In today’s society, major business decisions are often based on the communication conducted over emails. The job hunt process is no exception. Sending a well constructed email will not likely be the reason a company chooses to hire you. However, an inability to communicate well in writing can lead to disqualification from many jobs. To increase your odds of landing your next job, it may be wise to review your email etiquette.

Grammar and spelling – Writing an email should not feel like a homework assignment, you will not be graded. However, grammar and spelling are important. Before sending any emails to a potential employer, be sure to use the build in spelling and grammar checker. Then re-read it to be sure no mistakes slip past the automated check.

Get to the point – Long rambling emails will not likely be read. Keep your email correspondence short, sweet, and on topic. This will ensure the point you are trying to make is established with the reader.

Don’t mix your message – If you want to make several points to the reader, think it through. The reader will likely never make it past the first paragraph. It may make sense to create separate emails for each message.

Subject lines – A good subject line is like a good newspaper headline. Try to keep your subject line under 140 characters. Keep it short, but also keep it very specific. There is nothing worse for a hiring manager than trying to find one email title “My resume” or “Interview”. A short subject line that includes your name, a meeting time/place, or maybe even the topic of the meeting is much easier to find in your inbox.

Don’t be afraid to ask – If you expect an answer or response from the reader, don’t be afraid to ask. If you are sending the email because you want to know what to expect from the hiring process, you have to ask. Including something simple at the end of the email will express your interest and ask the question. For instance, “I am excited about this opportunity. What do you see as the next step of your hiring process?”. This expresses continued interest and asks the question. If you don’t ask the question, the reader will not likely be compelled to provide the answer.

The ability to structure an email well is essential to the success of any job hunt. With luck these tips and a little practice will help you become an expert. Just remember, keep it professional and keep it simple and you will be on your way to mastering proper email usage.

Everyone has been there and some even more than once. It is the dreaded tricky questions that are asked during the interviewing process. One can only wonder if the hiring manager asks these outrageous questions to amuse themselves or maybe they feel they have a keen insight on human behaviors and thought patterns. One can ponder for hours over this, but one thing is certain and that is these questions are sure to make you squirm. Most of us will leave the interview questioning ourselves on the answer we handed off, while a slim few will be able to have a good laugh.

The trick to answering the tricky questions is simple. You can take your choice from these two options. One – you can simply turn the question around. Mind you only a few will be able to pull this off and still look good in the interview. Two – actually answer the question and squirm about it later.

Examples of these tricky questions:

What is your greatest weakness? What is the right answer to this question? Do we honestly want to give the hiring manager an insight into those areas where we fall short at work? Well if you are among the many who don’t want to share this information, then you can reach down and utter the words “I’m a workaholic”. Or I would rather work with code than with people. Something along those lines will show the employer that you love your work with a passion. Now of course this is a BS answer, but then again it is a BS question.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Well let’s see this can be a dangerous question. As a matter of fact in five years I see myself being promoted to your current position. This is a great goal. However, you should probably keep it to yourself. Give the hiring manager some lovely answer, such as; I see myself working to help the company achieve their goals while working with a productive team. This may not be true in all reality, but it is a great way to show that you are a team player.

What in particular drew you to our company? Hmmm let’s see, could it be that you have a job opening? We might all want to say that, but it isn’t why in the least. This hiring manager wants to see that you have done your homework! Hopefully you did and you can answer this question with ease.

Just don’t worry too much over these tricky little questions. Take a moment and think about them before you answer. Most importantly give yourself a break about your response. Most people feel that they don’t answer these questions right, so don’t feel alone!

Every marketing piece has an objective your resume is no exception. Knowing your objective can make your resume much more effective. No, Get a new job is not an objective.

What do you want to be when you grow up? I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but if you are writing a resume, you are grown up. So, what do you want to be? What do you want out of your next job? What do you really want to do for your next employer? How can you make any team stronger because of your unique characteristics?

Everyone has a list of skills, talents, and ambitions that make them unique. Answering these types of character defining questions can help you write a much better resume. If you can, summarize these answers in a one paragraph objective statement. This statement will ensure your objective and goal for the resume is clearly stated and understood by the hiring authority. Then sprinkle elements of this objective into your work history and other sections of the resume to reinforce the original statement.

Long before marketing material is pushed out to the target audience, the marketing team asks very similar questions. Understanding the unique value of any product will shape all of the marketing materials they create. However, the objective of any individual marketing piece will shape it even further. For instance, a commercial will be designed to get your mind off of the TV show you just watched and get you thinking about the cool product. A mailer on the other hand has your attention, so this material will focus on listing key points about the product and the deal.

To define the objective of your resume, it is important to understand how you are sending out your resume and how much competition you face.

Job boards & listings: When responding to a listed job, your resume has to act like a commercial. Your objective is to make your resume stand out in a stack of thousands. In this case, the hiring authority will not likely get beyond the first paragraph of any resume on the first pass. There just isn’t enough time in a day. When responding to job boards and public listings, your objective statement has to really sell the reader on your fit for the position.

Private listing / unsolicited resumes / networking resumes: If you are fortunate enough to find an unlisted position or have the courage to send unsolicited resumes, you will have totally different set of challenges. In these cases, it is more likely the recipient will actually read the resume, especially if the resume was passed through your network. Your initial pitch is important, but in these cases it is more important to make sure you are carrying that objective throughout the resume.

Before sending out your resume, understand your career objective and the objective of your resume itself. These two pieces of information will make your resume much more effective at grabbing and keeping the attention of the hiring authority.