Temporary employment through an ASA member staffing firm is a great option for job seekers, according to “Good Morning America” correspondent Tory Johnson.  That’s one of the messages she shared during the Jan. 25 “Get a Job in January” segment with George Stephanopoulos.

“It seems that all the action right now [is] in temporary jobs,” said Stephanopoulos.  “In the past six months, 200,000 temporary jobs [were] created,” he added.

Johnson agreed, citing ASA data as well as anecdotal information the association had collected from its board of directors: “The ASA leadership…said that they still feel very positive about strong growth between now and July, adding up to about 300,000 positions.”

To find those positions, Johnson recommended that job seekers visit americanstaffing.net where they can search for staffing firms’ contact information.  The accompanying article on abcnews.com provided a direct link to the job seekers search engine on the ASA web site.

The GMA web article also referred to a study by labor law firm Littler Mendelson, which predicts that temporary and contract employees and consultants will fill half the jobs created during the economic recovery.  “Temporary jobs are a smart place to look right now,” Johnson wrote.

Most people now include their email addresses in the contact information on their resumes, submit their resumes via email, or use email to contact prospective employers. But for all of its handiness, email possesses some often-overlooked dangers for job seekers.

What are those dangers, you ask?

The answer lies in three simple (and surprising) words: goats flinging poo.

The evils of email:

If “goats flinging poo” made you do a double-take just now, imagine my reaction when I received a resume from the email address goatsflingingpoo@reallystupidemailaddress.com.

Okay, there’s no such thing as reallystupidemailaddress.com—I made that up to protect the identity of the owner of the actual email address—but the “goatsflingingpoo” bit is unfortunately all too real.

While it’s fine (but kind of icky) to have goatsflingingpoo@whatever.com as the email address you use with your friends and family, it’s a colossally bad idea to put it on your resume or to use it to contact a potential employer.

You are judged on every aspect of your interactions with a prospective employer. This includes something as seemingly small as your email address.

If you are using an unprofessional, offensive, or inappropriate email address, the best resume or the sharpest job skills in the world will be as valuable to you as, well, the stuff that the goats are flinging.

What to avoid:

• References to sex or drugs (that means no 420’s or 69’s)
• References to violence
• References to bodily functions
• Silliness

Use a professional email address:

For all job-related activity, use an email address that is based on your name. If you have a very common name, you may need to come up with a logical variation on it in order to create an email address that is not already in use.

You can do this by:

• Utilizing periods or underscores
• Playing with the order of your first and last names
• Using your initials
• Incorporating numbers

If you do use numbers in your email address, try to keep them to a minimum.  The easier your email address is to remember, the better.

I don’t have any inappropriate references in my email address. Does this information still apply to me?

Yes!

Harmless as they may be, even email addresses like boatlover007@whatever.com or iheartkittens@whatever.com fail to reflect your professionalism.

As mentioned in the section above, the best email address to use for your job search is one that’s based on your name.

It may be boring, but it won’t raise any eyebrows, and it has the added advantage of being easier for employers to remember.

Resources:

There are numerous free email services.  Accounts take only minutes to create.

Some free email services:

• Gmail
• Yahoo! Mail
• Hotmail
• GMX Mail
• FastMail

A few other email pitfalls to avoid:

Checking your email: If you contact someone via email, make sure to check your email for a response!

Frequently, people email us their questions or resumes, but never respond to the replies we send them by email.

You should always assume that an employer may contact you using the same method by which you contacted them.

If you want to send a prospective employer an email, but do not wish for the employer to respond to you via email, simply say so! It is perfectly acceptable for you to include a statement that informs them of how you prefer to be contacted.

Don’t be overly casual: Though internet-speak is becoming more and more common, your email communications with an employer should always be formal in nature.

Don’t use:

• Acronyms like LOL
• Emoticons (smiley faces)
• Widely used misspellings like “thru” instead of “through”
• Silly signatures
• Unusual fonts, graphics, or backgrounds

Conclusion:

While there are many factors involved in a successful job search, something as little as an email address really can make a difference.

