The hiring process is long and detailed for both job seekers and employers. Generally, employers go through seven steps in hiring an employee:

1. Decide the responsibilities of the job and the qualifications needed to fill it
2. Advertise the job opening
3. Read and evaluate resumes and letters of applications
4. Have candidates complete application forms
5. Request further proof of candidates' skills (letters of recommendation, transcripts)
6. Interview selected candidates
7. Offer the job to the best-qualified individual

Job seekers go through eight steps:

1. Analyze your strengths and restrict your search
2. Prepare a dossier
3. Look in the right places
4. Construct a resume
5. Write a letter of application
6. Fill out a job application
7. Go to an interview
8. Accept or decline a job offer

Analyzing Your Strengths and Restricting Your Job Search
Two fatal assumptions many job seekers make are that they should remain loose (vague) about what they want and that the employer has the upper hand in the job search process. It's up to you to identify your qualifications: don't be vague about what you can do or what you want. To a large extent, job seekers hold the reins themselves. They determine whether they are serious contenders by the letters and resumes they submit.

To find the right job to search for, follow these guidelines: (1) Make an inventory of your strengths and accomplishments. (2) Decide which specialty within your chosen career appeals to you most. (3) Determine the most rewarding prospects of a job in your profession. (What most interests you about a particular position—travel? helping people? being creative?) (4) Avoid applying for positions for which you are overqualified or under qualified. (5) Take advantage of career counseling at your school or state employment agency, or read books on making career choices.

Preparing a Dossier
Your dossier is your personal job search file, stored at your school's placement office. You should begin compiling it three to six months before you plan to begin your job search. A dossier contains the following documents:

• Solicited letters of recommendation
• Unsolicited letters that awarded you scholarships, praised your work on the job, or honored you for community service
• Your resume
• Your academic transcripts

Be selective about unsolicited letters; do not crowd your dossier with items that will compete for attention with more important documents.

There are many people you can request letters of recommendation from: your present employer or previous employers, two or three professors who know your work, superiors who evaluated your work in the military, or community leaders with whom you have worked on civic projects. Always ask people's permission before giving their name as a reference.

Looking in the Right Places for a Job
To determine which companies have job openings and to find out about their application procedures and deadlines, try looking on the Internet, in newspapers, in professional or trade journals, and in your college placement office. Make use of personal contacts to find out about job openings. You can also check with the personnel departments of companies or agencies where you'd like to work, your local Chamber of Commerce, and recruiters at employment agencies (a last resort, since they charge a fee). You might also place your resume with a resume database service or even make a "video resume" to air on local television stations.

Preparing a Resume
Also called a data sheet or curriculum vitae, the resume is probably the most important document in anyone's job search. A resume should be a record of results that shows a prospective employer you have what it takes to do the job well. It should be attractive, carefully organized, correct, current, and relevant.

To get started writing your resume, ask yourself where you excel. Brainstorm a list of your strengths and accomplishments. Then scrutinize this list, crossing off repetitions and irrelevant items. Next, translate the remaining items into action-packed "selling clauses". Be sure to balance your education and experience appropriately on your resume. Exclude salary expectations, reasons for leaving your last job, disabilities, physical characteristics, preferences for work schedules, travel restrictions, and your photograph (unless applying for a modeling or acting job).

The parts of a resume include your name, address, and phone number; your career objective statement; your education and experience; personal information (optional); and hobbies and interests (also optional). If you have lots of work experience, list it first, before education. Organize your experience chronologically, starting with your most recent job first, or by function or skill area, emphasizing your most relevant experience first. A functional, or skills-centered, resume can help fill in gaps in education or employment and better emphasizes general skills acquired over long periods of time than does a chronological resume. It does not force the job seeker to emphasize the most recent experience first at the expense of more pertinent earlier experience.

On-line resumes require special formatting. They should be highly readable and easy to scroll, without bullets, underlining, fancy scripts, or logos. Instead of action verbs and selling clauses, use nouns (key words) in an online resume to describe your experience.

A resume should be pleasingly formatted. A crowded resume suggests that you cannot summarize; too much blank space indicates lack of achievements. Use 10 or 12 point type and use boldface or italics to separate and highlight information. Don't overuse visual effects. Print your resume on high-quality bond. Always send an original, not a photocopy. Finally, proofread your resume carefully; errors or inconsistencies on a resume can be ruinous.

Writing a Letter of Application
Letters of application should be personable, professional, and persuasive-the "three P's". A letter of application is much more personal than a resume, since you will write a new, original letter to each prospective employer. Never send a photocopied letter of application, and don't just repeat the details on your resume.

One of the best ways to sell yourself to a prospective employer is to demonstrate in your letter of application that you know something about that employer. Check the company's Web site and look up the company in business directories and databases. When you draft your letter, observe these guidelines: (1) Follow the standard conventions of letter writing discussed in Chapter 5. (2) Make sure your letter looks attractive. (3) Send your letter to a specific person. Never address a letter of application "To whom it may concern" or "Dear Sir or Madam." (4) Don't forget the "you" attitude. Approach your qualifications in terms of how they are valuable to the prospective employer. (5) Strive for brevity and clarity. (6) Don't send out your first draft. Write and rewrite your letter until is presents you in the best possible light.

In the opening paragraph, state why you are writing, where you learned of the company or job, and your most important qualification for the job. Avoid an unconventional or arrogant opening, and don't begin with a question. In the body of your letter, provide evidence that you are qualified for the job. Keep your paragraphs short and readable. Don't boast. Highlight your qualifications by citing specific accomplishments. Make your closing paragraph short—two or three sentences. Emphasize again your major qualifications, ask for an interview or phone call, and indicate when you are available for an interview. Don't be pushy, too informal, or too humble in your closing.

Filling Out a Job Application
The information an employer asks for on an application form will overlap with what you have provided on your resume, but never just attach a copy of your resume to a blank application form. Employers want you to fill out their own forms. Some forms ask applicants to give reasons for leaving pervious jobs or to write a personal essay stating why the company should hire them. These require tact and thought. If you were fired from a previous job, don't just state that fact. Provide additional information—your company was downsized and you were laid off, your company merged and your department was eliminated, and so on.

Going to an Interview
In a job interview, the applicant does 80 to 90 percent of the talking—so you need to come prepared. Find out about the employer. Review the technical skills most relevant for the job. Prepare a brief review of your qualifications that you can recite if asked about yourself. Be able to elaborate on the information listed on your resume.

Be prepared for the typical questions interviewers ask, such as "Tell us about yourself" "What is your greatest strength?" and "What is your greatest shortcoming"? Be honest when asked about your shortcomings, but emphasize how you are improving. Saying you have no shortcomings is as inadvisable as saying "I hate being criticized" or "I can't ever seem to finish what I start."

Be on time, dress appropriately, speak slowly and distinctly, don't smoke or chew gum, maintain eye contact with the interviewer, and thank the interviewer when the interview is over. Never attack your previous employer. Within a week, send a follow-up letter thanking the interviewer for his or her time.

Accepting or Declining a Job Offer
To accept or decline a job, you must respond formally in writing, even if you have already done so verbally. Respond to the offer as soon as possible (within two weeks). Make a letter accepting a job offer a model of clarity and diplomacy. Refusing a job requires tact. You are obligated to inform an employer why you are not taking a job. Since the employer has spent time interviewing you, respond with courtesy and candor. Start with a complimentary remark about the job, the interview, or the company; then move on to your refusal and an honest but simple explanation of why you are not taking the job.