If the job fits

The hard truth about job hunting is that the best job in the world may not be the right job for you.

After your write an excellent resume and cover letter, after you apply for that job that looks good on paper, after you research the company and complete your interview preparation, after you ace the interview -- then you need to know what you want out of the job, the bosses, the workplace, and the company. You need to be able to ask questions that will tell you whether the company's answers match up with what you need to be an excellent employee. And you need to have the strength to walk away if the answers don't match.

Conversely, you need to be ready to hear that you won't be getting the job. Because after you write and excellent resume and cover letter, and after you ace the interview, you may still not be the right person for the job based on any number of criteria that your interviewer can't quantify. Or you might be 99 percent right for the job, but another candidate is 102 percent right for the job.

In other words, it's all about fit.

It's difficult to determine whether a position will fit you when you have only an hour or so to talk with your potential boss. It's a bit like going on a blind date and getting married after dinner! Both you and the hiring manager are trying to make the best decision possible in a high-pressure situation, and much of it hangs on the intangible concept of fit. To a degree, "fit" is like pornography -- job seekers and hiring managers feel that they will "know it when they see it." And much like dating, sometimes the attraction is one-sided.

Job seekers, the best way to determine whether a job is the right fit for you is to listen to what your gut says. If you've done your research before the interview, and asked your important questions during the interview, then you have done all you can do on that score. The rest of it is in the hiring manager's hands. If the hiring manager determines that you're not the right fit for the job, believe it, and move on.

Less Is More

Over at CareerHub, professional resume writer Louise Fletcher has a great post about the importance of brevity in a resume. She makes an excellent point:

Your resume is a marketing brochure not a product catalog. It has to say just enough to make the sale and not one word more.

This concept is more difficult for mid-career people to grasp than for those just starting out. Career seekers who are just starting out naturally have less information to grapple with. But for mid-career folks, leaving information out of a resume can be a scary idea. After all -- the thinking goes -- if you don't put it in your resume, how will a potential employer know everything you can do?

The answer is, they'll learn about you at the interview.

I think of the resume as a tool that provides enough information for a recruiter or hiring manager to want to schedule an interview to learn more about you. Keeping the resume brief gives you the opportunity to talk about the details of your experience during the interview, when you can connect your experience with the duties and description of the job you're applying for. That makes for a more effective interview -- which makes you a stronger candidate for the job.

Great advice from HR bloggers

If you're looking for something to read while I'm on hiatus, check out these folks:

Ask A Manager: This is a new blog with just a few posts, but each post offers excellent advice. Of note is the post about cover letters. I had no idea that so many job seekers didn't write cover letters until a few weeks ago, when I began my HR career and saw the submissions for myself. Ask A Manager explains exactly why the cover letter is so important -- so write one.

Evil HR Lady: She's not really evil, but her advice cuts to the chase, which some people consider to be evil. She also explains why HR folks are often seen as being evil: because we make managers do their jobs (among other reasons). Her blog will teach you things you never knew about why bosses and companies behave the way they do.

Fortify Your Oasis: I'm not sure whether I agree with Rowan Manahan, but his posts provide plenty of food for thought. A recent post talks about the importance of the opening moments of an interview, which I had never thought about before. See what I said about food for thought?

Enjoy!

On the Web: Tips and tricks

10 Dumbest Resume Blunders on CNNMoney.com: Outrageous examples of what not to do. Ever!

10 Tips for Finding a New Job at CollegeRecruiter.com: This list covers all aspects of the job hunt, from knowing what you're looking for to interviewing to going through a background check to get the job. Great advice.

25 Most Difficult Job Interview Questions (and their answers) on GoodRecruits.com: Interviewing favors the prepared candidate, and this list will get you prepared.

5 Reasons to Send Thank You Letters After an Interview by Barbara Safani: Sending thank-you e-mails or letters to everyone you interview with will put you ahead of the pack. Job seekers often forget this simple step, so remembering it will make you stand out.

Tips for Writing Thank You Letters from About.com: This list provides several resources for jump-starting your thank-you notes.