The few minutes you take to create a professional email account with one of the many free email services is time well and wisely spent.  Don’t be a goatsflingingpoo!

Clowning Around

It’s one thing to unwittingly sit through an interview with spinach in your teeth. It’s another thing entirely to show up for an interview in filthy clothing, or drunk and reeking of alcohol.

Unfortunately, once in a blue moon someone turns up at our office in just such an inappropriate condition. It’s scary, but true.

One woman even came to her interview in a clown costume!

Lesson: Remember that first impressions matter!

It’s great to be memorable, but you want to stand out in your interviewer’s memory for good reasons—not because you wore a red rubber nose that honks when you squeeze it.

About.com offers helpful photographic guides to appropriate interview attire for professional and non-professional positions.

Wacky Demands

A man came to his interview with a list of “stipulations” for any job he’d be willing to accept.

One of his written requirements said, “When searching, please ask the client what gender the supervisor is. I do not wish to have any further supervisors that are women.”

Lesson: Think hard about the up-front requirements you are giving to prospective employers.

Obviously, wildly inappropriate and politically incorrect demands will get you nowhere at lightning speed. But even seemingly tame requests might be undermining your job search.

If you’re really struggling to find work, assess your requirements and make sure that they’re truly reasonable. Ask yourself things like:

• Are my wage requirements competitive?
• Am I being realistic about the distance I’m willing to commute?
• Am I asking for hours that are too limited?

Rip Van Winkle

One man fell asleep while filling out his application paperwork and snored loudly.

Lesson: It’s important that you are well-rested before your interview.

You want to be at your best. The better you feel, the better you’ll perform.

The Uninvited Guest

A girl brought her boyfriend along with her to her interview, and left him to lounge in the lobby with his feet up on a chair.

Lesson: Always come to your interview alone.

This faux pas seems to occur with more frequency than any of the others listed in this article.

Bringing somebody with you to your interview is quite unprofessional, and can give the impression that you are not capable of handling things on your own. What’s more, it’s distracting and outright annoying for staff to have a stranger hanging around the office.

If you need a ride to and from your interview, make sure that the person assisting you remains in their car or finds other ways to stay occupied off-site.

Pip, Pip, Cheerio!

A woman talked in what was very clearly a fake British accent throughout her entire interview.

Lesson: Be yourself!

During an interview, it is important to be both professional and earnest. An interviewer is assessing not only your skills, but also your personality and demeanor.

Pretending to be someone you’re not is a sure-fire way to embarrass yourself and blow an interview. Conversely, convey a sense of self-confidence and comfort within your own skin, and you’re sure to leave a positive impression.

Jeepers Creepers

I’ve saved the best (by which I mean the absolute worst) for last.

A man who arrived well before his scheduled interview time raided the office kitchen and then asked to use the microwave to pop some popcorn that he had found. He also asked if he could “play” on one of the company computers. Oh, and he hit on the receptionist several times.

For his grand finale, he bragged during his interview about having an affair with his previous boss!

Lesson: Don’t do this.  Any of this. Seriously.

Really, what else can be said about this?  Everything this man did was so obviously a horrifyingly bad idea that it almost made our staff wonder if we were being pranked by a hidden camera show.

Unfortunately, no, he was all too real.  And if that’s not scary, I don’t know what is.

The Wrap

Please keep in mind that these are, of course, all extreme examples. They’re memorable precisely because they’re so rare.  The vast majority of the job seekers who walk through our doors are well put together, professional, polite people that we are very proud to represent.

However, sometimes a cautionary tale is more valuable than a good role model  Occasionally, the Goofuses of the world can teach us a lot more than the Gallants.

Happy Halloween, and good luck from West Sound Workforce!

• Part 1: The Basics
• Part 2: Structure
• Part 3: Content

Content

While using proper formatting is very important, your resume won’t get you anywhere if there are problems with its contents.

