Author name: FirstWeb

Who Is Cynthia B. Okonkwo? I am a wife and a mom who is a people person by heart. I live in metro-Atlanta and work as a Human Resources professional and have over twenty-four years experience in the field. My experience includes Compensation, Training, Recruiting, Employee Relations, Benefits, and Selection Procedure Development; however, Employee Relations is my passion because I enjoy interacting with others and helping them to solve problems. I became interested in Human Resources while on a work-study assignment during my sophomore year in undergraduate school. I chose management as my major because I was not quite certain what I wanted to do after college and I knew that an off-shoot of Business Administration was a safe, general choice that could help me get into a number of career fields. My work-study assignment was as an assistant to the campus Director of Career Services. There, I learned to make cold calls to area businesses to seek out employment opportunities for students and alumni. I also learned how to format vacancy announcements and resumes. Since writing had always been one of my strengths, I enjoyed my assignment so much that I requested to be reassigned to that department for most of the remainder of my undergraduate career. My Director also provided resources on job interview preparation and she allowed me to type resumes for students who did not have one and charge $1 per page to make a few extra bucks. I got a full-time job immediately after graduation, but it wasn’t in Human Resources; however, I had a Vice President who took me under his wings and allowed me to review employment applications for job openings at the Distribution Center where I worked, so this helped to strengthen my resume. It took me about two and a half years to secure my first full-time job in the field of human resources where I became a trained test developer for the State’s Government Merit System. From there my career has continued to grow. My blog was born out of my desire to write a book that provides practical job search tips and advice, from a spiritual, holistic perspective. After having drafted about three chapters, I got busy with grad school and obtained my MBA; got married and started a family. In 2013, I became SPHR (Sr. Professional in Human Resources) certified. I started seeing other people’s blogs, became interested and thought that blogging might be a great alternative, or spring board to completing my book, so here we are today. My sincere hope is that what I write will help someone. Enjoy!

Professional Certification

Three Ways Professional Certifications Pay Off

Job Search Tips, Nnamtique / By

Introduction: A job seeker asked, “Is a professional certification worth the effort?” “Are there any advantages to holding a professional certification in your career field of choice?” Response: The question is, will the certification pay off as much as completing a degree program? 1) Significant positive impact on your qualifications; 2) Given same consideration as …

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Four Competencies for Success in Case Study Interviews

Four Competencies Employers Look For During Case Interviews

Interview Prep, Nnamtique / By

Question: A job seeker asked, “Just what do employers look for in candidates during case interviews?” Initial Response: For those of you who may not be familiar with them. Case, or case study interviews, as we sometimes call them are interviews during which the interviewers share a narrative or business case scenario with the job …

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Reference Check

Four Effective Considerations When Formatting Your Reference List for Submission to Employers

Job Search Tips, Nnamtique / By

Challenge So, a job seeker asked, “How should I format and present my list of references. Response Personal branding should be front of mind as you build your job search strategy. So, formatting your job search process documents is a very important part of that. The great news is that it does not have to …

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Resume Template by Canva

Six Reasons to Not Use Pre-Made Resume Templates

Job Search Tips, Nnamtique / By

Introduction So, a job seeker asked, “Do employers look down on resumes using pre-made templates?” Response Well, I don’t know that employers look down on resumes developed using templates. As a hiring manager who is also an HR professional and a job search coach, I usually think that the applicant unintentionally sold him/her self short …

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