Top Four Reasons for Not Getting the Job

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If you have no trouble getting an interview, but never seem to get the job or are always second runner up; you may be wondering what’s going on.

It’s difficult to know precisely where things go wrong with an interview.  But you really can’t judge yourself.  And it is extremely rare that once you’ve been passed over that the hiring manager or human resources professional will tell you exactly what went wrong.

I suggest you find someone you trust and ask them to interview you.  This needs to be done by someone who will tell you exactly what they see…even if it’s not really going to make you happy.  Someone who cares about you but doesn’t love you would be best. Typically a family member is the wrong choice.

For example, you need to know if you are making eye contact or are you staring at the floor?  Do you make so much eye contact you’re coming across like a potential stalker? Or, if asked, could you even tell the interviewer what color shirt they are wearing?

There are so many reasons I’ve seen interviews go badly.  The top four I hear regularly:

1. Candidate showed no interest or enthusiasm for the company or the position for which they were interviewing.  In response to the question:  “Do you know what we do?”  The worst answer you can give is…”I don’t know. I didn’t look you up.”

Alternatively, “Yes I’ve analyzed your company and done personal background checks on every senior manager and I know that you take sugar in your coffee and stop at Starbucks every morning on the way to work at 7:35 a.m.” will NOT gain you any points.

2. Candidate arrived late for the interview.

Alternatively, arriving more than ten minutes early can be a little off putting as well. Sitting in the reception area for an hour watching people come and go isn’t going to make a good impression.

3. Candidate seemed to only be interested in the salary and benefits package.

Asking questions about the company, the position and the general culture is perfectly acceptable.  Asking about salary and benefits on the first interview is not.  If that’s the first question out of your mouth, you can pretty much be guaranteed that you will not be getting an offer.  There’s a time and a place for these types of questions and the first interview is not it.

4. Candidate arrived dressed inappropriately.  While it is rare, I have seen candidates arrive for an interview in ripped jeans and a stained t-shirt for a senior level position.  Unless there’s an extremely good reason, dress as professionally as possible.

Acceptable exceptions:  A senior level engineer went to an interview in a suit, tie and jeans because he broke his leg in a car accident and did not want to cut his dress slacks to go over the cast.  (He got the job).  Also, a professional administrative assistant went to an interview in a suit and heavy duty boots with ice cleats.  There was eight inches of snow and freezing rain and she didn’t want to fall down in the parking lot.  (She got the job).

There’s an expression that you should dance like no one is watching.  It’s a fine line to interview with confidence, like you don’t need the job but are still very excited by the opportunity.

Phone Messages

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What does your home or cell phone message say about you?

Examples of actual recordings that have left me wondering if this person is seriously looking for work or what they would be like as an employee:

“You got me. Leave a message. If I feel like it, I’ll call you back.” (Really? What if you don’t feel like it?)

“You know the drill.” (Any chance I have the wrong number?)

“Mommy and Daddy can’t come to the phone right now…la la la la…” (Awww…cute as a button…but did I dial the wrong number? You’re looking for a job and your two year old is recording your answering machine message?)

“Please hold while your party is being reached”…followed by music that makes your ears bleed. (I don’t mind listening to music, but if the volume is so loud I can’t actually leave the phone anywhere near my ear…I’m not going to hold.)

The old advice is still some of the best:  Smile while you are recording your message!

 

Knowing When Not to Share

Competing with your friends for the same job isn’t something most people think about.  However, in my line of work I’ve seen and heard too many times where someone trusted a friend with their job search information and ended up losing out.

A job seeker who was just about to graduate from college had an interview.  She was excited about the company and the job and was told they were narrowing the search down and she was definitely one of the finalists.

She went back to school and over lunch with her friends told them all about it.  One of her classmates (graduating in the same degree program) immediately applied, interviewed and was offered the job.

