No Wonder Job Seekers Are Confused: Part 4

This is the fourth in a series of posts refuting an article in Bloomberg Business on: "Five Out-Of-Date Job Search Tactics". (You can feel free to weigh in using the Comments section below.)

They say: (Lose the) "Endless Bullets."

I actually agree with the advice about not overusing bullets on your resume. (Recruiters giving advice on resume writing are usually the ones who strongly advocate for bulleted lists.)

A focus on accomplishments is also critical, and the author gets that, too.

But be careful of using too "breezy" of a tone in the resume. It's still a business document, after all.

In the next blog post: "Gratuitous Research."

No Wonder Job Seekers Are Confused: Part 3

This is the third post in a series refuting an article in Bloomberg Business on: "Five Out-Of-Date Job Search Tactics". (You can feel free to weigh in using the Comments section below, and check out yesterday's post on "Creaky Cover Letter Language" here.)

They say: (Saying) "Here's Why You Should Hire Me" is out-of-date.

Last Friday night, on the ABC show, "Shark Tank," all five "Sharks" (potential investors) made an important point to the gentleman pitching his company, Salespreneur. (Dave Greco)

Daymond John asks the pitchman (who is supposedly a master salesman) to "sell me this pen." The guy does so, for about 20 seconds, but quickly turns his attention to asking for an investment. Daymon John interrupts him and asks him again to finish his "pen pitch." He does, but forgets to ask for the order! The sharks were quick to point this out to him. 

Not only is the third point in this the Bloomberg article confusing, but it's also missing an important distinction for job seekers. Companies need great employees just as much as employees need jobs. It's often been said that interviews are a lot like dates -- you're looking for a "match." In the interview, the interviewer is getting to know the candidate better, especially how the prospective employee will "fit" into the company. But it's not a one-sided conversation. The job seeker is also assessing the interviewer and the company. If that's not done by sussing out qualifications (on both sides), what's the point?

Which leads to the next statement in the article. I agree with this: "People get hired when a hiring manager believes, intellectually and emotionally, that the person sitting in front of him or her can do the job."

But then the whole rest of the section is about how job seekers shouldn't "grovel and beg" for a job? What? Since when is presenting your qualifications "groveling"? In surveys of pet peeves of hiring managers, not once have I read, "Applicant presented his/her qualifications and then asked for the job." 

In more than 15 years in the careers industry, I've read hundreds of books on the job search. The author claims that "tons of job-search books and articles (nonetheless) encourage job-seekers to grovel and beg." Funny, I've never once read about that in a job search book.

I've also never seen a book with an idea that a thank you note to follow up to an interview should include "10 reasons you should hire me" -- but a cover letter that matches up the job requirements with the applicant qualifications  can be quite effective. I certainly don't equate that with "mewl(ing) and beg(ging) for a job."

And what about this line: "We never, ever want to construct lists of reasons an employer should hire us." First off, the use of "always" and "never" in an article are usually a red flag -- flexibility is required when considering tactics in a job search. (While I wouldn't recommend mailing a single shoe to a job interviewer with the cheesy "I wanted to get a foot in the door" line, the fact is, the tactic has worked for at least one job seeker. As Justin Bieber says, "Never say never.")

I agree that "If the reasons to hire don't come through in an interview, you've already missed the boat." But I'd also say that if the job seeker walks out of an interview without expressing sincere interest in the job, that's a missed opportunity. Companies want to hire people who want to work for them. (If they don't ask for the next step in the interview process, that's a missed opportunity too.)

Tomorrow: "Endless Bullets."

No Wonder Job Seekers Are Confused: Part 2

Here's the second blog post in a series I'm doing to refute the ideas in what I believe is a misguided article: "Five Out-Of-Date Job Search Tactics" from Bloomberg Business. (You can feel free to weigh in using the Comments section below, and read the first post in the series here.)

They say: "Creaky Cover Letter Language" is out-of-date.

Okay, I agree with them that you shouldn't address a cover letter to "Dear Sir or Madam" -- and I prefer finding the hiring manager's name (when possible), but sometimes that just ISN'T possible. So "Dear Hiring Manager" is an acceptable substitute, or so is my suggestion -- simply leaving off the salutation entirely.

Contrary to the author's opinion, it can be difficult to find a hiring manager's name. Without the hiring manager's name, you're usually sending it to HR anyway, so addressing it to "Dear Hiring Manager," isn't going to offend the HR person. They know that ultimately the best resumes will be forwarded to the hiring manager (decision-maker).

Of the five "out of date" tactics, I probably have the least objection to this one (and I offer an even simpler alternative -- no salutation -- but I don't think the simple line "To Whom It May Concern" is going to kill a job seeker's chance of an interview if the resume and the rest of the cover letter is solid, and they have the right qualifications.

Tomorrow: "Here's Why You Should Hire Me."

No Wonder Job Seekers Are Confused: Part 1

I came across this article on another career professional's Facebook status, and my first thought (which I tweeted) was, "Just read a career article from a major, mainstream business magazine that was completely off base. It's no wonder job seekers are confused."

I wondered if I should even draw attention to the article, because it would increase attention to yet another presumptuous, prescriptive article that is going to confuse job seekers. But I think it's important for us, as career professionals, to reinforce the idea that there are lots of opinions about what does and doesn't work in the job search -- but even huge media companies endorse some stinkers.

(My colleague, Julie Walraven, of Design Resumes, does the same thing in her blog post today: "Point - Counter Point: Is the Resume Dead?")

Here's the article: "Five Out-Of-Date Job Search Tactics" from Bloomberg Business. In a series of blog posts, I'm going to offer my rebuttal to each of their points. (You can feel free to weigh in using the Comments section below.)

They say: "Dedicated resume paper and envelopes" are out-of-date.

They say not to use any kind of special paper or matching envelopes in your job search because "Dedicated-use resume paper is a 1980s artifact."

Brought to you by the same people who find online applications "more efficient" are the folks who suggest you use "plain white bond paper" when you *do* print out a resume to bring with you? Yikes. Have you heard of the importance of first impressions, people?

How do you stand out today? Go the extra mile.

If everyone else is applying online, follow-up with a paper resume in person or via mail.  Sure, the 16-year-old temp employee ("Jennifer," I call her) may not care (LOL, BFF -- BRB!!!*) but the hiring manager (as long as they're over 25), probably will appreciate the effort.

While I agree with the author that content is king, ugly resumes aren't effective either. Horizontal lines absolutely have a place on resumes ... even for non-creative types. Is she serious?!?!

Rather than being out of date, dedicated resume paper and envelopes can help you stand out from a sea of job seekers.

[Addition: This article, "Is The Paper Resume Dead?" appeared in online in Wall Street Journal's Career section on Jan. 25, 2012. The answer is: It's not.]

Tomorrow: "Creaky Cover Letter Language."

* Jennifer is more versed in text messaging than text resumes ... LOL = Laugh out loud; BFF = Best friends forever; BRB = Be right back)