Deck 25: The Job Search, Résumés and Interviews in the Digital Era

Question 1

Many employers and recruitment agencies prefer to have electronic résumés rather than keeping hard-copy résumés.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Which of the following is a key place to look or a key strategy that you would adopt while job seeking?

A) Newspapers, employment agencies and online recruitment
B) Professional association journals and networking
C) Direct mail campaign and placing an advertisement in newspapers/trade journals
D) All of the above

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The purpose of a referee in a job application is to

A) persuade a potential employer to give you an interview and to speak about your specific skills relevant to the job on offer.
B) have people who know you, and who are in a responsible position, support your claims about professional competence and experience.
C) have someone speak positively about you, overestimating your good points and those parts of your experience which will particularly contribute to the vacant job.
D) use a trusted third party who will speak to a potential employer on your behalf about what you can do and what you can't do.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Temping and freelancing is one of the ways to find a position.

Question 5

What is the purpose of keywords in a résumé?

A) To attract the attention of recruiters or employers
B) To demonstrate your professional ability and potential for the position
C) To highlight crucial skills and experience
D) To show your language proficiency, particularly your writing ability

Question 6

Your digital footprint can include content you have posted, comments you've made, and posts you've liked online.

Question 7

What will you need to use as keywords for an electronic or keyword résumé to allow search engines to hit your résumé?

A) Power-action words
B) Action verb followed by a noun
C) Expanded noun groups
D) Metaphors and similes

Question 8

A good approach for any jobseeker is to say

A) 'If I have the knowledge, skills and attitude, employers will seek me out.'
B) 'Nothing comes to one who waits, it's later than you think.'
C) 'Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Seize the day.'
D) 'I am a business of one. I need to market myself to prospective employers.'

Question 9

What does a résumé often include?

A) Information about one's marital status
B) 150-word summary of your personal details
C) Information about career goals and what you can offer a prospective employer
D) Age, religion and gender

Question 10

In electronic databases, software scans through thousands of résumés and identifies those that most closely match the inputted keywords.

Question 11

In which way does a résumé target your goal and support it?

A) By using elegant, formal expression
B) By introducing interesting, personal details
C) Via the recommendations of many referees
D) With the use of action words or verbs

Question 12

The application is the only source of information a potential employer can use to decide whether you should be invited to an interview.

Question 13

A software program that analyses and classifies résumés against keywords in the recruitment process is known as a keyword tracking system (KTS).

Question 14

When seeking the first job or a new job it is important to

A) have a few goods friends in high places.
B) know the decision makers.
C) be self-effacing, so you don't appear pushy.
D) be thoroughly prepared.

Question 15

Employment agencies are funded by the government to help people on unemployment benefits find work.

Question 16

A key component in the marketing process is a powerful referee.

Question 17

Job seekers who have completed voluntary work experience have an advantage because

A) they can show their public-spirited nature.
B) they have been able to build contacts, experience and skills.
C) volunteers develop a positive attitude that transfers readily to an interview.
D) more and more corporations value community-minded attitudes.

Question 18

If you haven't received an acknowledgement two weeks after you have mailed a job application

A) your application has definitely been rejected.
B) it is appropriate to make an inquiry either by letter or telephone.
C) it is not appropriate to contact the recruiters again.
D) the only thing you can do is to search for other jobs.

Question 19

Language used in a résumé should be

A) active and direct.
B) specific and inclusive.
C) familiar to the audience.
D) All of the above

Question 20

Identifying employment opportunities via business contacts, peers and family contacts is known as social networking.

Question 21

What tone is appropriate for résumé writing?

A) A courteous and confident tone
B) Informal and casual
C) Very formal and serious
D) Academic and accomplished

Question 22

Keywords are the words which you can put at the end of your résumé to strengthen your claim that you have what recruiters want.

Question 23

Which of the following should be highlighted in a résumé?

A) Name, address, phone number, qualifications and referees
B) Employment objective, activities and interests
C) Work experience and achievements
D) Reasons for leaving past employment

Question 24

Voluntary social and welfare work is usually useful because it allows one to gain valuable contacts, experience and skills.

Question 25

How many minutes on average does it take an employer to scan a résumé?

A) Four or five minutes
B) Two or three minutes
C) One or two minutes
D) Six or seven minutes

Question 26

The purpose of the covering letter (or letter of application) is to

A) make an explosive lasting impression and draw attention to the relevance of your qualifications to a specific job.
B) draw attention to those qualifications or experiences not listed in the résumé but which may equip you for the job and persuade the reader to consider your application carefully.
C) strengthen what you want to emphasise by repeating the content in your résumé.
D) achieve a balance between your perception of your suitability for the job and the potential employer's needs.

Question 27

Which type of résumé is simpler and shorter than other types?

A) Chronological
B) Functional
C) Digital
D) Targeted

Question 28

People who may underrate their skills and abilities are those who feel they have been in the workforce for so long and command an unrealistic compensation for an advertised position.

Question 29

What is considered critical to the success of your résumé writing?

A) A self-effacing tone
B) The order of presentation of information
C) The inclusion of a creative image
D) The use of technical terminology

Question 30

The purpose of your résumé is to win an interview.

Question 31

An employment application consists of a résumé and a covering letter.

