recruiters

Almost Half of Job Applicants Make This Same Foolish Mistake

Paul Michael — Mon, 23 Jan 2017 11:00:13 +0000

Hiring professionals in industries far and wide, when looking at applications ranging from entry-level to upper management, say almost 50% of the applicants are making the same mistake. Is it grammar? Poor choice of words? Not completing an online test, or answering questions incorrectly?

It's actually something much more basic. And it's a mistake that is completely inexcusable.

Almost Half of Job Applicants Are Not Following Directions

As bizarre as it may sound, job applicants are just not following basic instructions or directions given out by the employer or recruiting agency. Every application is different, but the basic problem is the same across the board — the inability to follow the directions to the letter.

Most of the time, this means omitting information required by the employer, from a resume or cover letter, to background information, references, and even contact information. For example, many applicants include a name and address, but not a phone number or email. That instantly puts them out of the running, as the HR department is too busy to track down people that don't have an immediate form of contact. No one is going to write you via snail mail inviting you to come in for an interview. Plus, the fact that you left out such a basic piece of information simply doesn't look good.

HR professionals also indicated that a simple visual test is often done on applications. If anything is blank, messy, or missing, the application goes into the trash. With so many people competing for the same job these days, removing applicants who cannot follow instructions makes life a lot easier, instantly thinning the pack.

Employers May Actively Test Your Ability to Follow Directions

It's not just about noticing mistakes. Some employers may actually lay traps that you have to avoid. Perhaps one of the most famous instances of an employer testing the suitability of a candidate goes back to an Army recruitment campaign in England.

The Army ran ads asking people to order a special recruitment kit. The kit included a VHS cassette (yes, it was a while ago). When the prospective new recruit put the tape into the VCR and hit play, the video showed an explosion. It then went on to tell people who saw that explosion that they were not the right candidate for the Army, because they did not follow the instructions. As it turns out, there was a small message on the cassette that said "rewind me first." Clever. Very clever. Of course, there was no way to know if the candidate lied about seeing that explosion first, but what it did was plant the seed of doubt. If they missed that, what would they miss on a real mission? Maybe this is not the career for them.

Another example comes from entrance exams that ask candidates to complete "only three of the following four questions." If the candidate answers all four, even if they answer them perfectly, it is a huge red flag to the employer. The inability to follow this simple direction lets the employer know that you either don't pay attention to details, you're too eager to get started, or you just refuse to follow the rules. These are not good qualities in a candidate.

So…What Can You Do to Be a Better Job Applicant?

Perhaps the biggest piece of advice, and the simplest, is to slow down. You may well have several applications to fill out for different jobs, but you cannot afford to rush them. By slowing down, and reading everything, you are far less likely to make a mistake. Having said that, you can also follow these steps to make sure you do not end up in the reject pile, along with almost half of the other applicants.

1. Read Through Everything Twice Before You Start

It's a little bit like the old DIY adage, "Measure twice, cut once." You should go through the entire application, line by line, and be clear about what you are being asked to provide. If you need to prepare something, such as a cover letter or a portfolio of your work, make a note of it.

2. Complete a Trial Application First

Think of it as a practice run. Fill it all out, and then read it back to yourself. What is missing? What sounds good, and what sounds bad? What can you improve, or edit? Are there sections that are stronger than others? Have you included the relevant dates and places, or achievements that could make you stand out? Mark it up, and then complete the application again. If you're doing this online, print out the application and fill it out by hand first.

3. Run Everything Through a Spelling/Grammar Checker

Even if your document is beautifully formatted and has all the required information, spelling errors can really mess you up. Some companies may even use software to weed out applications with too many grammar problems. If you're submitting an application using pen and paper, this may not be possible (unless you have a text recognition app or device). In that case, move on to the next step…

4. Have Someone Else Look Over Your Application

A friend. A colleague. A family member. Someone you trust. Put the application in front of them and ask them to go over it line by line. Ask them to read the instructions, too. Having someone else with a fresh eye can really help you out. They will notice glaring errors that you have become blind to.

5. Look Back at Your Notes Before You Submit Anything

Remember those notes you took at the very beginning? Now, after you have completed everything, is the time to check the "to-do" boxes off that list. Do you have your cover letter? Is it attached to the application? Is it stapled, or put on there with a paper clip (some employers want it done a specific way)? If you're sending something over the Internet, have you made sure the documents are formatted correctly, and saved the way the employer likes them (some prefer PDFs to Word documents)? All of this should be looked over carefully before putting it in the mail or hitting send.

Remember, the ability to follow simple directions is the very least an employer should expect from a candidate. If you don't do everything by the letter, you could be missing out on a great job, and a lucrative career.

