Having recently posted a job description on CraigsList for an administrative/office manager position in our Cambridge office, I was amazed by the responses that we received... but not for all the obvious reasons. While the quantity was impressive, the quality of the replies was a bit startling. I am not talking about the actual quality of the resume itself, but rather the content of the email sent with the resume. I therefore present Joshua's "Five Tips when Applying for Job!"
1. Try not to have spelling errors in your cover letter. Yeah, it sounds obvious but apparently it's not. Have someone proof it for you if necessary but in your rush to get your resume to us, you may want to make sure you've spelled our company name correctly.
2. When you say you're going to attach a resume... actually attach it. Attention to detail, ftw! I know everyone forgets to attach a file sometimes. Even Google's gmail team put in a special setting to help people remember but still, the job description made it clear attention to detail was important... and even if it didn't explicitly say so, would it really be ok to leave it out?
3. Cover letters... Cover emails. Here's a don't: Don't write "Your anticipated attention in this matte is greatly appreciated." as your entire cover letter. Why not? Well first of all, unless you're applying for a job in a u-frame-it store, I'm pretty sure "matte" was not the intended word. Secondly, when you are on the receiving end of a slew applications that are done through email (217 at the beginning of writing this post, 231 at the end), chances are the recipient will read your email cover letter first. Here are some things to do: Make a good impression... how? Show that you've read the job listing. Show that you've investigated our website. Add some of your positive personality to your message. All this will help you stand out.
4. Don't send a follow-up message asking why you haven't heard yet on a Sunday night when your first message was sent on a Friday night. Excitement and energy is great. Impatience... not so much. If you want to check in, wait five business days. Remember though, it's a very busy job market given the state of the economy so while companies may try to respond to all applicants, sometimes it's just not possible.
5. Label your attached documents with your name in them because chances are, the recipient probably has 47+ other résumés named "Resume.doc" in their mail folder. Examples: "Jack_C_Echo_Resume.doc" or "Jill_Q_Ditto-resume.pdf" work well. Also, if at all possible send your documents as PDF files. Then you'll be sure that it'll look just the way you want it.
Good luck!
Joshua Wachs, Managing Partner at EchoDitto, has been merging creativity and technology for the last 21 years. In 1987, after graduating from Emerson College with a degree in Mass Communications, he founded a Massachusetts custom database development and consulting company. For more than 12 years, Wachs was President, CEO, and visionary behind Natural Intelligence, Inc.
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I just hired an executive asst/ops coordinator in Boulder, CO from 400+ applicants from Craigslist. I completely agree with your points. In order to get through the stack of emails I had to cull heavily and those folks who did not include a cover letter were axed immediately. Once I had it down to 70 or so possibles I sent them an email emphasizing the key qualifications and requirements of the job and asked them to indicate if they were still interested. That was really helpful as it was an opportunity to evaluate:
- their communication style
- response time
- genuine interest in this position
From there I culled ti 25 and ranked them... things like quality of:
Response to email request
Resume
Cover letter
Executive Asst Experience
Tech skills
Location
Knowledge of field
My gut feel
I then decided to phone interview the top 8. In-person interview the top four. Skills evaluation and second interview the top 2. The skills evaluation was at a time we agreed to in advance. I emailed them the evaluation and they had 4 hours to complete it and email me back their work product. They were given specific scenarios and instructions and asked to:
- Compose a letter
- Draft a budget in excel
- Format a document for word, pdf, email
- Research online survey tools and provide recommendations
- Research optimal travel options for a trip and provide recommendations
The Skills evaluation was a great addition to the process. We were able to evaluate the work product and discuss the work with the candidate before making our final choice. We are in our third week with our new hire and so far so good. Good luck with your process.
thanks, jodie!! super helpful... will definitely follow your lead on much of this
Thanks for the advice Joshua, attention to detail is a must, when applying for a job or bidding on a new project I always like to spend some time researching what's all about before writing a word.
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Good post.I don't have access to it, I have taken to "Googling" (yes, I cap the "G" for brand names even when "verbed")selected lines of an essay to make sure the plagiarism wasn't blatant. Turnitin is a lot more accurate and sophisticated.Thanks,
It would seem that with many applicants for any job that people will take the time to make sure they don't have spelling errors or any other type of grammatical errors, since that would immediately send that resume to the trash heap.
Thanks! some good tips. That was on a recession, surely you haven't forgot it :)
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Many CVs I receive are so long and detailed that, just as you say in your article, there's no chance that a prospective employer could spare the time to read and understand them.
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