Paper Resumes? How Nineties

I was reading some advice blogs about looking for a job. With the economy the way it is, they have been unusually active. One comment asked the blog’s author what kind of paper would best impress the employer. Apparently, the place this person was applying specifically requested no fax, no email — paper resumes only.

This question has yet to receive an answer. Probably because no one currently looking for a job uses paper resumes. They served their purpose well once upon a time, but the world has moved past them.

If your business is still requesting paper applications, then you are creating extra work for yourself. Whereas I could school you on the environment and the unnecessary waste paper creates when you have a perfectly good electronic alternative, I won’t. I prefer to point out that requesting hard copies of resumes creates a huge stack that is unwieldy and difficult to organize.

One of the niceties of using computers is the quick, efficient organization of documents. After perusing the file on your computer, you can easily shift the unqualified candidates to one folder on your desktop, the maybes to another, and the definites to a third. Whereas this may seem like no big advantage compared to doing the same with paper applications, consider the state of the economy one more time. Your one job listing will produce triple the response you received one year ago. The stacks of paper will get quite huge.

So, even if you don’t care about the environment, going paperless is still the best idea.

Six Reasons to show a Candidate the Door…

You’ve looked at a dozen resumes for the same position.  They’re all qualified, and they’re all coming in to interview. 

First impressions are all-important. I’ve seen too many applicants who are great on paper blow their interview by making easily-avoidable mistakes.  Here are some red flags for any employers interviewing more than one candidate.  If they make these easily-avoidable mistakes, it may be time to show them the door!

1. BEING LATE:  I know they’ve heard this an infinite number of times, but it is still the most important rule!  Being late for an interview shows that a candidate is irresponsible or not serious about the job/company.  An applicant should get directions beforehand, check traffic, leave early, and if for some reason they ARE late, they should call the office/interviewer and ask to reschedule.

2. INAPPROPRIATE CLOTHING:  Also sounds like a no-brainer, right?  You’d be surprised.  Even if your work place is casual, an interviewee should dress nicely!!  No tank tops, no flip-flops, and no jeans!

3. WINGING IT:  It happens ALL the time.  Interviewees don’t even bother to look up the company they are applying to, or even worse, the position they want!  Knowing who is interviewing you makes a great impression.  Look for someone who knows some key facts about your company. This helps prove how interested they are in working for you. 

4. DANGEROUS SMALL TALK:  No politics, no religion, no hot topics.  The easiest way to turn someone off is to offend them.  Also, watch out for someone who treats you too casually.  You’re not their roommate from college, you’re a potential employer.  They should treat you with respect, and prove they are a professional who will be an asset to your company.

5. BAD-MOUTHING PAST EMPLOYERS: I have interviewed several applicants who, when asked about recent job history, have trashed the last company they worked for.  This makes a terrible impression on an interviewer!  It sounds childish and vindictive!  There is usually more to this story, more you don’t want to find out about.

6. ASSUMING YOU ALREADY HAVE THE JOB: Unless I tell an interviewee that the position is theirs, they should not assume anything!  This means not asking about salary and benefits until I bring it up first.  Be gracious!  I am looking for confidence, not cockiness!

A few more interview pet peeves!
-Not having a resume to look at!! An applicant should bring two or three copies of a resume to the interview, then even if there are several people conducting the interview, we will be able to look at their qualifications.
-To Interviewees: Brush your teeth before you leave!  Don’t eat on the way, and DO NOT CHEW GUM IN THE INTERVIEW!
-I love it when a candidate SMILES!  We know you’re nervous but try and smile at us once in a while.  We might return the favor.

Stretching the Truth Until It Screams for Mercy

I’m a collector at heart. One of the things I collect is a file folder of the most outrageous resumes and applications that have journeyed across my desk in the past few years. And for some reason, watching the Presidential Debate reminded me of them so I pulled them out to give them a quick perusal. Unlike both Presidental candidates who merely stretched the truth — or in my favorite spin word of the night, “re-interpreted the facts” — most of these resumes just out and out lie.

And most aren’t even that good at covering up their lies. Some do stupid things like claim a degree at a college that doesn’t even offer that program, or listed work experience back to the time he was eight years old. Another one of my favorites was one copied out of a resume book. I don’t mean he re-typed it and put his name on it, he literally photocopied it, whited out the name, and wrote in his own.

I had one guy applying for a maintenance position write his phone number anytime it asked for any number. Social Secuity number? He put his phone number. Work, home and cell? All the same number. Dates worked at last job? Yep, his area code and prefix (apparently he started at Target in the 31st month of the year 2016).

So, what are some of your best application “touch-ups”?

Don’t Be Fooled by an Ivy League Name

You have two candidates in front of you. One went to Harvard, and the other graduated from the University of Pensacola. Easy choice, right? Obviously the Ivy League degree is better, right?

Not always. An Ivy League degree does not guarantee a top notch education. for instance, there are examples of people who were accepted to a top school based on being a “legacy,” spent four years drinking at night and doing the absolute minimum to get by in the day — and wind up with a degree from Harvard. Does that necessarily mean they learned anything? Not really. All that proves is they performed certain tasks to get the embossed piece of paper.

Now, the student who went to the University of Pensacola might have come from a disadvantaged family, worked two jobs to pay for school, participated in several on-campus organizations, and graduated at the top of his or her class.

Now, with that in mind, who do you want to hire?

Sure, an argument can be made that the courses at Harvard are more advanced and it’s much harder to simply pass at that university rather than excel at a state college. The reality is that you are looking for a quality of character that a person who “just got by” at any college does not possess.

It’s not the value of the school you should be looking at, it’s the value of the education.

How to Rule Out Immature Job Seekers

A time of social networking has arrived. With networking sites such as Facebook and Myspace attracting approximately 115 million people to their respective sites a month, it’s easily assumed that a good percentage of people are frequent users. The main benefit of social networking sites is that they enable people to keep in touch or find friends. Rather than letting people know one by one that you’re getting married, you can post a bulletin informing everyone at once. Having a party? Send out a mass invite rather than calling every friend. These sites become your calendar, address book, and phone book all in one.

With all good comes bad, though. Some users assume that only their friends will look at their profiles so they post a number of unfortunate pictures and comments, things that can be quite incriminating. So what do you do as an employer?

Before hiring someone, search their name online and see what comes up. Are their profiles professional or casual? Are they clean and respectable, showing a smart person with a desire to further their career? Or are they showing drunken debauchery, a claim to being the best at skipping class, and a major in partying? If so, this person who may look perfectly suited for the work place when interviewing, may be exhibiting a very clever disguise.

The same goes for other various Web sites. Search their name on any search engine, such as Google. If you see a few links showing articles they had published in a newspaper on biochemistry, then, yes, hire them. If you see links to videos of them heavily drinking during Spring Break 2007, they might not be the most reliable applicant. There’s a difference between drinking in the privacy of your home and putting a video of it up on youtube.

After college, many people are go out into the work force for the first time. Although many are mature, highly educated individuals, some still live in the college mindset, one that doesn’t mesh well with a 9-5 schedule. Finding out information on applicants is essential. It’s smart to know who you’re hiring before it’s too late.