Getting Interviews

Rating:
Summary: Good But Read Targeting Your Job Market First
Review: Kate Wendleton displays a positive pro-active attitude in Getting Interviews for Job Hunters. She gives many positive tips. One should always look to target all available opportunities. In addition, one should expect that a good job search takes a lot of time.

She emphasizes the points of doing a good search. Always ask for referrals as that will keep many possibilities on the fire. You will know you are doing well when you hear some of the same names come up constantly in your search. This is a small world.

Like the section that sums up the types of Executive Search Firms. Good analysis of retainer firm vs. contingency.

The sample cover letters and thank you notes are a mixed bag though. Many of them are way too long. In the age of a tight job market that has the time to read a long winded cover letter. Madge Wrigley's letter in addition to being to long and winding (eight paragraphs, my goodness) also has too much of a chummy tone. Most bosses can be a little too suspicious of someone who gathers too much information on them and couples that with ramblings. I say write a short three to four paragraph letter and come right to the point.

Also the idea that someone could have 6-10 opportunities at one time thru networking seems pretty unlikely. Three to five seems possible but who knows. Maybe the down economy has me a bit pessimistic.

Anyway, there is certainly some good information here. None the less choose Kate's Targeting Your Job Market first as that has a better glossary and fun exercises as well.

Rating:
Summary: Good But Read Targeting Your Job Market First
Review: Kate Wendleton displays a positive pro-active attitude in Getting Interviews for Job Hunters. She gives many positive tips. One should always look to target all available opportunities. In addition, one should expect that a good job search takes a lot of time.

She emphasizes the points of doing a good search. Always ask for referrals as that will keep many possibilities on the fire. You will know you are doing well when you hear some of the same names come up constantly in your search. This is a small world.

Like the section that sums up the types of Executive Search Firms. Good analysis of retainer firm vs. contingency.

The sample cover letters and thank you notes are a mixed bag though. Many of them are way too long. In the age of a tight job market that has the time to read a long winded cover letter. Madge Wrigley's letter in addition to being to long and winding (eight paragraphs, my goodness) also has too much of a chummy tone. Most bosses can be a little too suspicious of someone who gathers too much information on them and couples that with ramblings. I say write a short three to four paragraph letter and come right to the point.

Also the idea that someone could have 6-10 opportunities at one time thru networking seems pretty unlikely. Three to five seems possible but who knows. Maybe the down economy has me a bit pessimistic.

Anyway, there is certainly some good information here. None the less choose Kate's Targeting Your Job Market first as that has a better glossary and fun exercises as well.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Read!
Review: Kate Wendleton, an authority on job searches and career development, discusses techniques for getting interviews once you focus on your target job market. After a brief overview of the job-hunting process, she explains how to obtain interviews by networking effectively and building relationships. She discusses how to do mailings, answer ads, use interviews productively, work with search firms, develop phone skills and create a well-organized campaign. The book suffers from some repetition among chapters and some overlap with Wendleton's Building a Great Resume, especially in the beginning of both books. Great Resume offers more information about assessing your career path than the present volume, a solid, basic book apparently geared to the relatively inexperienced job hunter seeking a novice to mid-level position. We from getAbstract recommend the book's well-organized strategic overview to most job seekers, with the caveat that high level executives and managers may already know much of the material.

Rating:
Summary: A great tool to get your job search going
Review: This book gives you the information you need to get started on an effective job search. Kate Wendleton has done a great job. I recommend this book.

Wayne D. Ford, Ph.D., author of "The Accelerated Job Search" [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: A great tool to get your job search going
Review: This book gives you the information you need to get started on an effective job search. Kate Wendleton has done a great job. I recommend this book.

Wayne D. Ford, Ph.D., author of "The Accelerated Job Search" [e-mail]