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This article is from Paul Michael of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

9 Ways to Make Job Recruiters Come to You

Anthony Hall — Mon, 28 Apr 2014 08:24:12 +0000

If you want a headhunter to notice you, it follows that you have to be noticeable. You have to be the one that everybody is talking about. (See also: How to Get Your LinkedIn Profile Noticed)

Fortune smiles on those who work hard, but to get noticed by a headhunter, it takes a bit of positioning. Here are a few suggestions that could help.

1. Be the Absolute Best at What You Do

Impress a headhunter by being on top of your game — the must-have product of the season. Be current about what's going on in your field. Have facts and figures at your finger tips. Get yourself recognized by your friends and colleagues as the go-to expert in your field, whatever your field is.

2. Be Bold and Confident

We operate in the world of hot shots. While not everyone is a star, it helps if you are positioned for the role. If a headhunter calls, don't say, "Geez." Say, "I'm listening. What have you got?" (See also: Break These Habits to Become More Confident)

3. Establish a Track Record

If you're not at the top of your division's pyramid, you should set a goal of staying with a winner or moving to the winning team. Ivy League degrees, for example, help even if you were in the middle of your class. Don't have one? Then working for brand-name companies or industry leaders that impress people are more likely to work in your favor than being a star at a company that still makes floppies.

4. Network

Networking is like someone constantly fishing — always be on your game. Impress everyone. Be generous with social connections and willing to cash in on who you know. Get to know more people and keep it up. (See also: 15 Easy Networking Tricks)

5. Spread Yourself Around

Do you know anyone who never stays more than a half hour at a party? They work the room, have a drink, and are off to the next bash in a few minutes. At work, you can take on inter-departmental tasks and, even better, sign up for assignments that involve other companies, so you can be noticed outside of the confines of your own employer.

6. Volunteer

When someone mentions they do volunteer work, what does that say about them? We live in the world of the meta-message, the impression that follows the information. Volunteering says, "I care. I'm empathetic. I turn emotion into action. I am social. I make use of my time. I appreciate what I have." Those messages are powerful. What else? You never know who you might meet while volunteering. (See also: Ways to Save Money by Volunteering)

7. Be Different, Current, and Cutting Edge

Stand apart by being different does not always mean playing Icelandic folk songs on the ukulele. It does mean finding a spot on a current or cutting edge project. You don't have to be an inventor or a programmer to be part of something new.

8. Work Social Media

You can bet in this day and age that a headhunter doing cold calls is looking people up on the Internet — checking out website, LinkedIn profiles, and friends lists on Facebook. What does your social media say about you?

9. Get Someone Else to Mention You

Who do you trust? You trust people you know. When someone the job recruiter knows mentions your name, that can be a big help. Recommendations like that are honest and genuine.

Have you ever been contacted by a job recruiter? What got you noticed?

This article is from Anthony Hall of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Best Money Tips: Get Job Recruiters to Come to You

Ashley Jacobs — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 09:00:23 +0000

Welcome to Wise Bread's Best Money Tips Roundup! Today we found some stellar articles on getting job recruiters to come to you, how to get cheap life insurance, and creative ways to finance your wedding.

6 Dumb Things Employment Recruiters See People Do

Tisha Tolar — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 10:36:43 +0000

Back in the day I used to work as a "headhunter" for companies on a national basis. It certainly was an eye-opener to discover what people will or won’t say when it comes to the hunt for a good job. It always surprised me that so-called professional people seeking six-figure incomes kept making the same juvenile mistakes over and over when looking for a new job. Personally, I always felt if these people were writing "great written communication skills" on a resume where their names were misspelled, they were not fit to be called upon for vacancies.

Whether or not you are using a recruiter for your job search, there is a good chance you are also making the same mistakes I used to see time and time again. Even now when helping family and friends update their resumes I see many common errors that could cost you a shot at a good job.

Here are six dumb things you should consider before turning in a resume if you really want that job. (See also: 8 Job-Getting Tips From a Guy Who's Hired 500 People in the Last 5 Years)

1. Just Running Spell Check and Sending Off the Resume

I often wondered if people even read what they had turned into our recruiting office. While that may sound funny, I bet many people never actually went back and read through their entire resume before attaching it to their email. As a result, there were so many stupid mistakes, but these potential candidates claimed they paid great attention to detail. Right!

While technology gives us the convenience of spell check and a built-in thesaurus, you need to rely on your brain to make sure your resume actually makes sense. As months go by, make sure you are updating your resume each time a change occurs. Lots of candidates lost out on jobs when their emails were returned to me as non-working or phone numbers had changed.

2. Not Promoting Yourself Properly

I cannot count how many times I have received a resume from an executive-level candidate that was basically a fill-in-the-blank template. It is understandable you would want to have a resource to help you draft your resume, but if you are looking at an executive position, you should be able to do more than fill in some blanks about yourself.

