Blog Post: Why aren’t you working??? A recruiter’s advice to nailing the job you are seeking.

Why aren’t you working???

A recruiter’s advice to nailing the job you are seeking.

 A five part BLOG Series to get you noticed!

There Is A War For Work And You MUST win!!!!

Well it is 2009 and we are off to an exciting year here at The Dalbey Education Institute. I have been challenged to hire an additional 100 sales people this year in addition to the support staff that will have to be put in place in order to accommodate such an aggressive staffing goal. In order for our company to achieve the goal of hiring such a large group of professionals it will be necessary for us to interview more than ten times the amount of our target of 100 sales professionals. This means that during 2009 I will personally interview 1000 yes One Thousand sales professionals alone.

With that being said, I am beginning to notice some things that are becoming more and more prevalent in the reasons people ARE NOT getting hired. Sometimes working in this position can be very difficult as I am challenged to make the best hiring decisions for the company that has employed me. The economy is horrible, companies are closing everywhere, jobs are harder and harder to get theses days and I do not see it getting better any time soon. People are becoming desperate and the competition is fierce.

Knowing the job market is tight and how tough the competition is out there, I am finding that many job seekers are in need of a “Reality Check” if you will. Why are you not getting the job? What is it that is keeping you out and letting the person next to you in? I will share with you what I am seeing and what many of my counterparts in other companies are seeing as well. What we love to see and what we hate to see. What catches our attention in both good and bad ways. Perhaps you will see yourself in some of this… If you do, it is time to take a hard look at what you need to do to get noticed and get the job…

Applying to the job:

One thing all job seekers need to understand is that hiring managers, recruiters and Human Resource Professionals, especially now, will receive hundreds of replies to just one job posting. One small mistake can literally mean and interview or someone clicking “delete”. I know this sounds harsh, but it is truly the reality of today’s job market. Things to make sure you are not one of the unfortunate ones that are put in the “No Pile” are the following…

1.                   READ THE JOB DESCRIPTION!!!!

I can not tell you how much hiring managers are annoyed by people that have not even taken the time to read the job description of the position they have applied for. Are you qualified? Do your skills meet what the employer is looking for? Should you even be applying for this position? If not you will be immediately put in the dreaded “No Pile”.

Here is the thing about the job description… Most will give you at least the very basic qualifications the employer is seeking. More detailed descriptions can tell you exactly how to tailor your resume to catch the eye of an employer. Most employers have spent some significant time preparing the job description. It is actually a great tool to get into a company you are seeking to be a part of. You need to KEY WORD you resume to fit the position you are applying for. The job description will in most cases give you the tools to do just that.

Please understand that if a hiring manager gets hundreds of resumes for a single position, you seriously have FIFTEEN SECONDS TOPS to catch their attention… Your resume needs to catch their eye quick.

2.                   SPELL CHECK YOUR RESUME

Nothing says “Do not hire this person louder than someone who has very basic spelling and grammar mistakes on their resume. If you do not have a computer… Borrow one. Always let someone proof your resume. I have actually had an administrative assistant position open and can not tell you how many resumes I had for this position that had spelling mistakes and VERY basic grammar mistakes on it. I actually had two that spelled Administrative wrong on their resume AND cover letter. Pay attention to detail….

FYI… All newer Microsoft Office programs will literally underline your spelling mistakes IN RED as soon as I open your resume…

3.                   YOUR RESUME IS NOT A ONE FOR ALL!!!

You need to keep a soft copy of your resume on the desk top of your computer. This resume should be available for you to tailor to the position you are applying for. Most of us have learned many skills throughout our career. The challenge is to make sure that we get all of the pertinent information we want to share with a prospective employer. How do you nail it all down to one to two pages???

The Answer is YOU DON’T!!! Each and every position has a unique skill set that the employer is seeking. Do you have those skills? Are they listed on your resume? With a soft copy ready at all times you can fix that with nothing more than the click of a mouse.

Bottom line is this… A standard resume that you send out to every position can hurt you more that it can help you.

4.                   THE COVER LETTER SHOULD BE WRITTEN FOR EACH   AND EVERY POSITION YOU APPLY FOR!!!

Nothing says LAZY to an employer more that a cover letter that does not tell the hiring manager why YOU are the perfect fit for the position you are applying for. I can not tell you the number of cover letters I have received that were clearly written for a position that the applicant applied for with a different company.

I am the Director of Recruiting at the Dalbey Education Institute. I have received MANY cover letters that state things such as “Dear Mrs. Johnson, I was excited to see your opening for the sales position at Company ABC (you fill in the blank)… It is the quickest way for your resume to be deleted in seconds.

Bottom line is take the time to actually address the company you are applying to…

In the next BLOG we will cover how to handle the first phone call and what you should know about the company you apply too… Good luck to you all in your career search and remember… IT IS A WAR AND YOU MUST WIN!!!!