Recently, I've been engaged with a local company doing some marketing consulting. They asked me to help them screen candidates for an open rec in the marketing department. This experience was both shocking and revealing.
Now, I'm not new to interviews. In fact, I volunteer for my alumni association every year to screen high school students interested in attending. It's great practice and I've always been extremely impressed with the kids I've met. All of them were motivated, intelligent and (yes) even professional.
Screening candidates for a job, on the other hand… well, I wish I could say the same things.
It's Not as Hard to Stand Out as You Might Think
I was given 12 resumes and told, “Give me four to interview."
So I started dialing.
The first phone number didn't even work, the candidate must have mis-typed it on the resume.
“Attention to detail." - Fail
The second candidate began lecturing me on the “correct" use of social media. If he would have asked what my role is, he might not have been so bold.
“Works well in teams." - Fail
The third candidate called me from her car on her way to a doctor's appointment. I could barely hear her and she knew nothing about the industry of the company.
“Passionate about our industry." - Fail
One resume I looked at was so poorly formatted, I had to zoom in 150% just to read it.
“Skilled in MS Word, experience copy writing." - Fail
One candidate was so vague I had a hard time figuring out what HE did exactly. It took me three different lines of questioning to figure it out.
Why High School Kids Are Better At Getting Jobs
They did their research. They didn't show up to the interview without knowing exactly why they wanted my school over all the others.
They were prepared. Most of them had notebooks filled with the essentials, my phone number, directions, and prepared questions to ask.
Their excitement came through instantly, but without desperation. Not one of them asked me to call them back if I had heard any news. They were jumping out of their seats with excitement and passion. But they never begged.
They were fun to talk to and engaged me in conversation. It wasn't all about them, it was about their ideals and their ideas.
They were specific. Every question was answered with specific events and their involvement was clearly spelled out.
My college is now one of the most competitive universities in the country. Only 1 out of 16.7 will get in. These are worse odds than our labor market.
Yet these kids held their ground in a professional manner.
I was VERY impressed with them, and not very impressed with some of the candidates for this job.
The good news is I did find four EXCELLENT folks. Though they didn't have a very high bar to cross, when they did, it was very obvious they were a quality candidate.
Good News for YOU
When Mark Hannon wrote his Letter from a Baffled Hiring Manager last year, I thought he may have just had some bad experiences. Now, I know he is right.
And that's VERY good news for you.
Dear reader, you are an intelligent and highly skilled professional. The very fact you care enough to educate yourself in your job search means you treat hiring managers with respect.
Rest assured, you are already standing out from 90% of your competition. And that is something to feel very good about.
Joshua Waldman helps frustrated job seekers leverage social media to find work FAST! He is the founder of CareerEnlightenment.com and the author of the new book, "Job Searching with Social Media for Dummies." Read more » articles by this approved career expert.
The leaves are changing, the kids are back in school, and that familiar chill is in the air. You think it's the perfect time to look for a job, and it is! But are your job search fears preventing you from making that leap?
It's not uncommon to feel lost when embarking on your job search journey. After all, school teaches us everything except how to get a job. What should you put on your resume? What questions should you ask in an interview? How can you stand out in the hiring process when there's so much competition?
Are you feeling spooked yet?
Believe it or not, there's no need to be afraid of the job search process! You can land your dream job with the right tools and strategy. You can find a job that won't give you nightmares. Here are three spooky secrets every job seeker should know as they look for a job this fall.
1. An Effective Job Search Starts With An Interview Bucket List
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Despite your fears, you've decided to take the plunge and look for a new job. You might be asking yourself, "Where do I start?" The answer is simple: start by creating an interview bucket list.
An interview bucket list is a list of 10-20 companies you'd love to work for. Are you passionate about a company's products or services? Do you feel connected to its mission? Can you relate to its values and beliefs as an organization? If you answer "yes" to any of these questions, that company probably belongs on your interview bucket list.
Once you create an interview bucket list, you'll be able to conduct a targeted job search, one with direction and a foundation upon which everything else will be built. An interview bucket list helps you focus your job search and networking strategies on the right opportunities, making it easier to get your foot in the door at one of your dream companies.
2. Your Job Application Needs To Disrupt Hiring Managers
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In order to stand out in the hiring process, you need to disrupt recruiters and hiring managers. You accomplish this by doing two things: optimizing your resume and writing a disruptive cover letter.
A well-optimized resume includes keywords from the job description. This ensures your resume gets past the ATS and into the hands of the hiring manager. Once it's in front of the hiring manager, it needs to grab and keep their attention. Quantifying your work experience—adding numbers to your bullet points—will make you stand out from other applicants. Hiring managers will want to know more about you and your accomplishments, and that's how you land a phone interview.
Before that, though, a hiring manager will read your cover letter. To disrupt them, you need to write a disruptive cover letter (obviously!). A disruptive cover letter gives you the opportunity to tell a story about why you feel connected to the company you're applying for. It's that storytelling aspect that will stand out to hiring managers and compel them to pick up the phone and give you a call.
3. Employers Hire You Based On 3 Things
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You can't get hired unless you know what employers are assessing you on in the interview process. While your skills and expertise matter, companies actually hire for three things: personality, aptitude, and experience (in that order).
Most job seekers don't realize how important it is to demonstrate their personality, aptitude, and experience in an interview. You could have the right experience for a job, but if the hiring manager doesn't think your personality is a good fit for the company culture, you probably won't get a job offer.
Make sure you demonstrate your soft skills and learn how to answer behavioral interview questions to prove you're the best candidate for the job you're applying for, not just the most qualified.
Want To Learn More Job Search Secrets?
As you look for a job this fall, it might be helpful to know some more spooky secrets so you can get over your job search fears and finally take control of your career.
We know the job search process can be scary. However, it's important to get clear on what you want to do next and focus on conducting a strategic job search, or what we refer to at Work It DAILY as job shopping. This is the only way to effectively market yourself to employers. If they can't see exactly where and how you add value, then that's going to decrease your chances of landing the job.
The competition is fierce, and there are a lot of factors that are out of your control. But the one factor you can control is your job search strategy, the tools and tactics you use to land a job.
If you want to learn the secrets to conducting a strategic job search, sign up for our Job Search Bootcamp, a two-hour, on-demand video workshop that comes with a free workbook.
In this video workshop, you'll learn:
How to use backchanneling to get directly to hiring managers.
The secret to using a connection story to stand out against the competition.
How social media can be your secret weapon to get job interviews.
The resume format that is getting job seekers more job interviews.
