1. Send "TOUs" or thinking of yous. Share articles of interest or relevant news stories. Keep your mentor's projects and areas of influence on your radar so that you can weigh in periodically on thought-provoking topics. You can even set up Google alerts on her key clients to make sure you're the first to see breaking news — then pass it along and make sure she's "in the know" too.
   


2. Provide insight into the rank and file of your organization. By definition, you are more junior (in terms of age or experience) than your mentor. Senior leaders often feel out of touch with the cubicle culture and lack meaningful interaction with the front lines of their organization. You may be able to share reactions of your peers to a new corporate policy or change in organizational structure. Giving your mentor feedback or insight into employee morale is a great way to give back.
   


3. Help with extra-curricular activities. Perhaps your mentor does a lot of college recruiting for the firm or runs a leadership development program for women. Why not offer to accompany her on a recruiting trip, sift through resumes in advance or bring her ideas of guest speakers for the leadership program?
   


4. Buy 'em lunch. At the very least, if you really struggle to find ways to add value, take your mentor to lunch or dinner. Even if your mentor tries to foot the bill, be firm and generous in your offer. Let your mentor know that you appreciate his help and it's your pleasure to be able to return the favor in some small way. A nice glass of wine or good steak goes a long way toward building good will.

Recession survival guide: Harsh welcome to real world

By Mary Ellen Podmolik

CHICAGO - The Class of 2009 may be cursing the economy, but they can't let it distract them from their job search

Suzanne Block isn't basking in the insulating embrace of college as she waits the eight weeks until her May 9 graduation from Lake Forest College.

When she's not in class or studying, she's scanning online job sites, sending out resumes and cold-calling potential employers, anything that might get the frustrated 21year-old a job.

"Damn me for being born in '87," said the English and communications major. "This is just a nightmare. There could not be a worse time to be looking for a job."

After college seniors enjoy their last spring break this month, they'll return to campus for the final weeks of academia before they enter a recession-weary real world with an 8.1 percent unemployment rate. The first job search is always daunting but particularly so for the estimated 1.5 million-strong Class of 2009.

In August, employers surveyed by the National Association of Colleges and Employers said they planned to increase hiring of college graduates by 6 percent over last year. By October, the revised projection was a 1.3 percent increase in hiring. Then the hiring expectations were flat. Last month's updated survey showed a staggering change of heart, with employers reporting they planned to hire nearly 22 percent fewer college graduates than they did from the Class of 2008.

Some seniors do have jobs waiting for them; others accepted offers in the fall, only to have them rescinded. Some are hoping to wait out the recession by heading to graduate school - a questionable strategy if it's not for the right reasons - or are looking at service programs that are inundated with applications. And others are career guidance office regulars looking for assistance.

However, there are worries on college campuses that many seniors either are throwing up their arms and giving up or are so focused on their last semester and confident in their abilities they wrongly figure they'll easily land a job after graduation.

"The marketplace is going to continue to get worse," said Phil Gardner, director of Michigan State University's Collegiate Employment Research Institute. "You have to be resilient. It's not all going to work out the way you want it to. You're going to be underemployed and not valued as much as you think. But you want to position yourself and keep your sights on where you want to go."

In other words, don't let a bad economy distract you from a good job search that needs to start now. The workplace may not need as many college graduates as it once did, but the need for the qualities they bring remains, career counselors say.

"There's something great about a fresh college graduate," said Gillian Steele, managing director of DePaul University's career center. "They're up to date with the latest stuff, they're full of energy. They come moldable and they come with a more reasonable cost as well."

And despite the headlines, there are jobs to be filled.

"There's a mind-set that there aren't jobs," said Lois Meerdink, director of business career services at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign. "There are, but there are fewer positions, so (students) have to work much harder and outwork their competition." Here's how:

- Use the services of college career centers, which continue to hear from employers that want to visit campus to meet students regardless of whether they have immediate job openings. Career offices also are adding programs to help students deal with today's economic realities.

For instance, DePaul for the first time is putting on a special career fair after graduation for non-traditional employers, service organizations and temporary help firms.

- Broaden your search parameters. Look beyond the big firms to smaller employers. Look at other industries where your knowledge base could be applied. Expand your search geographically and realize that while it may be your dream to work in the Loop and live near Wrigley Field, that dream may have to be placed on the back burner for a few years.

