June 5th, 2013 | 7:57 AM ET | By: David Mielach, BusinessNewsDaily Staff Writer
Summer may be the perfect time to sit back in a beach chair and relax, but it is also the one of the best times to find a job or internship. However, going through the interview process in the summer can be even more challenging then it is at other points of the year for a number of reasons. Luckily, hiring managers have some useful advice that may make all the difference in whether a candidate gets a job offer this summer. They include:
Don’t schedule a Friday interview
Oftentimes when people interview during the summertime, don’t understand that most weekends are filled with travel, activities and general work tasks. I always recommend to people to schedule interviews Monday thru Thursday so they don’t get caught in a situation where they are forgotten about over the weekend. – Ryan O’Connell, vice president at Influence and Co
Look beyond the summer
Don’t limit yourself to applying for work that’s only available during the summer. While students and teachers might have the most availability to work during the summer, consider whether the job you’re seeking might offer long-term opportunities such as weekends, seasonal hours during the December holidays or an option to return to work the following summer. If you offer to work on a longer-term or ongoing basis for an employer, hiring you becomes a better investment and can help you to stand out from the competition. – Scott Vedder, author of “Signs of a Great Résumé: How to Write a Résumé that Speaks for Itself” (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2012)
Nix the flip flops
Wearing sunglasses on the top of a person’s head and wearing shorts are absolute no-nos. Bringing weekend bags that look like they are going to the beach should be left in the reception area or in the car, if the person was not taking public transportation. These are a couple of examples of people I have had interview for positions in the summer months, so I now provide candidates with a dress code document before they go on interviews. – Paul Feeney, managing director at Sanford Rose Associates – Wayne
Dress up
I often get on the soapbox regarding inappropriate summer attire. My simple advice is to always dress up, even if you’re told that dress standards are casual. Proper attire is a sign of respect for the person interviewing you, and it tells the hiring manager that you’re capable of dressing up when the job calls for it. Sadly, too many applicants don’t know the difference between business casual and beach casual. —Ron Culp, instructor and professional director of the public relations and advertising masters program at DePaul University
Be prepared to wait
Don’t expect an immediate reply on the status of your candidacy. Most people will be taking vacations during this season, including recruiters. Some hiring managers don’t think twice about leaving for vacation without updating recruiters on the status of their candidates, so be patient — you may have to wait longer than usual for an update on whether you’ll be offered a role. — Lora Poepping, founder of Plum Job Search Strategies
Don’t rush
Candidates oftentimes do not give themselves enough time to get to the interview. This can be a real challenge in the summer with high temperatures. Rushing to the interview, coupled with public transportation such as steamy subway platforms, can cause excessive sweating, causing job candidates to look disheveled and even worse, to be malodorous. Leaving extra time for a preinterview visit to the bathroom to freshen up and put on a bit more deodorant is the way to go. —Nicole Lindsay, founder of DiversityMBAPrep
Advice for recent graduates
I’ve noticed one glaring mistake on more than one occasion. A mom called my company to help her son secure a job. Her son was a recent college graduate and it didn’t dawn on his mother that she was making her son look like an incompetent little boy, not a self-starter, by doing his job hunting for him. I told the mom that I couldn’t hire her son because I couldn’t take him seriously since he had asked his mother try to apply for a job for him. — Mark Kronenberg, founder of MATH 1-2-3
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Source: http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4584-summer-job-interview-mistakes.html
