QUESTION: I have a panel interview and I have never had one before, any advice?

ANSWER: Yes, GOOD luck... just kidding, I think panel interviews are great and here's why. When you interview one-on-one with individuals at a company, at some point all those individual's gather together to give each other feedback about all of the candidates. The problem I have always had with this one-on-one method is that your answers are now open to interpretation by the interviewer who asked you the question. He or she will relate your answers back to the others the way he or she heard what you said. In addition, the other interviewers don't have the benefit of seeing how you answered the questions, what your expression was, what your tone was, where your passion was or how your body language helped or hurt your answers. By being in a panel everyone hears every question answered by you in your own words and in the tone and intention you had for your answers. They also see the way you answered each and every question... nothing gets lost in translation. Don't let the panel intimidate you, instead, see the huge advantage you have in this situation and go with it.

Check out our calendar for events that will help you job search.

QUESTION: I have been in employed for the past 20 years. I have moved to other companies but always stayed on my same career path moving up a level each time I changed jobs. This is the first time I have had to look for a job. I am having a hard time keeping my resume to one page, can you give me any advice?

ANSWER: Yes, make it a two page resume, as a matter of fact, you better have a two page resume.

Everyone should have a resume that is two pages, no more, no less. Even if you are right out of college. It used to be acceptable for individuals out of college to have a one page resume but even that isn't the case these days. With the competition in the job market right now and with the way the economy is companies have the cream of the crop applying for jobs and you need to stand out. College students should have internships or accomplishments at school as well as jobs they might have held in school or positions they might have held in a club, organization or on a volunteer level.

Your resume should be structured to have the first paragraph be what I like to call your "paragraph of awesomeness". I still see people put "objectives" at the top of their resume... companies don't really care what you are looking for and what you want your future to look like. They are looking to see what you can do for them, what you can do to help make them better. Do not uses the word "summary" before your paragraph of awesomeness either. Instead, put the title of the job you are trying to land. For example, list "Director of Marketing" or "Vice President of Finance" etc. Then talk about why you are the best "Director of Marketing" or "Vice President of Finance" they could hire by talking about your skills and what you have to offer. After your paragraph of awesomeness list Four Key accomplishments as four bullet points. To write your key accomplishments use this formula: come up with a bunch of scenarios in your career where there was a problem (state the problem), how you helped develop and implement the solution and the result. The result should contain a number to make it even more effective. Be sure the key accomplishments also contain keywords for the type of jobs you are applying for.

For example: "Took a time consuming manual process and designed and created a multi-page spreadsheet using formulas and macro increasing productivity by 65% and reducing error by 95%."

After your Four Key Accomplishments list the standard chronological listing of past jobs and experience, ending of course with education and professional development. Try not to submit your resume through the internet, instead try to network your way into a job you found online. Most jobs that are applied for online are scanned by computers and are not even looked at by humans. The computers are scanning for keywords, not for content or accomplishments. It is another reason why networking is the way to find your next job, you get to tell your story, instead of having a piece of paper represent your entire career history.

As I was speaking the other day to a large group of job seekers a man who runs one of the accountability groups stood up and said he recently heard the following: "Applying for a job online is one step away from applying for a job by laying on the couch and watching TV"

This is so true, I love it. Only 2%-4% of jobs are found by applying for a job online where 80%-90% are found through networking. The trick is learning to network the right way... networking is not about going to endless networking groups. That is a tool for effective networking but the networking I am talking about, effective networking, is all about the one-on-one meetings that happen outside the group networking events. We network to build new relationships, to make our world bigger, to toss out a wider net, so to speak. The more people we meet and the more people we tell our story to the quicker we will land our next job.

Check out my calendar to learn more about networking events and networking classes I am teaching specifically for job search/career transition purposes. Other events on my calendar are events I will be attending or events I recommend.