Question 32

Work-related references are

A) documents that highlight and support certain skills and experiences you have gained.
B) appraisal letters from your supervisor or boss.
C) letters of recommendation to change your job.
D) documents attesting to your good character.

Question 33

The two broad sections of a résumé are

A) general history and specific skills.
B) personal information and employment-related information.
C) personal information and specific skills.
D) personal goals and attributes.

Question 34

Giving examples of accomplishments is a strategy to show your strengths in résumé writing.

Question 35

Why is a targeted résumé also known as a specific résumé?

A) It describes personal details specifically
B) It introduces professional qualifications in detail
C) It emphasises relevant skills and experience for a specific job
D) It emphasises the career goals you are targeting

Question 36

The type of résumé which identifies the key skills, areas of expertise and body of experience the employer will be looking for is

A) a basic résumé.
B) a targeted résumé.
C) a functional résumé.
D) a skills résumé.

Question 37

When your current job title is unrelated to your current career goals, you should

A) use skill headings rather than the job title.
B) alter your title to suit the job.
C) add a footnote to explain.
D) insert a table comparing the two positions.

Question 38

The first impression of your résumé is often affected by

A) the layout of information on the page.
B) your qualifications.
C) your expression.
D) your tone throughout your résumé.

Question 39

The covering letter should contain

A) three main parts.
B) four main parts.
C) five main parts.
D) as many as ten main parts.

Question 40

One of the reasons for having a résumé is to clarify your direction and career goals.

Question 41

Which of the following is not a type of employment interview?

A) The one-on-one interview
B) The behavioural interview
C) The panel interview
D) The complementary interview

Question 42

Email your résumé to a proofreader before you send it to check for any formatting problems.

Question 43

The employer or recruiter is likely to read those résumés with the most keyword hits identified by the software that reviews résumés.

Question 44

The three most common types of résumé are chronological, functional and targeted.

Question 45

The covering letter is also known as the letter of application, which is the persuasive part of the application.

Question 46

The more facts and skills you can provide in a résumé, the greater your chance of finding a job that matches your abilities.

Question 47

The evidence section of an effective digital résumé should include broad, general statements.

Question 48

The employment interview is really

A) an opportunity to find the most compliant applicant for the job.
B) a question and answer session to find the best applicant for the job.
C) a chance to convince the employer that you know and can do everything.
D) an intensive interrogation to get rid of weaklings.

Question 49

The purpose of your résumé is to detail all of your accomplishments in your career to date.

Question 50

An e-Portfolio can be most useful for

A) demonstrating your familiarity with technology.
B) providing samples of your work.
C) showcasing your experience, talents, awards and qualifications in more detail than a résumé.
D) allowing employers greater access to your general profile.

Question 51

Plain text résumés impose limitations on you when distributing your résumé electronically.

Question 52

Which of the following is a goal of the interview?

A) To determine the sameness of the interviewer's and applicant's beliefs
B) To inform applicants about the job and the organisation and get information about their likely 'fit'
C) To get information from interviewees about their age, marital status and family ties
D) To provide an opportunity for interviewers to perform and present themselves

Question 53

When you use someone as a referee, they do not have to be informed beforehand. They can find out when your recruiter contacts them.

Question 54

The main feature of the targeted résumé is that you focus on your skills and capabilities rather than your history.

Question 55

The functional résumé is shorter and simpler than other types of résumés.

Question 56

Including a link to a professional networking site in your résumé

A) demonstrates how well-known you are in industry.
B) allows you to share industry information.
C) provides a recruiter or potential employer with additional work-related information about you.
D) can be high risk.

Question 57

The essential factors in an digital résumé are

A) content, uniform presentation and keywords.
B) creative presentation and literary expression.
C) depth, breadth and impact.
D) logical structure and sound argument.

Question 58

A functional résumé is also known as a specific résumé.

Question 59

The evidence section of a résumé contains broad, general statements to grab the attention of the employer.

Question 60

A separate keyword section should be included at the end of your résumé.

Question 61

The stage of the interview process in which impression is most important is

A) pre-interview.
B) interview.
C) post-interview.
D) All stages of the interview process are important

Question 62

It is the applicant's responsibility rather than the employer's to come to the interview prepared, and have the confidence to ask questions.

Question 63

An aptitude test is the type of psychometric test used to measure a university graduate's ability to read numerical data, and to interpret graphic data and ratio problems accurately.

Question 64

If you choose not to accept the position, write a letter declining the offer.

Question 65

The cull or sorting of applicants to be interviewed and those who are not to be interviewed is made

A) by comparing the information in the application against the essential and desirable qualifications for the position.
B) by considering applicants' written information and checking with referees to determine the likelihood of the applicant succeeding in the vacant position.
C) on the basis of work history, applicable experience, qualifications gained and information gathered at the pre-interview stage.
D) on the basis of referees, psychometric and other applicable tests, accuracy, presentation and timeliness in the submission of the job application.

Question 66

Which of the following is a factor that causes interviews to be poor predictors of job performance?

A) An interviewer with a stereotype of what represents a good applicant
B) Favouritism for those who hold similar views to the interviewer and undue emphasis given to negative information
C) The likelihood that the interviewer will forget much of the interview's content soon after its conclusion
D) All of the above

Question 67

Interviews are thought to be very good predictors of competent performance in a job.

Question 68

A psychometric test is typically administered before a job interview is conducted.