This document printed from the University
of Illinois Extension Tent Poles at http://www.extension.uiuc.edu/macon/
How often are you practicing for employment?
November 15, 2003
Rexlyn Nicole
Community and Economic Development Program Coordinator
Macon County Unit 2535 Millikin Parkway
Decatur, IL 62526
Phone: 217-877-6042
FAX: 217-877-4564 rxnicole@uiuc.edu
Many people do lots of resume mailings but rarely get the call for an interview. So how adept are you on that end of the process? If you do not practice your interviewing skills it will not matter how good that resume is if you cannot carry the whole process out to a productive end. If you are not getting called for an interview, review your resume. Have someone else read your resume and tell you what they think of it and then listen to what they are saying. Is it too long? Too short? Not specific enough? Too much information. If the resume is good, then have someone interview you and critique how you are doing. Do you speak well? Do you seem to try to fill every silence with an "um..."? Do you answer the question or fill the space with big words. That sound good. Remember to be good at both segments of the process, resume writing and interviewing. So practice up and keep those skills sharp.
If you look at life as a tent, do you know the importance of tent poles? When putting up the tent, the tent poles are hard to deal with, they are cumbersome and yet without them, there is no tent. The tent poles are there for support. They are the backbone of the tent. They are the foundation of the cover against the storm while camping. Tent poles are in your every day life as well. They are there propping you up when times are tough. Do you know who and what your tent poles are?