Jennifer Waxler, a finance major at U. of I., envisioned a career in corporate finance, banking or consulting and even had a few second interviews. But as the larger banks' hiring plans have been scuttled, she's now looking at smaller banks. After graduation, she may move back to her family's Palatine home and try to find a job as a bank teller, to get her foot in the door somewhere.

"Once I have a job, I'll appreciate it more," Waxler said. "I'll have worked hard to get it. I never thought the economy would affect me so directly. I thought by going to college and getting a degree in business from the U. of I., I'd be set."

- Take every opportunity to make a connection, whether it's by meeting the parents of a friend or by doing an information interview with a company that you're interested in but has no openings.

"If someone says they have a hiring freeze, I (tell students), 'Forget that,' " DePaul's Steele said. "Stay connected. A hiring freeze can come off as soon as it comes on. If you're the one who's stayed in touch, you've got a huge advantage over someone else. It's positioning yourself without doing the big sales job."

Andreas Gloor, a Benedictine University senior who'll receive finance and accounting degrees in May, has sought out the wisdom of recruiters on and off campus, talked with teachers, gone on informational interviews and even had a human-resources professor and her class critique his rsum.

"I am talking to anyone that will listen," said Gloor, who thinks he ultimately will wind up attending graduate school at DePaul in the fall.

- Consider service organizations as a way to develop skills and expand your network of potential contacts. But be aware the paying jobs can be just as tough to get as those with a traditional employer.

Applications for the Peace Corps are up 16 percent this year, compared with 2008. Meanwhile, Teach for America, a program that places teachers in inner-city schools for two years, has received a record 35,000-plus applications, a 42 percent gain over last year. Last year, of the then-record 25,000 applications, 3,700 received teaching positions.

Jackson Froliklong, 21, a Northwestern University senior, is among the lucky ones accepted by Teach for America, and he knows it. The Cleveland native, who's receiving degrees in social policy and political science, applied to the program in early fall and was accepted in November. He'll start teaching in a Chicago public school in August.

"I found out right as the bottom was falling out, right after Lehman (Brothers) collapsed," he said. "I was fortunate to lock something up before things turned sour."

- Be ready to move to Plan B: doing something else. Experts say the worst strategy is to try to wait out the recession, because that shows a lack of energy and interest in your career.

This may be, career counselors say, the only time when you can get away with working a minimum-wage job that has little to do with your degree.

Why? Because everyone knows what the economy is like, and managers want to know that graduates are doing something with their time rather than work on their tans or Xbox acumen.

- Take responsibility for yourself and realize the skills you're learning from the job search process itself.

"Our culture of excess created this generation," said Lindsey Pollak, author of "Getting From College to Career: 90 Things to Do Before You Join the Real World." "You hear the terms 'entitled' and 'coddled.' The economy is going to slap that out of them pretty quick. If this economy teaches them to be humbled and hardworking, it's teaching them what their parents and professors can't."

“Hi, my name is Tom Matthews. Bob Smith suggested we meet. Is there any time in the
next six weeks we could get together for lunch?”
“Can we have lunch, just to get to know each other better?”
You have no idea how much busy entrepreneurs hate to hear these words. Despite
knowing that the meeting almost certainly is a waste of time, common courtesy to the
caller and “Bob Smith” means the entrepreneur has little choice but to squeeze something
else into his eighty hour work week, meaning that work, family or charitable duties must
suffer.

Finally, it’s the day of the meeting. Thankfully, the entrepreneur’s assistant has managed
to convert the lunch to a short meeting.
“Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“So how do you know Bob?”
“We met a few weeks ago, and your name came up.”
Another ten minutes are wasted on empty pleasantries, like the weather and the latest
sports scores. Finally the moment comes.
“So what can I do to help?”
“Well, I’m not sure. I’m just trying to network with as many people as possible. I’m
thinking about changing careers.” (Heavy sigh from the entrepreneur.)
“So what kind of job would interest you?”
“Well, I’m not sure. Something that’s really exciting and pays well. I’m really open to
anything.” (Another heavy sigh.)

Then, if you are really unlucky, the guest begins to recount, in agonizing detail, his life
story. This takes another fifteen minutes. Time moves slowly. Very slowly. Finally, the
meeting is over. Another half hour wasted.
What’s wrong with this picture?
So what went wrong? Is the entrepreneur unsociable? Selfish? No, not at all. Even the
most charitable person wants to know – what’s in it for me? Even if “what’s in it for me”
is the joy of helping someone else.

