Lori Mousseau discusses the key components that recruiters are looking for in the initial 10 seconds that they take to review a resume.

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Lori begins with some factors that catch a recruiter’s eye in the 10-12 seconds they take to look over a resume: GPA, education, grammatical and spelling errors, versatility, and short and concise information. The GPA is very important to include on resume, because recruiters will assume the worst if it is not. Cumulative and major GPAs should be included, as well as an expected graduation date if you are still in college. Lori also mentions that even if you are below the minimum requirements for GPA for a specific job, they will still look at your personal circumstance and your extracurricular activities. Versatility on the resume is very important, even for a 4.0 student. The various clubs or activities that you may be involved in and the roles and positions you may have in them demonstrate to the recruiter that you are multi-faceted, willing to go above and beyond what is expected, you have leadership and organizational skills, and that in the long run you will be successful in a company. Lori also stresses that is important to have others look over your and proofread your resume because typos can make the recruiter question your attention to detail and your writing ability. The resume should be one page, short and concise, and formatted correctly. Jobs should be listed in chronological order with the most recent job first, the first bullet point must be the most important information, and subjective comments should be left off. Lori ends the show with explaining that the importance of cover letters is that they can explain things that may be sticking out from your resume. For example, if there is a gap in employment on your resume, you should explain why in the cover letter. The recruiter will look at the cover letter when any questions arise while looking over a resume.

Lori is the Campus Recruiting Manager with Ernst & Young and has been with the firm for six years. During her career with EY, she has recruited Experienced and Campus candidates for Advisory, Assurance and Tax. Currently, she focuses solely on campus recruiting from a variety of schools in Michigan and Northwest Ohio. In addition, Lori also serves on the advisory board at Michigan State University’s placement office. Prior to her current role, Lori served as the Advisory Campus Recruiting Leader for EY’s North Central Sub Area locations. She assisted in implementing and strategizing with leadership on the new Advisory transformation. Lori graduated from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Science degree.

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Steve Rushmore discusses the importance of a cover letter and how it can make a difference in the application process.

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Steve explains that cover letters are your introduction, and allow you to have a creative approach to quickly describe who you are and what you can do for the employer. Steve reads the first paragraph of every cover letter, but only about 5-10% of the cover letters interest him enough to finish. A bad cover letter focuses on what the company can do for the person rather than what the person can do for the company. Steve advises that it is also very important to know who to send the cover letter to; it must be addressed to a specific person. The cover letter should also have a specific goal such as a specific job offering within the company rather than just any position the company can offer. In addition, Steve urges that the applicant must have researched enough to know what the company does, where the company is positioned, and that they must have a burning desire to work with the company. He then wants to understand how the applicant’s skill level will fit into the company, with specific examples about the applicant’s background and how their skills will help the company achieve its goals. His last bit of advice is that the key to a great cover letter is to show that you are applying for a position to help the company achieve its goals. Steve also provides examples of good and bad cover letters to help listeners better understand their impact.

Steve Rushmore is the president and founder of HVS, a global hospitality consulting organization with more than 25 offices around the globe. He directs the worldwide operation of this firm and has provided consultation services for more than 12,000 hotels throughout the world during his 40-year career. He was one of the creators of the Microtel concept and was instrumental in its IPO. Steve is a partner in HEI Hospitality, LLC, and a hotel investment fund, which makes him one of the few hospitality consultants that actually invest in and own hotels. HVS, which Steve founded in 1980, has provided consulting services for thousands of clients in all 50 states and more than 60 foreign countries. Steve has a BS degree from the Cornell Hotel School and an MBA from the University of Buffalo. He holds MAI and FRICS appraisal designations and is a CHA (certified hotel administrator).

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In this podcast, Joni Lusty walks us through the critical interview process to help listeners get the jobs they desire.

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Joni begins by explaining that to best position yourself for the perfect job, you must first determine what that perfect job is for you. Picking the job requires looking at the entire offer, including continual education offerings, 401k, benefits, salary, location and long term potential. It is critical to think in the long term: what position do you want to hold in 5-10 years, and what type of experience do you need to achieve that. For the actual interview, she stresses that you need to heavily research the company, attend socials, talk to employees in the company, and gather specific stories and details to show the company that you are truly invested in the job. C Companies seek people who have long term goals and ambition, but they want candidates that are going to be committed to the profession for the long haul. Other than research and preparation, a spotless resume helps land a job; get opinions from many different people with different point of views to ensure than the resume will stand out. In addition, find out the type of interview you will have. Have a few stories prepared for behavioral questions; try to sound natural and sincere rather than rehearsed. Finally, at the end of the interview, make sure you ask questions to show that you are very serious about this as your career and your future. Avoid talking about salary and benefits, but ask questions around what they see the firm doing in the future, why the interviewer came to the company, and why they are still there. Joni’s last piece of advice is to have a great attitude, let your personality show through, be sincere, and have fun with the process.