Your resume is a summary of your career and achievements and should work for you, not against you. Complete several drafts of your information until you are able to provide a clear, concise, and accurate summary in a professional-looking format.

3. Not Defining What You Want

As part of a resume, you have the opportunity to express your interests and job preferences in the top section usually labeled as "Objective." Simply stating that you want a paying job is just not good enough. It’s already obvious you want a job — thus the resume submission. You should be more specific about what you are looking for within the specific position being offered. If you can’t tell the hiring agent what you want to do, don’t expect many opportunities to get hired.

4. Not Reading the Job Posting

It was very frustrating to read the many resumes and cover letters that came in that had absolutely no relevance to the actual position to be filled. Whenever you submit a resume for an advertised position, be sure to craft your cover letter and gear your resume toward the actual requirements of the job. Not all jobs are the same, but if you are sending the same information over and over, don’t be surprised when you don’t get a call for an interview. Let the employer know why you would be a good fit for the position that is available. If you don’t stand out in some way, you will surely sit at the bottom of the pile.

5. Not Properly Utilizing the Cover Letter

Granted, many people do not learn the art of resume writing in high school or maybe even in college, but there are enough free resources available to give you a clear idea of what is expected when you are applying for a job using a resume. A cover letter should be attached to your resume with every submission. This cover letter can make or break your chances for getting further in the hiring process. You have a chance to capture the employer’s attention in this letter to make them want to keep reading. Cover letters should be professional looking, well written, and relevant to the job vacancy. Go online or to the library and brush up on the fundamentals of a resume cover letter.

6. Thinking Resumes Don't Matter

Jobs are already tough to come by, and every level of job is highly competitive. Don’t slack on creating a good resume for yourself even if you have to pay for assistance. If you do hire someone, play an active part in creating your resume and don’t expect your writer to just make up information that looks good on paper. Your input is vital to a truthful resume.

Don’t forget to get a list of references together prior to submitting one to a potential employer and double check with every person on that list that you have their permission to be used as a contact. There have been many occasions in my run as a recruiter where references were clueless when contacted which makes a candidate look irresponsible.

Your resume and cover letter is your first impression on a recruiter or potential employer. If you want to stay in the competition, you need to ensure you are providing the best representation of yourself to the employer so you can be successful at securing a job of your choice.

This article is from Tisha Tolar of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Should You Hire a Recruiter?

Thursday Bram — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 18:27:36 +0000

Link:

http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/money/article/should-your-hire-a-recrui...

Bringing in a recruiter to fill a position at your business can cost as much as 35 percent of what you'll pay your new hire in her first year. That price tag may make you step back and think about whether a recruiter is all that important to your hiring process. With the costs associated with going through a recruiter, it's worth carefully considering exactly what a recruiter will be able to help you with.

The Three Types of Recruiters

At least in terms of payment, recruiters can be broken down into three categories: contingent, retained, and contract. Recruiters who work on contingency don't require an upfront payment to start looking for a candidate for your company, but will expect a fee equivalent to between 20 and 35 percent of the first year salary of the candidate you hire. A recruiter working on retainer will expect a similar fee, but with the first third paid upfront, the second third paid part way through the recruiting process, and the last third paid when you hire your new employee. Lastly, you can hire recruiters on an hourly basis on contract, with rates usually ranging between $75 and $150 per hour.

Each of these approaches has its benefits and drawbacks, of course. If you're working with a recruiter on a contingency basis, he will want to fill the position as quickly as possible. This is helpful, but he may do so by throwing every candidate he can find at you in the hope that you'll just pick one. Similarly, contracting with a recruiter will ideally cost less than the other two options, but it's very easy for a recruiter to run up a big bill.

Consider the Position You're Hiring For

As a general rule, a recruiter will be most helpful in hiring for a position that requires a specialized skill set — something that you can't hire just anyone who responds to a "help wanted" ad for. If you're prepared to train your new employee or the job responsibilities are more generalized, it makes a lot less sense to pay someone else to collect resumes and sort through them.

Even with more specialized jobs needing a high level of talent, it can be worthwhile to exhaust other possibilities first. You may have several connections in your network who would be ideal in the position, and you can see what it would take to bring them into your company without going through a recruiter. Even if you aren't able to hire one of those people, you've at least narrowed the field a bit and can help your recruiter direct her search in more worthwhile directions.

The Question of Time

There is one reason to work with a recruiter even if you are hiring for relatively unspecialized position: If you simply do not have time to spend on the recruitment process, bringing in a pro will let you get back to tasks that only you can handle in your business and complete the recruitment process much faster. A recruiter has more resources for finding good job candidates than the average small business owner, which means that even if you do have some time to spend on finding a new employee, a recruiter can simply do it faster.

