I’ve been on a bunch of job interviews. I’ve been interviewed by one person, a panel of three, in multiple cities, for varying sizes of companies, and for everything from retail to administrative to creative positions. There are a few general rules for job interviewing:

Eye contact
Speak succinctly and with clarity
Allow the interviewer to lead the interview
Bring multiple copies of your resume handy
Do prior research on the company your interviewing with

These will definitely help get you out of The Shire. However, there’s one golden rule above them all that is guaranteed to make you a “can’t miss” prospect.

It’s not about what they can do for you, it’s about what you can do for them.

They called you in. They called you in to see what you can offer them. This approach will have you focus on what your strengths are, allow you to comment on what exemplifies the company you want to be apart of, and how you can become an indispensable addition, because you can contribute.

Maybe you can refill a stapler in under 6.5 seconds. Maybe you can run a half-mile in 2 minutes-whatever your skills, strengths, or accomplishments, this kind of mentality allows you to focus on those and how they work within the system you’re attempting to get involved with.

You don’t have to phrase this as in, “This is what I think you’re missing,” but rather, “This is what I love about this place, and here’s how I can add something to it.” It makes you appear proactive, eager, appreciative, and a team player. Because that’s the key to any job: remembering that you’re not going to be on your own the whole time but working with other people.

It’s not about what they can do for you, it’s about what you can do for them.

Every question they ask, think that thought. Every time you see an opening to elaborate on an answer, think that thought. It’s a way of keeping your focus in the room. You have something to offer them. Make the offer.

Always Be Closing,

The Dude

Question?! Answer: Ask Tuffy Luv.

Dear Tuffy Luv,

I’m graduating with a degree in nursing. Where should I move?

Ready to start life

Dear Ready to start life,

Wow. Well, that depends. I found this nifty little site: fabulousnurse.com. According to fabulousnurse.com, the best city for a nurse is Austin, TX, followed by San Antonio, TX and Salt Lake City, UT. Seems to based on a number of factors, including basic number of job openings and salary. I also found nursinglink.monster.com, which claims based on cash per hour, California and Hawaii are the top two. Um, I think I’m going with that one.

You’re obviously looking for an adventure, since you’re willing to relocate any flooping place based on your question. So open up your options by eliminating some, yes? First you need to think about what you’re going to do with that nursing degree. Do you want to work in a hospital? Or do you want to be a psychiatric nurse? Or a nurse educator? Or a school nurse? You can search that way and find really interesting jobs in other cities that you would never have found if you just searched “nurse.”

You could also be a travel nurse or disaster nurse and help by traveling to the people who need you most. Aunt Tuffy will worry about you, because it’s dangerous and scary, but I’m sure it’s also incredibly exciting and rewarding. On the other hand, you also have to think about other things. Like?

(1) Your family. Do you want to be close to them? Far from them? Make sure you know and consider it!!

(2) Starting your own family. Do you want to do that eventually? Think about the general time-line you’d like to set and pick your location based on how steady or not steady you might want to be.

(3) Do you like cities? Rural areas? Suburbs?

Girl, you need to visit some places. Take a roadtrip and figure out what the floop you like in a place. And then find a job and move there.

Hearts & Skulls,

Tuffy Luv

[Lead image via Supri Suharjoto / Shutterstock]

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Starting the real person job search

You’ve doubtlessly heard it by now. From parents, from professors, from older friends and siblings who’ve “been there.” It’s a sobering phrase that likely enters your mind right after you envision a post-grad summer of margaritas and beach hair.

Not so fast with those grand plans, girlfriend. As everyone knows, looking for a job is a full-time job.

But does it have to be? Absolutely, if you commit yourself to a crazy weekly plan like this one from the media gurus at Cynopsis. Waking up at 7:30 to do cardio and work on your flexibility? Talking to strangers for an hour every Monday, Wednesday and Friday? Videotaping mock interviews on Tuesdays and Fridays? No TV, even during lunch!? Read More »

So by now we all know the statistics.

The economy is suffering and because of that post-grads are suffering as well. More college graduates are left without job prospects than ever before, and maybe even more importantly, more college graduates are moving back in with their parents than ever before. Years ago, this may have been taboo. It was practically unheard of. But now, it’s happening more and more often, and is far more widely accepted. And that’s because for the first time, my generation does not expect to have a better lifestyle than that of their parents. That’s right, ladies – the recession has officially become a depression, and post grads are eying their limited prospects wearily.

According to The Huffington Post, in a survey conducted only 44% of those interviewed believed that they would surpass the lifestyle they grew up with. And as one of those soon-to-be post grads, let me say that I understand this lack of optimism completely. The economy is still recovering. The job market is terrible. And companies are downsizing instead of hiring. So how can we know be sure that we’ll even find a job, never mind a job that will provide us with a better lifestyle than the one we grew up with?

It’s a dark realization. Read More »

2010 is coming to an end and guess what? The economy still sucks. There are no jobs. The employment rate for college grads is down. Again.