Basically, as an entrepreneur with a family and obligations to my community and church,
every minute of every day is already taken. That means there’s an opportunity cost for
every new task accepted. If you waste my time because you haven’t thought about your
own goals, you are telling me that, at best, you are naïve; at worst, self absorbed. Not
exactly the best first impression.

It is a waste of time to use personal interviews to learn about an industry or decide what
you should do with your life. A stranger or casual acquaintance doesn’t know you well
enough to give you personal career advice and general career advice isn’t very valuable.
If you want to learn more about an industry, it’s more efficient and effective to read about
the industry first and then interview front line workers—not bother a CEO with general
questions.

Save interviews and interactions with busy entrepreneurs until you know exactly what
you need. Someone who can help you naturally becomes your mentor, so make it as easy
as possible for them to help by having a specific request.

But, But, But……
“But don’t entrepreneurs want to make new friends?” Sure, but at their own choosing,
not as a social obligation because it’s rude to refuse to see you. Sometimes random
meetings do lead to long lasting friendships, but the odds are against it.

“But I just need someone to listen to me.” Sorry, that’s not an entrepreneur’s
responsibility. That’s the job of a spouse, friend or counselor.

“But I need to learn more about your industry.” Fine. Read a book. I’ll even send you a
list of books by e-mail. Surf the internet. Talk to salespeople and operators. I can’t tell
you enough about my industry in thirty minutes to do you much good. You need to do
hours and hours of reading to even scratch the surface.

“But I’d like to meet influential people.” So would I. That doesn’t mean they want to
meet me.

“But I’m really talented and wonderful.” I’m sure you are. Now do something to prove
it. Like doing your homework before you burden busy people with meaningless
interviews.

It’s Not about You
“Can you introduce me to Michael Dell? I’d like to ask him some questions about the
computer industry.”

Amazingly enough, just last year an incoming student made this request. He never
stopped to ask whether Michael Dell would have any interest in meeting him. Or what
Michael would have to push aside to make time for such a meeting. He never stopped to
consider how much personal capital it would take me to set up such a meeting or what the
cost would be to me if he wasted Michael’s time.

The first rule of “networking”—by the way, I hate that word – is that you must put
yourself in the shoes of the other person. Why would they want to meet you? How can
they help with the least possible expenditure of time or effort? How can you make such
an encounter enjoyable for the other person?

If you cannot recast your idea of networking: “Here’s what I need;” into one of humble
service: “I’ve got something to give to the world, and with just a little help from you I
can make my dream a reality;” you shouldn’t expect to get far. Bottom line: You cannot
expect the world to revolve around you and what you need.

Some Suggestions
The suggestions below will help you get the most out of personal interviews:

1. Do your personal soul searching and industry homework first.
Take a personal inventory. Take aptitude tests. Ask those who know you well what
you do better than most. Do whatever it takes to narrow your search to a few
industries. Read about these industries and the leading companies and people.
Personal interviews with teachers, entrepreneurs and executives should not be used to
narrow your search or learn about jobs or industries. A stranger or casual acquaintance
doesn’t know you well enough to map out your career. This is a very inefficient use of
a busy person’s time.

2. Be specific about what you need. Make sure the other person understands how a
little effort on their part can make a big difference in your life.

Be clear about what you want. People are more likely to help you if they understand
what you need, why it matters and how they can help with a minimum of time and
effort. If you can’t explain this in a few sentences, you don’t need a meeting.

3. Always put yourself in the other person’s shoes.
Whenever you contact anyone, stop and put yourself in their shoes. Why would they
want to talk with you? How can you make it easy on them? How can you demonstrate
that talking with you would be entertaining or educational? At the very least, be
humble and appreciative.

4. Make it easy.
Never ask for a lunch if a short meeting will do. Never ask for a meeting if a phone call
will suffice. Never ask for a phone call if an e-mail will get the job done.

5. Don’t pester.
If the other person isn’t interested, back off. Ask if there’s someone else they suggest
you could talk with or something they suggest you read. Perseverance is a great
character trait if you are pursuing a worthy goal, but an empty meeting is not a worthy
goal.