Here are some tips based on the mistakes we see most frequently:

• Do not use position-specific abbreviations and jargon: You may have submitted over 150 ZBD’s to the Grand Poobah every day, but we don’t know what the heck any of that means. Think of ways to describe your duties so that anyone can understand what they are.

• Do not list your reasons for leaving positions: This is information you can provide during your interview. Placing it on your resume could actually work against you and prevent you from getting that interview in the first place.
• Do not list unnecessary personal information: Such as your social security number, height, age, weight, religious beliefs, etc. Do not put photos of yourself on your resume.

• Avoid “impressive” language: Using excessively flowery wording garbles your meaning and sounds stilted and off-putting rather than intelligent and professional. Saying you “interfaced with customers” makes you sound like you’re a robot. Saying you “assisted customers” is actually much more accurate and clear, even if it’s not as fancy.

  Stay away from the thesaurus. Think about the kind of language you hear in commercials and ads—it’s always simple and direct. And what is your resume if not a commercial about you?

• Be honest: Do not falsify your resume. While it’s important that you make yourself sound like a great candidate, putting a positive spin on information and outright fabricating it are two entirely different things.

  Employers really do check things like job titles and responsibilities, degree information, and dates and places of employment. Lying will come back to haunt you.

• Keep it serious: Don’t try to be funny. Present the information on your resume in a serious and straightforward fashion. It can be very difficult to interpret tone in text. The joke that you think sounds playful or charming may come off as flippant. Trust that your personality will shine through once your great resume has snagged you an interview.

• Stick to the important stuff: Even though it’s commonly done, it really isn’t necessary to include information about your hobbies, information about references, or even the words “references available on request.” Employers assume it’s a given that you have reference info that you can provide, and that you will give it to them at your interview.

  Generally, employers don’t read the information you place in the hobbies and interests section of a resume, so why not save yourself a little time and leave it out? If you feel that you have a hobby that specifically relates to the position you’re applying for, your cover letter is a great place to mention that.

• Don’t go overboard: If you’ve got a couple great reference letters, it’s okay to include them with your resume submission (although you can also choose to provide them at your interview instead). Don’t overdo it, though! Keep your resume submissions to a few pages. Don’t include things like certificates, old performance reviews, diplomas, etc. Try not to include more than two reference letters. Aim for short and sweet.

Other Resources

If you require assistance creating your resume, there are people who offer professional resume building services. Typically, they will charge you a fee to consult with you, examine your skills and work history, and construct an appropriate resume. You should be able to find local resume building services using a phone book or search engine.

For free assistance, Worksource offers resume tips on their website. Additionally, representatives at your local Worksource office should be able to direct you to similar resources.

• Part 1: The Basics
• Part 2: Structure
• Part 3: Content

Resume Basics

Many job seekers underestimate the importance of their resumes. We often receive resumes that are incorrectly or poorly formatted, and that sometimes even appear to have been thrown together in a matter of minutes.

If at least a few hours of time and thought haven’t gone into the creation of your resume, you’re probably doing something wrong.

A resume’s purpose is to summarize essential information about you and your work history in a format that is clean and easy to read. The goal is to showcase your skills and most valuable qualities. Your resume is a commercial, and you are the product it’s selling.

Your resume is your one and only chance to impress potential employers with your professionalism and worth as an employee. It needs to be perfect.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Spell check, spell check, spell check! All word processing software and even web-browsers like Firefox come with spell check capabilities. Spelling errors can ruin even the best resume—fairly or not, they cast doubt on your writing skills and attention to detail.
• Proofread, proofread, proofread! Spell check programs will not catch grammatical errors, incorrect punctuation, or misuses of homonyms (for example, using “hole” instead of “whole” or “manor” instead of “manner”). Read your resume out loud to yourself to catch errors. Ask a friend or family member with good writing skills to review it closely. Put it away for a few days and then examine it again with fresh eyes. Proofread it repeatedly.
• Spell check and proofread! These tips are so important that they deserve to be mentioned again. And again. And again. Your resume is the most important—and possibly the only—representation of you that a prospective employer is going to see.

