Jobs – Applicants Wanted!

Recently a client hired me to screen applicants for an Office Manager position she was looking for.  I received all the cover letters and resumes that were sent via email.  Out of 12 resumes, 7 applicants’ submissions were rejected – and may have had a second look with some minor changes.  Here are some tips for anyone considering applying for a job.

Tip 1:  Customize.  Gone are the days that you have your resume professionally printed (many of you may be too young to remember those times).  Whatever you are applying for, customize your cover letter to highlight those areas that are important to the job.  If your resume has a job objective portion, make sure it is in line with the position you are applying for.

Experience:  One cover letter came in dated October, 2013 and was “to it may concern” – the advertisement gave enough information to address the letter to a certain person.  Another resume had an objective stating a completely different position than the one they were applying for.

Tip 2:  Email address.  Choose a generic email address such as a variation of your name.

Experience:  Cute email addresses that had people’s children – sweetgirl, mom_of_twins.  Email addresses that contain the year of your birth.

Tip 3:  Less is more.  Use short sentences to explain your interest in the position – both in your email response and in your cover letter.  Get to the point.  Address what the ad is looking for – not in minute detail – state the related experience you’ve had.

Your resume should cover results of your work experience, rather than be a list of superlatives of everything you’ve done in your previous position.

Experience:  Long run-on sentences encompassing two or three subjects – making it unclear what experience the applicant really had.  Resumes with 25 bullet points for each position held, in very small type.  One applicant included a job description of their most recent position.

Remember that you are selling yourself – marketing you as a product.  Make it easy on your potential new employer – put the relevant information upfront, in sentences that are easy to read and understand.

What has your experience been?  Have any fun stories to share.  Leave your comments below.

The next blog post will cover what to do when you get an interview.

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