6. Start at the bottom.
Once you have narrowed the list of industries, make your first contacts with people who
are helping serve real customers. Look for people who have recently joined the
company. These are the people who can tell you the most about what your experience
will be like with a company or within an industry. You can learn about an industry’s
history by reading biographies of industry pioneers.

7. Show up prepared.
If you do need a phone call or meeting, be prepared. Make sure you have read all the
important books about the industry and the biographies about its pioneers in advance.
Thoroughly research the company and the individual with whom you meet.

8. Send a list of questions in advance.
A short list of questions help set the agenda and show that you’ve done your
homework. Sending your questions in advance makes the most of a short meeting.

9. Ask questions.
Your goal in a face to face meeting is to establish a relationship. Use your time in a
personal interview to learn about the other person. How did they get to where they are
today? What mistakes have they made? What do they cherish or regret? Once you
understand the other person, and they believe you are sincere and dedicated to their
industry, and perhaps following in their same path, they are more likely to see you as a
younger version of themselves and are more likely to want to help.

10. Give something unexpected in return.
What can you give in return? Does the entrepreneur have a favorite charity where you
can volunteer? Is there some other way you can give them an unexpected gift? Will
you at least pledge to help someone like yourself in the future? Being willing to give
of yourself without being asked is a sign of maturity and character.

Busy entrepreneurs make up to several million dollars each year. That means an hour
of his or her time is worth a thousand dollars or so, and a marginal hour of time is
worth much more. At an MBA salary, an hour of your time is worth $50 or so,
meaning that you should be willing to volunteer ten hours of your time in return for a
half hour meeting. Sound too expensive? Then you really don’t need the meeting.

11. Be nice to the gatekeepers too.
Remember, executive assistants run most companies. They can be your most valuable
source of information about a company or an entrepreneur. See them as a resource, not
a barrier.

12. Follow up
Always, always, always write a handwritten thank you note. Let the entrepreneur
know how their advice or recommendation helped. Show them your gratitude by
offering something unexpected.

Summary
Entrepreneurs are busy. Every moment of their time already is committed. People who
use social contrivances or relationships to gain access for meaningless meetings take time away from more important tasks.

If you want to learn about an industry, read books or surf the internet for information.
Interview line personnel who have more time and can give you a perspective on what
working in an industry at an entry level is like. Save face to face meetings with
entrepreneurs for that rare moment when there is something specific they can do, at a
very low cost in time and effort, that will make a big difference to your life.
Valuing time like this may seem crass, but the economics are revealing.

Above all, remember that it’s not about you. People will help you if they sense that you
are on an important mission to help others and have the character and drive to make a
difference. You can demonstrate this by doing your homework up front, and always
putting yourself in the shoes of the other person.

By PHYLLIS KORKKI

Q. You are getting ready to apply for a job electronically, and your résumé is ready to go. Do you need to prepare a cover letter? Are they necessary in this day and age?

A. Cover letters are still necessary, and in a competitive market they can give you a serious edge if they are written and presented effectively.

Cover letters are a graceful way to introduce yourself, to convey your personality and to impress a hiring manager with your experience and your writing skills, said Katy Piotrowski, an author of career books and a career counselor based in Fort Collins, Colo. You can also tailor them to a specific company in ways that you cannot with a résumé.

Ms. Piotrowski recently had a job opening at her small company, Career Solutions Group, and she was dismayed when about a quarter of the 200 applicants did not send cover letters. Most were within five years of graduating from college, she said, reflecting a more informal mind-set among younger people.

Q. How should your cover letter be organized, how long should it be, and what should it say?

A. First, do your best to find the decision maker’s name, and use it in the salutation. If you are applying to a blind ad, say “Dear Sir or Madam” or “To the Hiring Manager.” Ms. Piotrowski said she received cover letters that had no salutation at all or began with “Hey there” — not a strong start. If you want to be on the safe side, use a colon after the salutation, although some people now feel it is permissible to use a comma in an e-mail message.

Your cover letter should be short — generally no longer than three or four paragraphs, said Debra Wheatman, a career expert at Vault, a jobs Web site.

In your first paragraph, explain why you are writing — it may be that you are answering an ad, that you were referred to the company through networking, or that you learned that the company is expanding, said Wendy S. Enelow, author of “Cover Letter Magic” and a professional résumé writer in Virginia.

