1. On-line applications: Many of the jobs you may be applying for may require you complete on-line applications. They are timed! Before beginning the application be prepared with either your resume or paper containing your work history including your job titles, employer address and phone number, supervisor name, your wages and job duties. The time it takes you to complete the application will appear on the application, you don’t want your application to be passed up due to the length of time it took you to complete it. Many of the online applications ask questions regarding customer service etiquette and standards, be truthful and mindful of your responses.

2. Phone etiquette:

• Make sure you give employers the correct phone number! Please check your resume and update it every time you change your phone number.
• Be polite when answering the phone, you never know who is calling! Be polite when calling employers, you need them. Try to smile when you are speaking to them, they can hear it.
• Your voicemail message should be appropriate. Long songs or explicit lyrics as well as inappropriate language or tone in your message may cause the employer to hang up and not to leave a message (and move on to the next candidate). Nicknames on your voicemail are inappropriate too; it may confuse the employer and cause them to hang up.
• If other people share your phone, it’s important to work out a system of message-taking. Ask your family/friends be polite and carefully write down the entire message including the employers contact information, and remember to give it to you.

3. Volunteer Opportunities: With the state of our economy and challenges in securing employment, volunteer experience is as valuable as paid work history. Obtaining a volunteer position while searching for employment is smart and a great way of telling employers, “I have not just been home looking or waiting for a job, I have been proactive in using my skills and gaining more experience as a volunteer, (while searching for a job).”

Volunteer opportunities help job seekers (or non-jobseekers):

• Share and build their skill sets
• Bridge employment gaps
• Build their confidence
• Obtain references (vital in securing employment)
• Make their resume and experience current
• Show employers they are active in their communities
• Practice social and problem solving skills, and build work ethic
• Ease into the work force
• Determine what field they want or do not want to be in
• Understand the demands of certain fields/positions
• Network (build social supports and/or just get out of the house)
• Make a difference in their lives and the lives of others
• Be considered for a permanent position