Quich Advice (Part Two)

Time kills.

• Submitting one's resume to a job posting then waiting 6 days to reply to a phone call will never get you a job as it will be filled before you respond.
• Interviewing a great candidate for an open need then not providing feedback for almost 2 weeks before making an offer will not necessarily mean the person is still available.

Things are improving slowly and employers and candidates need to realize timing is everything once again!

Details

Yesterday, I had an interesting chat with a hiring manager I had never spoken with before at one of my longtime client companies. The department she manages deals with statistics and data so even the slightest error in a report could be devastating and cost a ton of revenue.

One error on a resume is enough for her to rule out a candidate without speaking to or meeting with them. This is understandable as perfection is the key to her division's success and she cannot take chances. After we spoke, I started reviewing resumes on her behalf and was disappointed with the results. One individual quite obviously misspelled thier name, another forgot to leave a space between their first and last name, and another one neglected to give an area code for their phone number.

Would you hire any of these people?

I Am Not Your Buddy!

Never call a recruiter or hiring manager and start the conversation with, "hey Buddy, I saw your ad online for a Database Analyst (insert whatever job title actually fits) and wanted to find out how to apply for it Dude!" I guarantee that you will never get a chance at any job I might be recruiting for if that is your standard method of operation. The line I quoted above is not a dramatization, it is an actual call I received this past Thursday!

While not entirely fair, I may have been a bit more lenient if the caller was fresh out of trade school looking for their first job. Most likely, I would have taken a few moments to explain why this behavior was not a good choice. Unfortunately, this candidate apparently had about 15 years of I.T. experience and had to know better. To think this is the norm would be absurd but I must share that the quality of phone calls I receive are nowhere near what they were even two years ago.

Please think before you talk and definitely plan out your call in advance. Professionalism is not dead and is essential to a great job search!.