  Submitting an error-riddled resume is like attending a job interview wearing your jammies and a tinfoil hat: It’ll make you look terrible, and it will cost you a job.

• Part 1: The Basics
• Part 2: Structure
• Part 3: Content

Resume Structure

It is important to format your resume so that it is easy to read.

Every resume should have a similar construction and follow the same conventions. It’s a good idea to use resume templates, such as those provided in Microsoft Word or other word processing programs.

Using a template will make it very easy for you to create your resume. Templates are widely used by job seekers, so they are very familiar to employers.  This means that employers know exactly where to look to find the information they need. This makes your resume easier for them to read.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Place your complete contact information at the top of your resume.
• Always include the names of your employers, the dates of your employment, and a description of your duties at each position. We require resumes to be formatted in this manner. Place job titles, company names, and dates of employment in bold or italics to draw attention to them.
• List your positions in reverse chronological order, with the most recent jobs at the top.
• You must describe your responsibilities at each of your positions. Format the description of your duties in a bulleted list, with the most important responsibilities or experience listed first. Use short, efficient descriptions. Each job should have its own list of duties. Do not lump all of your responsibilities at each of your positions into one big list.
• Avoid large blocks of text like the plague. Impenetrable walls of words will make an employer go cross-eyed before they can learn anything about you. If an employer finds it hard to read your resume, they won’t read it at all. This is why bulleted lists and short, efficient descriptions are so important.
• Make your resume readable. Never use funky fonts or odd colors. Print your resume on white paper. Don’t bother with using fancy paper or folders—employers don’t pay attention to them, and they cost you money. It’s the quality of the construction of your resume that matters. Putting a bunch of window dressing on a bad resume is like putting lipstick on a pig.

One of the most vital things you must do while searching for employment is to present yourself as professionally as possible. The best resume in the world is useless if your cell phone represents you in unprofessional or inappropriate ways.

Let’s tackle those unpleasant “Don’ts” first:

• Don’t use ringback tones. Ringback tones are the snatches of music or dialogue that someone calling you hears instead of a traditional ringing sound.

  Usually, the goal is not to annoy your potential employer. Always assume that someone will be irritated by being forced to listen to music against their will. This rule goes double—no, quadruple—for offensive or risqué music that references sex, drugs, violence or religion.

  You’d be shocked how frequently people use wildly inappropriate music for their ringback tones. It’s like scrawling, “I COMMAND YOU TO NEVER HIRE ME!” in Magic Marker on a resume.

• Don’t answer your cell phone in public or noisy places. It’s better to let it go to voicemail and return your potential employer’s call when you’re in a quiet location.
• Never answer your cell phone while you’re at your current place of work. This is a recipe for double-trouble: It looks unprofessional to a prospective employer and can land you in hot water with your current boss.

Now for the “Do’s”:

• Use a brief and professional voicemail message, and include either your name or phone number so that a prospective employer knows they’re contacting the right person. Avoid using casual or silly voicemail messages. And don’t use music either: It’s the ringback tone issue all over again. Music bad.
• Turn your cell phone off during job interviews. Off. Not vibrate. Interviews are hard enough without your pants buzzing like an angry bee.

The Wrap

Like it or not, cell phone faux pas can harm you in the eyes of potential employers; always show them the professional you.

