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Job Seeker Services |
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Job Search Tips There are a wide variety of top resume tips, job search tips, and the like. Here's a quick TxMQ compilation...
Nothing gets to a recruiter, or HR director's attention quicker than a nice, hand written thank you note. Sure, an email note is ok, but it's not the same as an actual thank you card. Time was, not too long ago, that NOT sending a thank you was tantamount to committing a criminal offense. These days, your card will immediately separate you from other candidates.
Most employers will keep your information on file for 12 months, yet most in house systems aren't sophisticated enough to continually match up your skills with possible new openings. A gentle follow up note 3 months after an initial resume submission (assuming you had no intervening contact, interview, etc) is always a good idea.
Perhaps nothing is more annoying to a recruiter than finding a wonderful looking resume that is missing critical contact information. Yes, we know you are concerned about getting spammed, or added to some useless mail list, but your resume MUST contact a good, working phone number, proper legal name, and email address. Ideally, a home address should be listed, but if you prefer, you can list a home 'city and state' instead.
If you're concerned with getting inundated with email, setup a temporary free account at google or elsewhere that you can shut down after your search is complete.
Yes, we know most corporate workplaces have adopted a business casual setting, but interviews are ALWAYS business formal. Dress as you would for a nice family event….a wedding, or better yet, a funeral (think formal, but toned down). If upon interviewing onsite, you are asked to come back for a second interview, you may ask as to dress code. And always dress one notch above the stated dress code. If the employer tells you khakis and a golf shirt. Go with Khakis, and a button down dress shirt. If they tell you dress shirt, add a sport coat.
Your friends, mom and dad, and the rest of your world might know you are the most remarkable candidate, but they've had years to get to know you, and form their opinions. A recruiter has but a few short minutes on the phone, or an hour or two during an interview. Use every opportunity to outshine other candidates. Be proactive. Ask beforehand what they would like brought to the interview, and follow through. An easy way to not get asked back is to go in the other direction and bring nothing that was asked of you, or expected (shame on you if you show up and don't have several clean copies of a resume, and references to leave behind).
Using some form of social networking tool? Good for you! Using them for silly, infantile profanity, and post college beer talk? Stop. Sorry, but employers and recruiters will look at your personal social networking sites before you ever know you are a candidate. Not happy about this? Sorry, we're stating fact, not opinion. If there's friends, or others on your sites you aren't proud of, or information you'd rather employers not know about you? Take a good long look in the mirror and ask yourself some tough questions.
Top Candidate Dont's
Sorry, we know this is repeated, but call this our top 1, and 2 pet peeve. DON'T create a resume and leave this information off!
This really shouldn't need to be stated, but it is fair to say, that well over 20% of the resumes we see have some error on them. If you trust a spell checker or grammar checker to be 100% accurate, you are broadcasting to all recruiters 'I'm not just sloppy, I'm lazy as well'. If English isn't your first language, find someone to help edit or proof your resume. Thank them with a coffee shop gift card when they are finished.
Employers and recruiters use every means at their disposal to measure and grade you as a candidate. When you are asked about your job search, and where else you have applied, be prepared to give complete, concise answers. No one is trying to 'dig from you' leads on who else is hiring. We are trying to get a sense of the types of jobs you are attracted to, and how completely you have catalogued, and organized your job search. Answering with "I've send out more resumes than I can remember", or "every time I see an opening, I click submit", tells the employer or recruiter you are just shopping for a job, not searching for a career.
Whether you are a contractor, looking for your next project, or unexpectedly let go from a career you thought you would retire from, take your job search just as seriously. Whenever possible, go with a standard, reverse chronological order resume (not sure what this means, see examples here: [SAMPLE RESUME]
Functional resumes are very specialized, and rarely used, except during technical interviews when you are already a shortlisted candidate. Just because the person at your last job who sat next to you used software tool A, and once showed it to you, does not mean it belongs on your resume. If you haven't had formal training on a subject, or tool, or used it formally in the work force for at least 3 months, it doesn't belong on your resume. If you find you are getting too many inquiries from recruiters which don't fit your skill sets, you have too many keywords in your resume, which are triggering bots, and filters. Keep your resume simple, clean, and on topic.
Its amazing whether in a good economy, or bad, how often candidates don't read job ads, and just submit their resume for positions for which they aren't truly qualified.
Unless a job posting specifically references an employer's willingness to look at underqualified candidates, they probably aren't. If you are going to have to make the case that you CAN do the job, you aren't right for it. Employers want someone who HAS done the job, not someone who CAN do it. As trendy as it might be to dress like the 1960's, we're a half century past that. Personal information other than a hobby or two don't belong on the resume. Marital status, political convictions, religious leanings, are all items that are best left off the resume and out of career discussions.
Unless you are sitting by your phone 24/7, and ready to answer at a moment's notice, chances are recruiters and employers will get your voice mail, or answering machine greeting. Listen to it again and make sure it's appropriate to the purpose. Pet peeves include religious greetings (have a blessed day, while perhaps a nice sentiment, is something you might want to think about modifying while you are in your job hunt), overly cute greetings (dog, pets, kids), and the like.
Simple quick tip here. Make sure your email name is YOURS, and your email contains a signature with your phone numbers, email address, and other contact info. Like you, recruiters and employers are mobile, on the go people, and we aren't always getting our email sitting at our desk, with full access to all of our systems, and files. We might just want to make a quick call to you, and a phone number in your signature line, might just get you that job quicker than you think.
In the course of the day, most recruiters talk to hundreds of candidates. If we email you and ask to see your resume, or for additional information, answer the questions, or send us what we asked for. Sending an automated link to a site where we can download a resume is a sure fire way to get an overworked recruiter to click delete, and just move on the next candidate.
Turn it off. Period. Leave it in the car - don't just set it to vibrate. Do you really think we can't hear your pocket buzzing all through the interview?
Be prompt. Not sure where you're going? Drive there the day before, or plan to arrive very, very early, and grab a coffee around the corner while you wait until it is appropriate to go in the offices. In general, 10-15 minutes early is when you want to arrive for your interview. Showing up with less than 5 minutes to spare is considered late by many companies, and being more than 20 minutes early is considered inappropriate.
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