Joni Lusty is a Campus Recruiter at Ernst & Young and has been with the firm for 10 years. Joni is responsible for EYs recruiting efforts for the PacificNorthwest Advisory practice. Before becoming a campus recruiter, Joni worked as Audit Manager with EY in the Salt Lake City office. She graduated with her Masters in Accounting at Brigham Young University.
Joni is very involved in a number of EYs internal initiatives include the local Professional Womens Network and Social Responsibility. Joni also serves on the board of directors for Worldwide Association of Performing Artists, a not for profit arts organization.

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Laura Sewell tells students what they should do this summer if they have not been able to find a job or internship. Toward the end, she shares some resume tips to help in the future.

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The number one things you can do if you are going into the summer without a job offer is to increase your visibility. Find activities in your community or across the country that will enhance your marketability to prospective employers. Laura also reminds students that many companies are still making job offers even though the semester is over, so they should start marketing themselves through every venue possible. Leverage your entire network to find out which companies you might want to work at, which companies are still hiring, and what skills are most sought after. Then, find someone within the company, introduce yourself, and express your interest. If there is a company that you are interested in that doesn’t recruit on your campus, look for opportunities to connect through social networks. Laura closes by giving some tips on how to stand out in the application process, such as using your resume to show leadership potential, key accomplishments, strong team work, and work ethics. She gives five key resume tips: spend time on your resume, tailor it to the position, ensure perfection, keep it to one page, and stress achievements (not just job descriptions).

Laura Sewell begain her career with IBM in 1998 after graduating from NC State and spending two years in the public school system. Laura currently leads US University Recruitment and US Employment Branding for IBM. Her IBM experience includes a variety of roles in HR and Global Business Operations. She is passionate about bringing top talent in to IBM and helping students understand the variety of opportunities available across the company and across the globe.
 

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Annemarie Segaric shares strategies for getting a job when you have little or no experience, and how to change your career while still receiving a paycheck.

This podcast is part 2 of Scott Goodfellow’s interview with 10GoodMinutes. He discusses strategies on how to get noticed by recruiters. He shares pre-interview tips, specific interviewing strategies, and explains what makes a candidate stand out in an interview.

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Scott says that when he is looking to hire someone for a job in finance or accounting at Proctor & Gamble, he wants to see a broad experience base beyond those two specialized areas. During an interview, recruiters are not necessarily just looking for depth of experience, but for experience in leading others and making a difference. How do you set yourself apart from other interviewees? Go to career fairs and talk to the recruiters. Make sure everything on your resume is quantifiable – not just through action verbs, but through metrics. Once you get past the initial contact and into an actual interview, the recruiter will want to know how you are going to fit into the company and if you are willing to take on leadership. If you take an hour or two to really think through your resume, you can be prepared with direct, succinct answers. Lack of preparation can be a huge downfall, especially for undergraduates, since they haven’t had the real world experience of selling themselves. Familiarity is your best friend – get to know previous interns, speak to recruiters at multiple job fairs, and learn all about the company. Quality of preparation is more important than quantity of interviews. Alumni references can help, but are not the sole decision factor in an interview. If you don’t understand a question in an interview, try rephrasing it for clarification.

Scott Goodfellow discusses strategies on how to get noticed by recruiters. He shares pre-interview tips, specific interviewing strategies, and explains what makes a candidate stand out in an interview.

To download this podcast, click here
 
Scott says that when he is looking to hire someone for a job in finance or accounting at Proctor & Gamble, he wants to see a broad experience base beyond those two specialized areas. During an interview, recruiters are not necessarily just looking for depth of experience, but for experience in leading others and making a difference. How do you set yourself apart from other interviewees? Go to career fairs and talk to the recruiters. Make sure everything on your resume is quantifiable – not just through action verbs, but through metrics. Once you get past the initial contact and into an actual interview, the recruiter will want to know how you are going to fit into the company and if you are willing to take on leadership. If you take an hour or two to really think through your resume, you can be prepared with direct, succinct answers. Lack of preparation can be a huge downfall, especially for undergraduates, since they haven’t had the real world experience of selling themselves. Familiarity is your best friend – get to know previous interns, speak to recruiters at multiple job fairs, and learn all about the company. Quality of preparation is more important than quantity of interviews. Alumni references can help, but are not the sole decision factor in an interview. If you don’t understand a question in an interview, try rephrasing it for clarification.