Been a while since you were last on the job hunt? No sweat. Here's a refresher course.
By Ellie Butler
Picture this: You have recently lost your job as an executive in a faltering company. After months of searching the Internet, you finally land an interview at a company. You dress up in your best, albeit older, suit and head to the interview, confident that you do not need to prepare anything because you are so well-qualified for the job. During the conversation you feel overdressed and uncomfortable with the casual nature of the interview. You leave feeling frustrated with the salary quoted and without a job offer. What went wrong?
In today's stumbling economy, many seasoned professionals are finding themselves jobless and unsure how to find a new career. Career coach J.T. O'Donnell (jtodonnell.com) and career expert Nicole Williams (nicolewilliams.com) offer five suggestions to help with today's job hunt.
1. Use your resources. While it is true that networking is still the No. 1 way to get a job, O'Donnell notes that many companies still need you to send an electronic résumé. So it is important that you know how to send and edit your résumé in the company's preferred format. Also, many companies now use computerized screening to look for keywords in your résumé. Be sure to tailor it to the specific job you are applying for, and make sure it is in a downloadable format. If they cannot read it, they certainly will not call you in for an interview.
2. Be prepared for behavioral-based interviews. The new trend in interviewing is all about behavioral-based interviewing, which uses past actions to determine future behavior. This type of interviewing relies heavily on personal stories and work-related anecdotes as a way to judge your character. Knowing this, go in ready to tell stories. Think of some of your past experiences that highlight your ability to problem-solve, mediate conflict or overcome obstacles. Don't go in blind hoping that a story will miraculously come to you midway through the interview.
3. Make sure to dress the part. Although it is still important to dress one level higher than the job you are applying for, O'Donnell cautions against dressing too formally. "Make sure that what you are wearing is current and job-appropriate," she says. Williams notes that it is important to wear something that makes you feel confident and comfortable, because if your outfit makes you feel powerful, then you will exude this confidence throughout the interview.
4. Come prepared with questions. The interview is winding down. You have answered all of the questions with relevant anecdotes that illustrate you as a person. You are feeling confident until the interviewer turns to you and asks, "Any questions for me?" This is your turn to shine and show that you did your research on the company. Ask specific questions about what your role will be rather than about the benefits package. Be sure to come up with some questions so that you look interested and engaged.
5. Do not come empty-handed. Make sure to bring copies of your résumé and your references and a pen and paper to take notes. Bring a list of questions you have already planned out, and take them out at the end of the interview so that your interviewer can see how prepared you are. For even more clout, prepare a folder full of information about the company and know all of its key people and clients.
Hardly a day goes by that I don't hear someone say so. Even President Obama captured this anxiety in his inaugural speech, pointing to a "nagging fear" that America's "decline is inevitable."
Of course, America's problems – from banking and debt crises to foreign security threats – are very serious. But, as bad as things are, here are six reasons why America's starring role on the world stage isn't over.
1.The United States still has the most competitive economy in the world. Despite the recession, the US still has the greatest potential for cutting-edge economic growth. It ranks atop the World Economic Forum's latest global competitiveness study. And its companies remain the best.
According to the most recent Fortune Global 500 report, the US hosts more of the world's major companies (153, to be exact) than any other country. Even Japan lags way behind with just 64, while China is home to a meager 29.
Data crunching reveals that in 1992, US companies accounted for about 27 percent of the Global 500. That figure rose to 30 percent in 1995, 35 percent in 2005, and steadied at 34 percent in 2008. These figures hardly suggest decline.
2. The US is still a major international power broker. It continues to lead organizations that it spearheaded at the end of World War II: the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization. And that critical role enables it to capitalize on globalization better than can most major countries.
3. The US military is without parallel. To be sure, it has been stretched thin by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But it remains the strongest fighting force in the world.
As just one indicator of its high-tech advantage, it has mastered stealth flight, while the Russians and Chinese are still in the theoretical planning stages for such technology – far behind America.
4. America's competitors lack good allies. Russia and China are suspicious of each other. Iran is at odds with key Arab countries. North Korea is a pariah. Libya is still in political rehab. Syria is trying to find itself in a globalized world. Meanwhile, the US has cautious but real allies in NATO, the European Union, the G-7 industrialized countries, and elsewhere that help it meet its national and international goals.
5. American ideals are becoming universal. Slowly but surely, self-government, free enterprise, and individual liberty are gaining ground around the world.
Take democracy. A century ago, just 2 of every 10 countries scored a 6 or higher in Freedom House's democracy scale – which ranges from 10 (completely democratic) to minus 10 (completely autocratic). In 2007, nearly 6 in 10 did.
6. The US attracts the world's best workforce. With global birthrates down, competition for the most educated workers has become more important. Many of the globe's best and brightest still seek to learn, work, and live here, creating a wellspring of American renewal.
Of course, America's economic growth has been overtaken by India and China in recent years. If China's economy maintains its torrid pace, it will eclipse America's in size by 2035, according to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Yet, China has enormous domestic problems, and no country in history has been able to grow at double-digit rates for so long.
Economic output, in any case, is just one sign of power – America has multiple sources. And if America and its big market really decline, China and the rest of the world will suffer, too. Witness the current global crisis. China needs to cooperate with, rather than supplant, America to secure a better future for the world.
We've heard predictions of US decline before. Recall that Japan was widely heralded as the new power in the 1980s, with some wanting to write America's epitaph. Then Japan faced massive economic crisis in the 1990s, and America reasserted itself, as the Soviet Union fell.
At bottom, America's remarkable – and remarkably diverse – capabilities will ensure that today's crises are merely temporary setbacks. To paraphrase Mark Twain's joke about his own reported death, news of America's inevitable decline is greatly exaggerated.
• Steve Yetiv is a professor of political science at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va. His latest book is called "The Absence of Grand Strategy."