In the middle paragraphs, explain why you are good candidate, and show that you are knowledgeable about the company. Then convey a clear story about your career, and highlight specific past achievements. This can either be done as a narrative or in bullet points, Ms. Enelow said.

You can also highlight qualities you possess that may not fit the confines of a résumé, Ms. Wheatman said.

She once worked in human resources at Martha Stewart Living, and recalls reviewing applications for a chef in a test kitchen. One woman had a career in manufacturing, but her cover letter described how she had grown up in a family that was passionate about cooking and where she had frequently made meals from scratch. The woman got the job despite her peripheral work experience.

Finish your letter by indicating that you will follow up in the near future (and make good on that promise). Sign off with a “Sincerely,” “Cordially,” “Thank you for your consideration” or similar closer, followed by your name and, if you like, your e-mail address.

Q. Where should your cover letter appear, in an e-mail or in an attachment?

A. You can include your letter in the actual text of your e-mail message or place it above your résumé in an attachment. If you put it in a separate attachment from your résumé, you run the risk that a harried hiring manager will not click on it at all. If you place it in the text of your e-mail message, it should generally be shorter than if you use an attachment, Ms. Enelow said.

Then, if you really want to make an impression, make a hard copy of your cover letter and résumé and send it to the hiring manager by regular mail. Attach a handwritten note that says, “Second submission; I’m very interested,” Ms. Piotrowski said. “I’ve had clients double their rate of interviews simply from doing that,” she said.

Ms. Enelow calls this “double-hitting,” and says she has seen it work remarkably well. She said a senior-level client of hers got an interview and was hired because the hard copy of his cover letter and résumé reached the company president, whereas his electronic application was rejected by someone in human resources because it did not meet certain rigid criteria.

Q. What are some common mistakes in cover letters?

A. A cover letter with typos, misspellings and poor sentence structure may take you out of the running for a job. If you cannot afford to pay someone to review your cover letter and résumé, enlist a friend or a family member with good language skills to do it instead.

Another misguided thing people do is to make the cover letter all about them: “I did this, I’m looking for, I want to ... I, I, I.” Structure your letter so that it stresses the company and what you can do to help it reach its goals, Ms. Piotrowski and others said.

Another danger is including too much information — for example, very specific salary or geographic requirements, Ms. Enelow said. It is also unwise to point out that you do not meet all the criteria in the job description, she said. You can deal with that later, if you get an interview.

Hiring managers are looking for ways to exclude you as they narrow down their applications, she said. Do not give them that ammunition.

So you started preparing for the GMAT and you are wondering, “What is a good score?” While there is no simple answer to the question of what a “good score” is, here are two ways to evaluate your GMAT score and assess how much preparation you should do (or if you have taken the test already, whether you should apply with the score you have).

Personal Best Effort

Your personal best effort means that you have done all that you can do to achieve your highest possible score. Defining your best effort can be tricky, but you must consider whether you have invested all the resources at your disposal to help you achieve your score. You will have to look critically at what you have done in preparation for the GMAT and what you could have done. You have to consider what you have invested (not just financially but also mentally) in preparing for the test and whether that is all you could have invested.

The chart below shows the correlation between time invested preparing for the test and GMAT score. Over a period of 6 – 10 weeks this would mean investing no less than 10 hours per week working on the improvement of your GMAT score. Assessing whether you have given your personal best effort requires that you ask yourself, at the very least, the following questions:

1. Have I done all the homework and attended all the classes that were in the syllabus?
2. Have I taken all the practice tests that were recommended?
3. Have I evaluated my results and identified specific areas to improve?
4. Have I made my best effort to learn and implement the approaches described?
5. Have I sought out additional help (tutoring, extra classes, email or other online support)?
6. Have I allowed myself enough time to learn, digest, review, and practice the things I was taught?

If you know you did not prepare as well as you should have, then it makes sense to continue to prepare and to take the test again. However, if you know you have put in all the time, money, and mental energy you could into preparing and achieved a score that reflected your best effort, then you should put the GMAT aside and work on improving the other areas of your application.