A successful job interview hinges upon preparation and professionalism. Here are some helpful interviewing tips:

Before an Interview

• Dress in a professional, conservative fashion. For women, this means dress slacks, a nice skirt, or a business suit. For men, this means dress slacks and a business shirt, or a business suit. For non-executive positions, a tie can be optional, though it certainly can’t hurt your chances (well, unless it’s got Spongebob Squarepants or hula girls on it, of course). Wear your hair neatly styled. If you’re planning on wearing makeup, keep it tasteful and conservative.
• Never wear cologne or perfume. It’s always best to attend interviews scent-free, as you never know who has allergies or a deep-seated hatred of Chanel #5.
• Make sure you know all of the pertinent information about your interview: its location and time, what position it’s for, and the name of your interviewer.
• Arrive early—but not too early. Give yourself enough time to find the place where your interview is scheduled, and to get there 10 minutes early. If you arrive too early, you may irritate or even inconvenience the employer. If, like me, you’re someone who could get lost inside a paper bag, scope out the location ahead of time so you know exactly how to get there.
• Do your homework. Research the company beforehand by visiting their website, looking them up on a search engine, or talking to someone who is familiar with the business. Familiarizing yourself with the company will give you an advantage in the interview—among other things, it can make you look knowledgeable or diligent, or arm you with an understanding of the kind of employee they’re looking for.
• Bring a copy of your resume.
• Bring contact information for 3 – 5 business references.
• Practice! Before your interview, take time to think of answers to typical questions you might be asked. Even if it feels silly, having a friend or family member interview you as practice can do a great deal to prepare you for the real thing.
• Ditch the cell phone and the gum. Leave your cell phone in the car or turn it really and truly off. Vibrate isn’t good enough, unless you want your pants emitting rumbling noises during your interview. Don’t chew gum during your interview.

During an Interview

• Be friendly and polite. Even if you’re interviewing for an executive-level position, it’s imperative that you treat everyone you encounter with warmth and respect. That receptionist or intern is a valued member of the community you are trying to join, and if you’re haughty or impolite with them, believe that word will get around to the company’s decision makers.
• Do not ask anyone other than your interviewer questions about the position. After all, you never know if you’re speaking to someone who’s being replaced.
• Greet your interviewer. Stand when your interviewer enters the room, and greet him or her with a pleasant smile and a firm handshake.
• Maintain good body language. Avoid any nervous impulses, such as tapping your foot, playing with your hair, cracking your knuckles, etc. Use good posture and make consistent eye contact. The goal is to strike a balance between appearing calm and relaxed and appearing professional.
• Speak well. Speak clearly, confidently and thoughtfully. Talk at a steady rate and use proper grammar. It is better to take a moment to find the right words and gather your thoughts than it is to fill in the silent gaps with verbal tics such as “umm” or “like.” Don’t use vocabulary that you’re unfamiliar or uncomfortable with.

• Ask the right questions. Show an interest in the company, its culture, and in the position you’re being interviewed for. Great questions to ask are: “What qualities are you looking for in the person you hire?” and, “What challenges would I encounter in this position?” or, “What can you tell me about the corporate culture?” Tailor the questions to the interview—don’t ask questions whose answers you have already been given.

• Don’t ask the wrong questions. Don’t ask questions about salary or benefits unless they’ve been specifically addressed first by your interviewer. Don’t ask any “high maintenance” questions, such as, “If you hire me, can I take a two week vacation next month?” or, “If you hire me, can I change my schedule?”
• Never speak negatively about past employers. Even if you worked for the Wicked Witch of the East and she kicked you in the shins with her ruby slippers every single day, don’t talk about her negatively. Have positive descriptions planned ahead for those tough positions, and if you absolutely must allude to difficulties, keep it as innocuous as possible. For example: “It wasn’t the right environment for me,” or, “I didn’t feel challenged enough.”

After an Interview

• Inquire about the next step. Ask what the next step is and reiterate your interest in the position.
• Send a thank-you note. Send a hand-written thank-you note as soon as possible, while you’re still fresh in your interviewer’s mind. Emphasize your interest in the position and your appreciation that they took the time to talk with you.
• Follow up. Place a follow up call to the company about a week after your interview. Avoid appearing pushy—don’t call too many times. You can send a follow up by email instead, but phone calls are a little more proactive and personal.

As with all aspects of your job search, professionalism and careful thought will carry you far.

Your attitude also makes a world of difference: stay positive and don’t let yourself get frustrated. Remember that it can take time to find a job, but trust that your tenacity will reward you.