Job Interview Preparation Quiz

All of the following are important preliminary steps for securing an interview except

• developing a job-search strategy.

• preparing a résumé.

• knowing the hiring process.

• writing a thank-you message to an interviewer.

The most popular résumé format is the

• chronological format.

• direct format.

• functional format.

• reverse chronological format.

Which of the following is the best advice about résumé length?

• Because recruiters and hiring managers want to know your skills, make it as long as needed to sell yourself, but keep it to one page if you are early on in your career.

• Because recruiters only interview applicants with two-page résumés, make it two pages.

• Because experts are divided between one- or two-page résumé length, make your résumé a page and a half.

• None of the above

Which of these résumé tips is most accurate?

• Don't list awards and honors on a résumé; if you list them, you will appear to be bragging.

• Omit school and community activities from your résumé because they are unrelated to your work experience.

• Include your personal information (height, weight, and marital status) to give a potential employer a complete picture.

• Improve the visual impact of your résumé by placing your employment achievements and relevant job duties in an easy-to-read bulleted list.

The purpose of a cover letter is to

• showcase an applicant's command of the English language.

• introduce the résumé and expand on the resume.

• explain how you heard about the position and why you would be a good fit.

• All of the above

A job opening has been announced. Which of these answer choices will be the best opening sentence for the cover letter?

• You seek a master Web engineer, and I need a job; we are perfect for each other

• Dr. Matthew Skalski, IT director at Northwestern University, told me that you have an opening for a Web engineer with experience in networking, data management, and innovations.

• Please consider this letter my application for your opening in the IT Department.

• Do you need a Web engineer with over three years of experience?

A job interview provides an opportunity for you to do all of the following except

• expand on the information in your résumé.

• convince the employer of your potential.

Braden is preparing several success stories prior to his job interview for a sales representative position. Which of the following scenarios would result in the best success story for this position?

• A story about a lemonade stand that Braden ran when he was a child

• A story about working as part of a team in college to prepare a classroom presentation about a company's history

• A story about volunteering for a local food bank over the holidays

• A story about developing a new sales technique that increased his customer sale by 30 percent over a six-month period

Because many companies now use social networking sites to screen job candidates, what is the best advice you should follow to project a positive image?

• Join as many groups or fan pages as possible to demonstrate your popularity.

• Make your personal social networking pages available to all individuals.

• Remove any photos, content, and links that could make you look unprofessional.

• Update your status about your current job search frequently so that your friends and family know how things are going.

Which of the following is the best advice when traveling to and arriving at your interview?

• Save getting ready for the last minute because the more time you have, the more nervous you will get.

• If something unexpected happens causing you to be late, don’t bother to show up or call to explain.

• If you smoke on the way to the interview, brush your teeth or chew some gum when you arrive and liberally apply perfume or cologne.

• Arrive at the interview 10 to 15 minutes early, and greet the receptionist promptly on arrival.