School Range

Given that the GMAT's only purpose is to help admissions committees (adcom) evaluate candidates for admission, a “good” score can also logically be defined as the score that doesn’t eliminate you from consideration at the school you want to go to. A high score is generally thought to indicate that a candidate possesses the quantitative, analytical, and verbal skills needed for the academic rigor of typical MBA programs. Submitting a score that does not force the adcom to question whether you can handle the work at their school will demonstrate that you are serious about applying to the school and have done your due diligence on the program. When asking yourself if your GMAT score is a “good” score, you should know the range of scores for admitted students at the school you are targeting. For example, consider the table below, which contains several of the top 30 business schools in the country.If you had a GMAT score of 680 and applied to Stanford, which has a mean GMAT of 720, you would still have a "good shot" at admission, since you would fall within the range of applicants. If you were to apply to Kelley, your GMAT score would place you above the mean but would not necessarily make you a better candidate for Kelley than for Stanford. At both schools your appeal to the adcoms will be based more on your other criteria than on your GMAT since your GMAT would be in the acceptable range. Your goal should be to get a GMAT score that makes the GMAT fundamentally irrelevant in your admissions decision (which means that it does not raise questions about your ability to handle the work). If your GMAT score is within the range of the school you would like to go to, then you probably have a “good” score.

Understanding what is needed and setting realistic goals will allow you to make more informed decisions about your continued preparation for the GMAT or whether it is time to move on to the other components of your application. No matter what, you must realize that getting a good GMAT score generally requires a significant commitment of time, energy, and money. This is especially true for those who are starting significantly below the mean score of 535. You should be ready to invest all that you can in your GMAT score and business school future.

So you want to go to business school but you have very limited quantitative skills. You are not alone. A lot of business school applicants have academic backgrounds in humanities or liberal arts. However, if you do not want to be overwhelmed your first year of business school, you may want to build on your quantitative skills. Another reason to attain these essential skills is to help your business school application stand out. If you are showing business school admissions officers that you are already preparing for school, it shows that you take initiative and that you are serious about going to business school.

1) Enroll in a course. You may want to enroll in an online course, at a local community college or find a pre-MBA program.

Here are some of the courses you may want to take to adequately prepare for the first year of business school:

Finance

Accounting

Economics

Statistics

Excel

2) Read some books:

Career advice, news, job search, etc.

Resources, news articles, book recommendations, company profiles are all available on this site.

By Mesia Quartano & Barb Freda for LatPro.com.

We may be living in a global economy, but the fact remains: There are some subtle — and some not-so-subtle — differences between the way employment interviews are conducted in the United States and in Latin America.

To help you better prepare for U.S. interviews, LatPro took time recently to speak with two experts in the field of employment training: experts who have made it their business to coach Hispanic job candidates and employers in cross-cultural interviewing techniques.

Graciela Kenig is founder and president of LatinoWorkforce.com, an organization dedicated to finding and placing multicultural recruits into the workforce. Nelson A. De Leon is a bilingual recruiting consultant, and the owner and founder of America At Work.

We asked our experts: What makes an employment interview in the United States different from one that might be conducted in Latin America? What expectations do U.S. interviewers have, and what does a Latino candidate need to know to succeed in this new environment?

Here are their top tips to help you avoid possible misconceptions and cultural pitfalls so you can get the job you want!

Top Ten Tips for Acing your U.S. Job Interview

1. Take Credit for your Professional Accomplishments
An employer expects you to “toot your own horn,” says Graciela Kenig. This can be awkward for Latinos who are more community and group-oriented, but it’s a crucial part of the U.S. interview.

Employers want to hear not just how you worked as a part of a team, but very specifically what you did on that team and what your contributions were, notes Kenig. Discussing your individual accomplishments won’t be viewed as arrogant or egotistical. In fact, if you don’t point out your solo successes, employers will assume you don’t have significant contributions to talk about.

2. Make Eye Contact
Interviewers will be picturing you as a potential coworker during the interview. They expect you to look them in the eye and act like a colleague. For some Hispanics, such direct eye contact may feel uncomfortable, as it can have different connotations in Latin America, including attraction between a man and woman, a lack of respect or a challenge to authority. All of these potential cultural implications must be set aside for the interview. In the U.S., making good eye contact shows confidence; failing to look your interviewer in the eye will not only make them uncomfortable, it could be interpreted as a sign that you are being evasive or untruthful.

3. Be Direct
“We Latinos tend to communicate indirectly,” says Kenig “We need to give context to stories, and the story gets really long.” In the U.S. interview, however, you should get to the point quickly and focus only on the relevant facts. Kenig’s story strategy is SAR: Pick the Situation; relate the Action; highlight the Results.

