Some tips for all you job-seekers
Oh, my, my, my. I'm in the process of hiring a new staff member, and although I posted the position only yesterday, I'm practically drowning in resumes already. On the one hand, it's great that so many people are interested; on the other, the deluge reminds me how sucky the economy still is and how many talented, well-educated, experienced people are out of work.
But trumping every other reaction is: "UGH! What are you doing?!" when I read 90% of the submissions. I don't feel invested enough in these anonymous strangers to give them direct feedback, so let me put it out into the universe for whoever stumbles across my blog:
#1: Follow directions. The posting asks for a one-page personal statement and a resume. I do not want to read a three-page cover letter that repeats the bullets of your resume in prose form. I promise, I don't, and I won't. You are filed immediately in my "No" folder, because I'm not interested in managing someone who can't follow basic directions.
#2: Proofread. Then do it again. Then once more. Seriously, one of the requirements in the job posting is "impeccable editing skills." Start with your own work, please.
#3: Don't try to go over my head. I'm baffled by the number of cover notes that begin, "Dear Mr. CEO:". First of all, if you'd really done your homework, you'd know that he's "Dr." CEO, but that's neither here nor there. The job description makes explicit who this position will support and report to, and it ain't the big boss. It may be overly harsh for me to ding someone for this (and, in fact, if I liked the rest of the materials, I wouldn't NOT include someone in the candidate pool for this one), but it rubs me the wrong way; it makes me think you'll be simultaneously insubordinate and a kiss-ass.
#4: Connect the dots. The description says that the successful candidate will demonstrate a passion for our mission. If you've been doing marketing for Smirnoff for the last three years, why do you suddenly want to work for a health care nonprofit? Maybe it's totally legit, and you had a revelation of some sort, and this is totally your new thing. But from my perspective, it makes no sense unless you tell me why you want to make such a drastic shift in your career. If you've been working freelance for two years, why do you now want to be working full-time for me? If you've been a corporate lawyer, yeah, I'm sure you can write, and project-manage, and work your tail off, but you need to make that connection explicit.
#5: Don't flag your e-mail as high importance. That's pretty much advice I'd give across the board, but especially in this situation. Yeesh.
But trumping every other reaction is: "UGH! What are you doing?!" when I read 90% of the submissions. I don't feel invested enough in these anonymous strangers to give them direct feedback, so let me put it out into the universe for whoever stumbles across my blog:
#1: Follow directions. The posting asks for a one-page personal statement and a resume. I do not want to read a three-page cover letter that repeats the bullets of your resume in prose form. I promise, I don't, and I won't. You are filed immediately in my "No" folder, because I'm not interested in managing someone who can't follow basic directions.
#2: Proofread. Then do it again. Then once more. Seriously, one of the requirements in the job posting is "impeccable editing skills." Start with your own work, please.
#3: Don't try to go over my head. I'm baffled by the number of cover notes that begin, "Dear Mr. CEO:". First of all, if you'd really done your homework, you'd know that he's "Dr." CEO, but that's neither here nor there. The job description makes explicit who this position will support and report to, and it ain't the big boss. It may be overly harsh for me to ding someone for this (and, in fact, if I liked the rest of the materials, I wouldn't NOT include someone in the candidate pool for this one), but it rubs me the wrong way; it makes me think you'll be simultaneously insubordinate and a kiss-ass.
#4: Connect the dots. The description says that the successful candidate will demonstrate a passion for our mission. If you've been doing marketing for Smirnoff for the last three years, why do you suddenly want to work for a health care nonprofit? Maybe it's totally legit, and you had a revelation of some sort, and this is totally your new thing. But from my perspective, it makes no sense unless you tell me why you want to make such a drastic shift in your career. If you've been working freelance for two years, why do you now want to be working full-time for me? If you've been a corporate lawyer, yeah, I'm sure you can write, and project-manage, and work your tail off, but you need to make that connection explicit.
#5: Don't flag your e-mail as high importance. That's pretty much advice I'd give across the board, but especially in this situation. Yeesh.
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