experience, doing these behaviors will help you get an edge over the competition for that new job.

Clean-up your act.  This is a controversial area, but like it or not, a good part of the impression an interviewer first forms of you depends on how you’re dressed. All protests aside about not “judging a book by its cover,” or comments about personal freedom to express yourself, appearance still counts in an interview.  Wear a nice suit or whatever is considered better than normally appropriate dress for that job or business.  Even if you know the work place to be a casual environment, I believe it is OK to dress-up anyway for interviews.  By wearing clothes that are coordinated, clean and pressed, it is one more way for you to show interest and that you want the job.  Many job candidates believe they are not being true to themselves if they dress differently at an interview versus any other day.  But if the way you dress improves your odds of being hired, then why not?
 
Hair.  Another long-time area of conflict is facial hair.  Though beards are popular and more accepted on men of all ages, I still see surveys of hiring managers indicating a bias toward the clean shaven.

Body art.  And though tattoos and various body piercing are now mainstream and at the height of popularity, they too can be a point of bias on the part of interviewers. Therefore, my recommendation is that all body art should be covered and all visible body piercing removed (with the exception of earrings on women).  One caveat on earrings on women is that they should be restricted to one per ear.  If the position requires you to represent the company to customers and/or the general public, the hiring company has a right to set policy regarding display of these things post-hire anyway.

Meet and greet.  Next, treat everyone you encounter as a potential interviewer.  Many hiring managers (self included), have asked everyone interacting with a candidate, from the administrative staff to members of their department, for feedback on a prospective employee.   So smile, and be pleasant toward all of those you meet and curb the tendency to focus only on those who are perceived to be the hiring managers. You never know whether a seemingly small event outside of the interview will be noticed and reported and potentially make the difference (examples: loudly using cell phone in waiting area versus quietly using the time to prepare or relax).

Put your best foot forward in the interview, and “dress for success.”  You will be glad you did.

Focus on doing well the elements of a job search process that you can control, because there are many things a job candidate cannot control. The candidate has no control over whom, how and when interviews are conducted, what questions will be asked, or obviously, control over who gets the job.  But there are a number of other things that a candidate does have control over.  You should never lose a job offer because of something that was within your purview to make happen.  Examples include:

• Be early for interviews.  Anything short of a natural disaster sounds like merely an excuse for being late – and there are no excuses.  Think through travel and traffic requirements and take necessary action to mitigate potential issues.
• Learn name of interviewer.  Smile, look them in the eye, and be sure to greet everyone you meet with a firm handshake.  Think in terms of conveying engaging and confident.
• Use good manners.  Remember, this applies to everyone a candidate comes in contact with.  Whether at the reception desk, in the hallway, the parking garage, your conduct should be the same as with those you interview with.
• Relax and answer each question concisely.  Noticeable nervousness and/or rambling answers are a distraction.  Study relaxation techniques used by public speakers to control nerves (e.g., long, deep breaths, etc.).
• Use proper English.  Avoid slang, speak clearly, and focus on connecting and communicating. 
• Be cooperative and enthusiastic.  Go with the flow, do not pick arguments, and remember to smile appropriately and often.
• Show interest with body language.  Use eye contact, sit-up straight, have good posture and display body language that is open and engaging.
• Ask questions about position and organization.  Avoid questions whose answers are easily found on company Web site or published in the annual report.
• Avoid asking about pay in initial interview.  Compensation and rewards are very important, but it is generally better to defer asking about compensation until latter stages of the interview process.  Unless brought up by the employer, asking pay questions too early can appear to be self-centered on part of candidate.
• Thank the interviewer.  Say thanks when you leave, remember the firm handshake, send a short thank you note.

Watch for articles regarding other behaviors for a successful interview, including:  cleaning-up; treating everyone as a potential interviewer; keeping cool; beware of small talk; the value in the details; doing your homework; and remembering to smile.

Doing these behaviors will help you get an edge over the competition and achieve successful interview results. Best wishes for a profitable job search and winning interviews in your future.