Resumés & Interviews

Robbie Massey says two things are vital when looking for a new job — the resumé and the interview.

“Winning resumés lead to job interviews,” Massy said. “Understanding the interviewing strategies used by employers leads to landing the job.”

Massey is an extension specialist for the Raleigh County West Virginia University Extension Office located at Mountain State University in Beckley. He will be teaching a resumé writing and job interviewing class May 11 at Carter Hall on the MSU campus.

“Whether you are employed or unemployed, this class is an excellent opportunity to look at ways to find a good job, prepare for an interview, complete job applications and write cover letters and resumés,” Massey said.

Massey says to find that new job at “Big Happy Family Corp.,” applicants should have a polished resumé, be thoroughly prepared for the interview and have a follow-up strategy after each interview.

“One local company informed me that 98 percent of the people that applied for a job with them had something incorrect on their resumé,” Massey said. “There is obviously a need for résumé writing and job interview training in this area.”

Massey said the mistakes made on resumés vary.

“Some have misspelled words, some don’t follow accepted resumé formats and others have abbreviations that nobody understands,” he said. “Fancy fonts on pink paper may stand out, but it is very hard to read.”

Massey said when a hiring official with a company goes through resumés or applications they spend, on average, about 3 seconds with each one initially.

“People may not realize that they can get hundreds of resumés,” he explained. “If something jumps out at them that is incorrect, they will most times immediately toss that resumé into the pile that they are not going to call back for the interview.”

Massey said for every 100 resumés that a jobseeker sends out, it only leads to 10 interviews.

“Those 10 interviews lead to one job offer,” he said.

Massey said many seeking employment send out four or five resumés and get discouraged when they don’t get an immediate response.

“If you really want a new job, you are going to have to work at it because you are literally competing against hundreds of other applicants sometimes,” he said.

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Massey said there are three types of people who should seriously consider taking the class.

“First there is the already working people,” he said. “These are the people that need the class the most and really don’t realize it.”

Massey said those who have a job many times don’t update their resumés and forget interviewing techniques.

“They may have been working for a while and haven’t gone to an interview in 10 or more years,” he said. “Many things have changed.”

Massey said today’s economy doesn’t guarantee anyone a job.

“You don’t want to suddenly be out of work and not have updated materials,” he said. “To have a ready-to-go resumé and current job interviewing skills could mean the difference in going back to work quickly or searching for a job for months.”

The second type of person that should attend the class is the unemployed.

“If they don’t have a good, functional resumé that fits today’s formats, then they could remain unemployed for a long time,” he said. “They may not even know their resumé and job interviewing skills are outdated. If they keep applying and they are not getting any responses, then something may be wrong with their resumé.”

Massey said resumés can be too large or too small.

“During the class, we will show the different types of resumés,” Massey said. “Some people have years of experience and education, while others may be younger with not much experience.”

The other type is the underemployed — those working in jobs in which they are over-qualified.

“Unfortunately, in our area there are a lot of these people,” Massey said.

“Many take jobs just to get their foot in the door,” he said. “It’s not really a rewarding job or may not have benefits. They are working in jobs that are not the jobs they want to be working in and are qualified for.”

Massey said the underemployed can get the skills needed to get a “good” job.

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Massey said the class is free and open to the public.

“However, to ensure that all students are given full consideration, enrollment may be limited to the first 40 people who register,” Massey explained. “Be sure to sign up early to guarantee your seat.”

The class is co-sponsored by the Institute for Labor Studies and Research and the South Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO.

To register, call Massey at 255-9321 or e-mail him at RVMassey@mail.wvu. edu.

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