In a depressing market like that, people need to step up their game to get ahead of their competition. You gotta prepare. You gotta know your ish. You gotta do whatever you can to prove to that hiring manager that you’re a better candidate than the 300 other recent grads sitting vying for the same job (from their parents’ living rooms).

But how do you do that?

Monster.com has you covered.

Being that Monster is one of the biggest job searching websites in the world, they’ve helped millions of people find the jobs of their dreams. Now, to say thanks, those people are sharing their tips for success with the people who need it most. And they want you to do the same.

Are you a recent grad with an awesome new gig?
A current student who found a sweet summer job on Monster.com?
Or maybe the perfect internship for next semester?

Share your tip on Monster.com’s success site and you will be entered to win a brand spanking new MACBOOK AIR! Yes, it’s true. Here’s how it works: Read More »

The following is a guest post by our (nerdy) friends at Hack College, the #1 tech site for college students. Check ‘em out.

As hopefully all of you know, LinkedIn is a professional networking website that allows those looking for jobs, especially college students, to create profiles and look for business and career opportunities. It’s a really fantastic service, and if you haven’t signed up yet, you definitely should. LinkedIn caters to 80 million users worldwide and is an easy-to-use tool that may help you find a job or career after college.

To add to its professional networking services, LinkedIn recently added a new feature to its site called Career Explorer. The new feature will allow college students to essentially map out their desired career path and visualize how they can attain this path. Students are able to look at career paths that those before them have taken in order to understand what steps they must take to get to their goals.

On LinkedIn’s press page, the chief executive officer of LinkedIn Jeff Weiner said,”LinkedIn is about connecting talent with opportunity at massive scale. Career Explorer is the latest example of how we make that possible by providing one of our fastest growing demographics, students and recent college graduates, unique and valuable insights enabling them to develop the optimal career path. We’re excited to be launching this product in partnership with PwC, one of the largest and most forward thinking recruiters of new graduates.” Read More »

With a full week in California under my belt, I’ve officially moved in. This move-in was a lot different than any dorm room move-in I’ve done throughout college. Instead of signing for my dorm key, I signed a lease. A real “I’m an adult, I must abide by this contract or I’m legally responsible” lease. In fact, everything I’ve done this past week had a stamp of “Adult” on it, making post-grad a lot different than any undergrad experience.

So, now that I traded my student checking for an everyday bank account, I think it’s time to put some money in there. Maybe it’s my drive to be successful, even when my life is in limbo, or all the California wealth around me, but I have been looking for some kind of job to occupy my time. However, job hunting is a full time job, and it seems like the job market has turned its back on us post-grads.

Nearly every job listing requires three to five years of experience. Uh … I’ve been in college classrooms for the last four years, does that count? It’s kind of scary to think that I spent all this time getting my B.A. degree, only to be told that I need experience to match my degree – full time experience. It seems like entry level positions, which used to require a degree and interest (not a few years of experience), don’t exist anymore. I want to use my skills, so I can build up experience – but I can’t gain experience when I can’t get hired. Some listings I’ve seen even say that if resume don’t show three to five years of job experience in the field, they will be tossed. Yikes! Read More »

Another week has passed and we’re all one more week closer to graduating. This simple fact may send some of you into a depressed-chasing-shots-with-pints-of-ice-cream-alone-in-your-bedroom sorta funk. But put down the ladle, take a deep breath, concentrate on the hotness of Taylor Lautner and relax.  (Usually that helps me anyways…)

As we leave our colleges we’re generally expected to do one of the following steps after graduation: get a job, go to grad school, or travel the world to find ourselves.

Most of us will fall into the first category: the job. Just saying the word makes me shudder. The only thing scarier than a 9-5 job to a soon-to-be-grad is actually getting one.

The job hunt can be intimidating, frustrating, and downright difficult. In today’s market, jobs are hard to come by and a degree from a top university no longer guarantees that you’ll instantly land your dream job or that you’ll even be the best candidate for it. But there are steps we can all take and advice we can all use that will better prepare us for the job hunt and make it seem a lot less intimidating. Read More »

If I’ve learned nothing else since graduating (I’ve learned nothing else), I have learned that everyone turns into Dear Abby when they meet an unemployed person. I’ve gotten enough advice to write at least fourteen whole blogs on this topic, but don’t worry I’ll contain myself this time.

“Look on the the Internet for Jobs” – Esther Rosenwiezencrantz, age 85
Oh really, the internet? Is that where they are? Well darn, I can stop circling help wanted ads in the newspaper and turn on that new-fangled computer that sits in the corner of my room. I guess I just turn on this internet thing and a million jobs appear.

“Go to Grad School” – 10 +People in Grad school
Actually, I’ll tell you what, that advice isn’t applicable to my situation. I want to start making money, not go to grad school for something I’m not interested in and leave in more debt… and still unemployed. Read More »