Plunging right in and talking about the matter at hand may seem rude or abrupt to a Latino, but it won’t to the person doing the interview. They are busy, time is short, and you need to shine during the brief time you have in front of them.

4. Focus on Professional, not Personal, Issues
Interviewers may ask a question just to break the ice, says De Leon, asking a recruit to “tell me something about yourself.” They are not asking about your childhood, your dogs or your family.

The interviewer really wants to hear about you in relation to the jobs you’ve had in the past and the job you want. “That can be tough for Hispanics, who want to ease into conversations about themselves,” adds De Leon. Practice answering these types of questions without including your entire life’s story.

5. Get Rid of the “Yes Syndrome”
The Yes Syndrome is something De Leon identifies as an idiosyncrasy of Hispanic culture. As an interviewer is talking, the recruit may be nodding his head, saying yes over and over, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ve understood everything. It does mean they’ve heard; they are listening, and they won’t interrupt for fear of seeming rude.

“It’s okay to ask questions,” says De Leon. “Ask, ‘Can you explain that?’ or just repeat back to the interviewer what you’ve heard: ‘You need A, B, C and D for this job.’” It doesn’t make you look stupid, as some fear. It makes you look and sound engaged in the interview.

6. Don’t Be Passive
This goes hand in hand with getting rid of the Yes Syndrome. If you are too humble or too reserved, says De Leon, you may appear uninterested in the job. Once you start asking questions, it shows you have a good grasp of the job at hand. The smartest people don’t give the best answers, they ask the best questions, showing potential employers they can identify problems.

7. Beware Tú vs. Usted
Latinos are aware of the formality of the “usted.” But because English only uses “you,” be conscious that you don’t get too familiar with your interviewer. De Leon sees this especially with people who have grown up in the Latino culture within the United States. While a recruit should not be subservient, there should still be respect. And if you happen to be interviewing in a situation where you will use Spanish, stick with “usted” during the interview. Don’t lapse into using “tú” for the entire corporate culture.

8. Dress Conservatively
“It’s always better to be overdressed rather than underdressed,” says De Leon, but what is dressy for going out on the town is not appropriate attire for the interview. Kenig reminds recruits, “Whatever you wear makes an impression and says something about who you are.”

Even if the day-to-day dress of regular employees is casual, you should choose conservative business attire for your interview. A professional appearance shows that you respect the interviewer and are serious about the available position. Avoid anything that will detract from the interview, including too much jewelry, perfume or aftershave. You want the focus to be on your abilities, not on an overpowering fragrance or distracting accessories.

9. Don’t be Discouraged if the Interviewer Seems Impersonal
Employers who don’t ask about your background, your family, your kids and your church aren’t being rude, and it doesn’t mean they don’t like you as a potential employee. In the U.S., these types of personal interview questions are prohibited. “There are a lot of legal issues they cannot discuss or bring up first in an interview,” says Kenig. If the recruit mentions a spouse or children, the interviewer can follow up on it, but they are bound by law not to ask first.

10. Research the company before your interview – and don’t forget your Hispanic connections!
It’s a big world, but our cultural connections can make the world seem smaller. In addition to more traditional research methods, use your cultural connections to gain valuable insights into a company. Within the close-knit Hispanic community, chances are good that you can find someone who has already interviewed with or worked for a particular company. Professional Hispanic organizations and their members can also be a wealth of information. All you have to do is ask!

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Source: BusinessWeek Online by Lindsey Gerdes

Elana Gerasimova spent the summer of 2006 working as an intern for JPMorgan's emerging markets desk. The University of Pennsylvania senior enjoyed the summer in New York because of the variety of tasks she was given and the executives she had the opportunity to work with. "They really made a point to give us actual projects," says the 22-year-old native of Bulgaria. "I loved it and then I got an offer to come back." Now Gerasimova is a first-year analyst with JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM - News) investment bank, No. 8 on BusinessWeek's inaugural 50 Best Internships ranking.

Getting an internship used to mean a 10-week exercise in photocopying, sorting mail, filing, and fetching sandwiches. If you were lucky, there might be a company-wide picnic thrown in. Forget that image. The college internship has become nothing less than a high-stakes tryout to land the perfect first job. Think of it as the job interview that lasts all summer long.