Furthermore, a good recruiter will offer a guarantee on the employee you hire: If that new hire is fired within the first 30 days of employment, the recruiter will find a replacement for free. Depending on the recruiter, the guarantee may also include replacing an employee that leaves within the first two or three months of employment for a reduced rate. If you are able to offer repeat business to a recruiter, you may be able to negotiate lower overall costs and a longer guarantee.

Do You Have the Necessary Expertise?

If you are unfamiliar with the hiring process, of you've had problems with it before, working with a recruiter can be a way to make sure the matter is handled by someone experienced in the field without needing to pick up a degree in human resources yourself. There are quite a few potential pitfalls in the hiring process, especially for a small business that may not be in a position to have a full-time human resources department. Some recruiters offer consulting services to help you overhaul your hiring process as well as handling hiring a new employee.

That sort of expertise can be invaluable, especially when you consider that lawsuits regarding unfair hiring practices can damage both a business's reputation and its ability to continue operating.

Make Sure to Maintain Control of the Situation

When you're considering working with a recruiter, it's a good idea to sit down before you sign a contract or even start planning the recruitment process and get a feel for how she works. Depending on the payment system a particular recruiter uses, this is your opportunity to put an upper limit on things like the number of hours a recruiter can bill you for or the number of resumes you're willing to look at. That way you can reduce some of the potential problems that can drive up the cost of working with a recruiter. It's also important to pay attention to the recruiting process as it goes along, even though you're essentially handing it off to someone else. It's a matter of making sure that your business is protected throughout the process.

You can also get a feel for whether a recruiter is going to be able to help you with your specific needs. Many recruiters specialize in certain types of employment, making it important that you find a good fit. If you're looking to fill a technical position, for instance, you need a recruiter who understands enough about the technology in question to correctly asses a job candidate's skills, bringing you only the resumes of potential employees who can really do the job at hand. The alternative is having to handle much of the recruitment process yourself, reducing the usefulness of a recruiter significantly.

This article is from Thursday Bram of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

How to inspire corporate confidence

Julie Rains — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 21:25:16 +0000

A recruiter friend once told me that working at one employer for more than 15 years was a red flag to his client companies. “A red flag for what?” you might wonder. At best, the long-standing employee is seen as unwilling to make a move; at worst, a loyal employee is seen as unable to make a move. You can build confidence in your capabilities if you understand that, from your senior manager's perspective, there are two kinds of people.

There are: 1) those who pursue, embrace, and thrive on change (and deliver great value in the process) and 2) those who avoid and resist change (and prevent the company from adapting to new circumstances).

The change-happy are often considered the winners of today’s corporate culture. They are wooed by employers, promoted as company saviors, and make alterations to strategic direction and day-to-day operations as quickly as possible.

In the change-monger’s ideal world,

Vendors finally understand quality standards and stick to delivery schedules;

front-line staff are now knowledgeable and able to make independent decisions;

communication channels receive timely input from all stakeholders and speed along, rather than slow down, decisions;

information systems provide visibility with key information without weighing down decision-makers with unimportant details.

And as a result,

throughput times and inventory flow accelerate;

sales and profits increase; and

customers, employees, and shareholders are very happy.

Then the change-master moves on to a different company, typically in a higher paid position.

The left-behind employees (perhaps you, one of the loyal souls who keep things going and who may have recommended the improvements all along) often don’t command such respect. You, like those who thrive on constant movement, may have worthy career ambitions, incredible flexibility, and fresh ideas; however:

you’ve recently experienced significant disruption in your life and, for right now, seek sameness (you may have just created a stability plan per Justin Ryan’s guidance);

you grasp that too-frequent or ill-considered changes make a company seem more like a chameleon than a market leader;

you don’t want to disturb your professional life, which will often disrupt your personal life.

If you decide to stay put at least for now, you can still show that you are eager, willing, and highly capable of tackling new challenges and producing significant results -- without ever changing employers.

Here are a few ways how:

Keep learning new information. Attend the seminars and workshops recommended on your professional development plan (if you don’t have one, make one yourself); take a class at your community college (traditional or online); read a book from the best-selling list.

Become an expert in your industry or discipline. Read trade periodicals, visit vendors or listen in on meetings when they visit the office; go to professional conferences; earn professional designations; make presentations to groups with an interest in your field.

Continually expand your skill base. Learn a new software package through self-study, help from a friend, or a class; offer your services for special projects (sponsored by your company, a non-profit group, or another organization) to strengthen your planning, organizational, networking, and/or leadership skills.

Try out new ideas. You may be able to make changes to your daily activities without any corporate approvals. Even small improvements, made consistently over time, can keep your habits up-to-date and work results stellar.

This article is from Julie Rains of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread: