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There has been some debate recently about whether or not candidate references matter. In fact, a recent article on CNN called Do references really matter? explores this issue.

One quote from this piece caught my eye:

Harsh [an employer] agrees that when he receives a resume with references attached, he gives them virtually no weight.

Honestly, I don’t blame him. Today’s resume references are no more likely to turn up negative information than if you called the candidate’s mother directly. No job hunter is going to willingly provide a bad reference, it just doesn’t make sense.

Regardless, I still believe that references have their place. I have three reasons for this:

1. Everyone else is going to provide a reference when asked. Regardless of whether you agree that references are useful, you need to have them in order to be at the level of other candidates. Sad, but true.
2. Finding and contacting references also provides you with valuable networking experience. You never know when these references may be able to help you down the line.
3. Finally, it allows you to find out directly whether or not your references will support you in your job search. Believe it or not, “non-positive” references are not uncommon.

So take the time to go through your references. It will be beneficial in the long run.

I just read about Income-Based Repayment for the first time. Being from Canada, this doesn’t apply to me (sadly), however, it sounds like a great program.

In the article Grads Get a Break on Student Loan Debt, the Income-Based Repayment plan is described as a new federal program that is…

… making it easier to pay back these loans. If a student chooses to repay her or his loan with this plan, payments are then recalibrated — based on their income to something they can reasonably afford. All debt will be forgiven after 25 years. A graduate who earns less than 150% of the poverty line (about $16,000) won’t have to make any payments. This is in addition to the year-old Public Service Loan Forgiveness program for those working in jobs such as law enforcement, public health and social work. Their loans will be forgiven after 10 years.

While it isn’t the perfect solution, it’s definitely a step in the right direction. It’s too bad that it’s only treating the symptom and not getting to the root of the issue. It’s the size of the debt that is the big problem. Tuition rates across North America need to come down before this will be truly solved.

So that brings us to the most important question: Will this plan help you?

Every job seeker needs to go through the interview process to land a job. It’s a fact of life.

So given that this is such an important event, it makes sense to be as prepared as possible.

Take some time and ask a friend to grill you with mock interview questions (the tougher the better). It will help get you into the interview frame of mind. This kind of practice can help you polish your delivery and increase your chances of landing the job you really want.

Happy Turkey Day everyone! I hope that you have a safe and happy holiday!!!

I’d always had a hidden desire to work in high finance until it turned into the scapegoat for the economic disaster. So it caught my eye when I read You Think The Google Interview Is Tough? Try Getting A Job At A PE Firm, I couldn’t resist taking a look. In case you don’t know, PE stands for Private Equity, and the people who work in this profession are the new “Masters of the Universe” in terms of international finance. Even as we come out of the economic turmoil of the last few years, investment bankers are still being paid enormous sums for the work that they do. It’s unbelievable.

Want to get in on the act? Be prepared for a nightmare interview. Here’s one of the scenarios you may see:

…the typical interviewee is walked into a little room and told he has two hours to write out the steps necessary in something like an LBO (leveraged buy-out)…once done, the interviewee is taken into a room with one or more men (it is usually men, he says). They ask him to walk them through each step he took and listen while he justifies the reasons behind everything he suggested. If he does well, he is brought into another room where he begins an interview with someone else. The whole process takes at least three hours, he says, they are trying to trip you up the entire time.

This doesn’t sound like my idea of fun, but if you want to eventually make the big money, you have to be prepared to jump through the hoops!

Ever been through an interview like this?

Over the past several years LinkedIn has become the premier social network for the modern job hunter. It provides access to contacts within any given organization which you wouldn’t have had before. If you aren’t taking advantage of networking power of LinkedIn, you are already losing the job search battle.

Get on LinkedIn for the good of your job search and start networking!