InterviewTeacher.com

Spending a few extra dollars goes a long way when it comes to making a good first impression. With this in mind I recommend that you purchase a resume folder to place your resume in. It makes a good presentation and helps to keep your papers organized. If you notice in the video above I choose a paper stock and resume folder of similar color. This gives a professional presentation when you place it on the table during your interview. You may consider handing your resume in a folder to the interviewer. I am not suggesting that you do this with every interview, but if this is your dream job and you are meeting with the CEO or President of the organization, how much is it worth to you to be the candidate that this person remembers as polished, organized and the one who pays attention to detail? If your answer is more than $5.00 then go ahead and give the folder to the interviewer. The resume folder that I use when I go on interviews and the one in this video I purchased from Staples because they have good prices and high quality supplies. Remember, it may cost you a little more money than you were expecting to spend initially, but this is an investment in yourself, your future. I think you are worth it, don’t you?

Please forgive the blurry video

Have you ever heard of putting your resume on the back of a tee shirt? No, I am not crazy. There is a fellow from Lexington Kentucky who has done just that and would be willing to do the same for you for a fee. His name is Larry Dinsmore and if you click on his name it will take you to his web site. I have masked the name of the URL for his web site because I do not want anyone to be offended: www.D***INeedAJob.com by now you have a general idea. When I first saw this I thought how out of the box and creative this concept was. Here is a man who took matters in his own hands in a very unconventional way.

Let me go on record to say that I do not recommend that you purchase a shirt as suggested by Larry and go to your local news station to drum up publicity, but I do recommend learning from Larry. In a situation where Larry could have been depressed and given up as a result of little or no response to the countless number of job openings he applied to he made a choice to create an his own opportunity. So many times we become over burdened with the problem that we sit and worry about it instead of being creative and working on a solution.

Think of your situation in terms of how you can create an opportunity for yourself. It may mean, going to association meetings for your industry and networking with people there. Call up old colleagues and ask if they would inform you if they hear of any available positions that would be of interest to you. Go to the golf course, house of worship, or other places that people in your industry visit on a social basis to provide the opportunity for you to speak with people who you share a common interest. Remember, you are not looking for a job, but a referral to someone who currently has a problem that you have addressed in one the positions you held in the past. Not everyone is going to be as lucky as Larry, but everyone can create their own opportunity. Reading his web site and watching the video made me smile. I hope it made you smile too.

When you are going to an interview you want to make a good first impression. An essential aspect of this strategy is to bring your interview materials in a leather portfolio. Why not bring your resume in a manila folder? To be honest, a manila folder looks inexpensive. You want to give the impression that you are serious about the interview and are the type of candidate that pays attention to details. Having a leather binder to present your interview material says that you are not the average candidate but one who takes pride in their work. Select a binder that provides room for you to place a note pad and an extra pen. The note pad in the portfolio gives the impression of you being organized and prepared for the interview. Bringing an extra pen is important because you do not want to be in a position where your pen stops writing and you do not have a spare.

Another strategy that you may consider is researching the company that you will be interviewing with. Go to their web site and find out all you can about the organization, CEO, financial statements, position in the industry, and where the position you are interviewing for fits into the organization’s structure. Print out this research and after you review the information and become familiar with the content, fix the pages inside your portfolio using a small black clip. When you sit down and open the portfolio in front of the interviewer they will see that you took the time to research the company and you will have the information for need available for easy reference. If you do not have a portfolio I recommend Staples Office Supplies as a resource to purchase one. They have great prices and I shop there for all of my office supplies and interview preparation materials. It is defiantly worth the investment to purchase a leather portfolio to make a good impression when interviewing for your next dream job, beside you can continue to use the same portfolio to attend meetings once you get the job. I did.