I have helped with the recruiting of new employees at a number of companies for which I have worked over the years. Based on that experience, I would like to offer the following list of suggestions for anyone trying to get hired. You've probably heard them all before, but I can tell you from looking at a lot of bad cover letters and resumes that many people just don't seem to take these to heart:
Your cover letter matters: it is my first impression of you, and if it is poorly written, I may not even get to your resume. It also indicates to me that you aren't just spamming every e-mail address you can find with your resume.
Proofread your resume. Then have someone else proofread it. Much like your cover letter, it is how I continue to develop my first impression of you. If you can't provide me with one perfect page of work that you had all the time in the world to do, what can I expect of you once you're under time pressure?
Provide a .PDF of your resume, not a Microsoft Word file. I may or may not have the correct version of Word, and I generally dislike opening .doc / .docx files of unknown origin, just in case some clever new exploit is floating around in them. Some people don't use Microsoft Office at all, especially Mac and Linux folks. I may also not have the same fonts as you. PDFCreator is freely available, and .PDF documents are, as the name says, portable across numerous systems.
The ONLY job of a resume is to get you an interview, and provide starting topics for that interview. Make it good, but keep it brief.
Polite formality matters: I want to know that you are capable of interacting in an appropriately professional manner, when needed. If we end up working together, then the abbreviated e-mails and collegial joking can begin. But don't jump the gun.
Sell yourself well: I want you to succeed, because I have a job to fill, so let me know how you will meet my needs. If we end up working together, I may, at times, spend more of my waking hours around you than I do with my family. I want to believe that time will be well spent, and that we will work well together.
Expect to be Googled: My goal is to find professionally relevant information about your work experience, but I'm going to see whatever comes up. I don't care about your personal life, but if I find your blog entirely about how to sell stolen lab supplies on eBay, I'm probably not going to want to hire you.
And finally, a couple suggestions from my various job hunts:
Talk to your friends: Almost every job I've ever had has been the result of a connection made through a friend, or friend of a friend. That's how you find out about jobs when the company is thinking of hiring, before they've even cast out their net. It's a lot easier to stand out in a hiring pool of one than when there are dozens of resumes coming in from a Craig's List posting or Monster.com listing.
Make targeted cold calls: If you know where you would like to work, do some research and then call them up, and ask to talk to the person likely to be your boss there. I really loved what was being done at Leapfrog years ago, so I called their engineering R&D office and asked for the CTO, who's name I had gotten from a web search. He was out of town, so I was referred to the VP of hardware engineering. I asked if he had any upcoming openings. He said he did, and asked me to send him my resume. Two weeks later I had a job there. This is important though: do not treat this as a "numbers game," but rather as a carefully targeted approach to somewhere you'd really like to work. Even if they don't have any openings when you call, they might know if any are planned in the near future. Or, if you present yourself well, they may even make some effort to find a position for you, or accelerate hiring for a planned future opening.
Have you got any good stories from either looking for a job or looking to hire someone? Comment below!
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3 comments:
The tips I have to add are for the blue collar (government) job seekers.
The first hint...neat handwriting. Sounds silly these days because you can usually type everything, but that won’t help on a written test. If handwriting isn’t your thing, practice. A well written essay on ethics won’t be worth a damn if no one can read it. On a side note, make sure you can type as well. I cannot and luckily do not need to, but most in my field do and there are often typing tests.
Second, which goes along with Phil’s tips, be well spoken. This is obviously more difficult to practice, but try anyway. Practice answering sample questions without saying “um”. It’s harder than it sounds. You don’t want to look like that beauty pageant gal stumbling your way through an answer and making zero sense. While you’re practicing your answers, practice defending them without sounding defensive. Good luck!
Look the part. Dress for the job you want. I remember going into an interview and having the very first question be, “how old are you?” After I answered, the second question was, “are you sure?” I knew within the first minute that I was sunk, and sure enough, I got a notice of failure in the mail later that week. At the time, I looked at least five years younger than I was. Now, since working at this job for eight years, I look ten years older than I should. Awesome!
Have someone in your corner. I’m not talking networking per se; I’m talking about really excellent references. I’ve been at my job for eight years now. A couple of years ago, when I had six years on the job and we were just finishing a multi-year hiring frenzy (five people in three years, woohoo) I had an enlightening conversation with my boss. I don’t remember exactly what we were talking about, but I was gloating and made some comment about why he had hired me in the first place. To my surprise he corrected me and explained that the only reason that I was hired was because of a strong recommendation from my former employer. Mind you, I had never worked in this field before. I worked a part time job at an outlet mall in the boonies before this job. I may as well have worked at McDonalds (no insult intended, it is a good comparison). My boss at that job however had retired from the job I was trying so desperately to attain. His belief in me and his ability to put that belief into words got me to where I am today. He spoke on the phone to the man in charge for more than two hours convincing him that I was the gal for the job.
Beware of being over qualified. This one is tough and that is why I say beware rather than just plain don’t be over qualified. Among other tests and background info dug up on you, many municipalities and government jobs regularly administer IQ tests during the hiring process. While I have read about people being turned away for scoring too well on an IQ test, I have also seen people pursued for the same reasons. If you find yourself finishing the Wonderlic and tapping your pencil for the last few minutes of allowed time, don’t give up hope, and whatever you do, don’t play dumb. In the end, you end up where you should. If some place doesn’t want to hire you because you’re too good, don’t take offense. You probably are too good for them (whatever, they can suck it). The point is that they are afraid you’ll get bored. They think that they are spending a bundle getting you all trained up and you are just going to jump ship as soon as your contract is up. Maybe you will, but if they take the chance maybe they’ll be surprised in the end. You need to convey to them that yes, perhaps you are a genius that should be working in the field of molecular medicine, but your interests and dreams lie within their realm. “Why do you want this job?” - “I’ve never wanted anything else since I was old enough to tell anyone, I was born to help people.” If you are honest, they will see it in you. These people work here for the same reason.
Stacy - Awesome points, particularly "be well spoken." It is disconcerting to speak with someone that can't construct full sentences. And you're right, it is actually quite difficult to think on your feet and speak eloquently. Normal conversation, unlike interview answers, are not conducted in complete sentences and paragraphs. But if someone sounds incoherent, it's impossible to know how well they really can think...
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