Application & Interview Process

1. To keep your information secure, never share your email address and password with others.       Only you should be able to gain access to Homes for Independent Living’s Career Center.
2. Our recruiters will best be able to respond to your online resume/profile if you submit complete and accurate information. The more information you provide, the easier we can to make an informed decision.
3. Read the position requirements carefully and only respond to the jobs that match your skills, background, and qualifications. This will help us to respond more quickly to your application.
4. There are four process steps to getting hired at Homes for Independent Living.
   • Searching for and applying to a job
   • Interviewing with the Career Team and/or the hiring manager
   • Touring the program/work location
   • Submitting reference/background check information
   • Successfully completing any pre-employment screens
5. The amount of time it will take you to complete the application* process depends upon your work history, educational history, and related background information. Typically, the process takes 15-30 minutes.
6. Please note that our Career Center is mobile-device friendly. Firefox, Safari, and IE versions 8, 9 and 10 are the certified browsers are compatible.

* The application consists of the online resume information, the profile and questions.

Your resume is your first impression and tells an employer a lot of information about you. The purpose of the resume is to help you get the interview. Review the tips below and you may come out ahead!

• Your resume should be an accurate picture of your experience and skills. If you undersell yourself on the resume, you may hurt your chances of getting an interview. If you oversell yourself, you may get called in for an interview, but it will be apparent that you exaggerated your skills.
• Limit your resume to two pages; one is even better.
• You should provide at least five (5) years of a complete work history on your application.       If you have been working for less then 5 years, provide all your work history.
• Do check your resume for spelling and grammar. No matter what position you apply for, errors and typos on your resume are a negative reflection on you and your attention to detail.
• Don’t rely on your computer’s spell check, it may not include all words, and grammar check may misinterpret what you mean to say. Look it over with your own eyes and, if possible, have someone you trust – who did well in English class – look it over, too.

Homes for Independent Living uses behavioral interviewing. It is a fair process and helps to ensure the best fit for our employees and the individuals we serve.

• Questions are designed around the requirements of the job. Be prepared to provide specific examples. Your examples should be:
  • Specific, citing one example
  • Clear, with appropriate detail
  • About a recent workplace event, preferably
  • School, volunteer, or personal life examples are also acceptable
• The interviewer will want to hear your real life experiences. For example, if you are interviewing for a position involving numbers or data, you'll likely be asked about your attention to detail.

Some Do's and Don'ts of the Interview

Do

• Do pay attention to your grammar.
• Do try to be relaxed and natural so you are presenting your best, genuine self.
• Do dress appropriately – you only get one chance to make a good first impression.
• Do provide specific examples to the interviews questions.
• Do be patient, it may take longer to hear from us than you anticipated. If the interviewer gave you a business card and said to call with questions, you may do so, but don't overdo it.
• Do expect to hear from us if you had an interview. At Homes for Independent Living, our practice to always get back to all internal candidates who apply, and to follow-up with external candidates if they have been interviewed. The response will likely be an email.

Don't

• Don't use profanities or obscenities of any kind in an interview.
• Don't bring up the failings of others to cast yourself in a better light – it doesn't work.
• Don't say, "I don't know" if you are asked a question about a situation which you have not encountered. The recruiter may be able to assist you in remembering an appropriate instance to answer the question.
• Don't contact the recruiter for a response before the timeframe you were given in the interview.
• Don't feel obligated to ask questions if you do not have any, it's not necessary.

Check Your Status

After you apply for an open position, you are able to check the status of your application.

1. To check the status of your application for a specific position, you must log-in to your account/profile.
2. After you log-in, you will see your Dashboard.
3. Scroll down to the “Past Job Submittals” section.
4. You will see all the jobs you applied for and the respective statuses.

E-mail Notification of New Opportunities

Homes for Independent living can email you about new job openings that meet your interests.

1. To enable a “Search Agent”, you must create an account/profile.
2. After you create an account, you will see your Dashboard.
3. Click on “View Current Job Opportunities”. You will see a list of open positions and will have the ability to perform a ‘search’ for a specific type of position.
4. Perform a search for the type of position you are interested in using the criteria of your choice, then click “Search”.
5. Save your search by naming the agent, then click “Create Agent”.
6. You will now receive emails when a job is posted that meets this criteria.