4 Hoops to Jump Before Getting a Job Offer

4 Hoops to Jump Before Getting a Job Offer 4 Hoops to Jump Before Getting a Job Offer Landing a job is hard. You could be a college graduate with a perfectly crafted resume , but that is hardly enough to land a gig. Even if you nail the interview process, which is grueling, companies may still be wary of hiring you. The job market is as competitive as it has ever been. Let’s take a look at some of the extra hoops you need to jump through, and how to jump through them, on your way to a job offer. Nowadays, you will have to face at least two interviews on your path to employment. If your application and resume make it out of the pile of others, you may get a phone interview, sometimes called a phone screening . This type of interview has its own etiquette to follow , and you need to do well to move on to the next round of interviews. Typically, the next round is an in-person interview with your prospective new boss, but some companies may have you go through a peer interview with multiple people all at once. You may never do this, but   many people lie on resumes and applications.  To guard against this, employers use background checks to fact-check applicants. This usually happens after the interview process, but some companies may do a background check before they even talk to you. There are many different types of background checks , but the main things they verify are employment history and criminal records. These checks take a few days, but they are easily passed if you didn’t  lie about your work history or run-ins in with the law. Don’t let a Facebook status or tweet cost you a job. Employers will check your social media accounts , and there are a few things that turn off employers that you should watch out for. Make sure your spelling and grammar are correct, avoid using profanity, and remove any pictures of you drinking alcohol. Try to appear as professional and uncontroversial as possible. Ideally, your profile is private. Check the privacy settings on your accounts to make sure not everything you post is public. The people you list as references are perhaps the greatest help to your chances of employment. They can also be the greatest detriment, so choose wisely. To make sure you get a glowing review from people you list as references, you need to do a few things before you list them. Contact the people you want to list a few weeks before you start applying for jobs. Ask if it is OK to list them, and let them know what you are applying for. Send a copy of your resume to them, and let them know this potential job is important to you . Job hunting is not easy. Finding the perfect gig to launch your career is hard enough, and then you have to prove to the employer that you’re worth the position. Keep all these extra steps in mind to perfect your application, and you’ll stand out from the others on your way to landing that job.