Lest you think this is just happening to someone too young to know better…

One man had been searching for an executive level job for over a year.  He interviewed twice and was clearly the lead candidate.  He went to dinner with his wife and another couple.  He shared his news, the company name and how excited he was that the hiring manager implied there would be an offer coming soon.

His friend went home and applied for the same job and ultimately got it.

It would be nice to think that someone you think of as a friend wouldn’t do this, but it’s also a very competitive job market and sadly friendship comes in second to landing a job.  Be careful who you confide in!

Job Search & Depression

It’s that time of the year.  The holidays are over and the gray days of winter are settling in and if you are unemployed, the risk of depression increases.

Being unemployed, for any length of time, is difficult.  The longer you are out of work, the more your self-confidence is shaken and the harder it is to appear upbeat and positive.

A few quick tips and reminders to help you stay on track.

• We are all creatures of habit and some of us need more structure and routine than others.  Set a routine in place that works for you.

• You need to take care of yourself.  Remember to eat well.  Don’t eat everything in sight because you are bored and don’t skip meals because you don’t feel like eating.

• Get some exercise, fresh air and face time.  Sitting at home alone staring at a computer monitor, applying for jobs may be productive but it also can lead to blood clots, eye strain and a feeling of being alone and helpless.

Remember, you are not alone.  There are networking groups out there.  The Department of Employment Security in many states offers instructional classes.  There are job seeker networking groups on LinkedIn, Meet up and even listed on event calendars on-line.  There are Chamber events, professional organizations and libraries that offer opportunities to get together with people.

It’s human nature not to tell anyone that you are unemployed.  It’s not something to be ashamed of.  Tell your family, friends, neighbors and acquaintances you are looking for work.  You never know who might be able to help you find your next job.

You are only alone if you make yourself alone.  And, let’s face it, everyone needs a support team.

Age Discrimination or Over-Qualified

Does over-qualified mean age discrimination?

If I had a dime for every time someone told me they didn’t get an interview or a job because of age discrimination, I would be a wealthy woman.

Is it truly the applicant’s age that is the issue?  Does over-qualified mean you are too old?

I can’t say that true age discrimination does not exist, but I can say there are many meanings to the expression “over-qualified” that have nothing to do with the candidate’s age.

When you have 20+ years of experience and submit your resume for a junior level position, how do you think you will be perceived?

Unless you include in your cover letter a statement that you are aware you have more experience than is required, but would like to get on the hiring manager’s radar for something more suitable, you can bet the person reviewing the resumes will see you as “desperate.”

I’ve been told by candidates that they know it’s a junior level position and they will be happy earning an eighth of what they were earning, they just want to be working.  There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, I think it’s admirable. Unfortunately, no matter what your reasoning is, it still is difficult to convince a hiring manager that you are sincere.

The hiring manager is also certain that while you are saying you are happy at this level, it is extremely rare for someone to turn down a better offer, should one come along.  More employees than you might think, calculate the salary paid and what they believe they should be earning and then work as if they just accepted a part time position.  Some do this without consciously knowing that’s what they are doing.

I have an expression I use sometimes instead of saying “over-qualified.”  “Submitting your resume for this position is like sending a Sherman Tank in to kill a flea.”  At least it makes my “over-qualified” candidates smile!

 

Job Seeker Questions for a Recruiter

Working as a recruiter can be challenging.  There are so many people out there who have had “experiences” with recruiters; they are reluctant to trust another one.

I find myself explaining why recruiters have done some of the things they have done and why I don’t do some of these same things.

So a series of blogs are forming.  Questions I have been asked.  If you have a question you would like a candid response to, please email me at nancy@calm-water.com and it may be featured in a future blog.

Scenario:

A job seeker doesn’t want to share his or her resume with me because:  they are afraid it will end up being presented for a job they don’t want.  Or for a job with a company they already applied for, interviewed with and turned down.  Or, and this is the worst case scenario…their resume is presented to their current employer.  (Yes, I have seen it happen.  No it wasn’t me who did that).

Why do these things this happen?

Many people with a strong sales background get into recruiting thinking “How hard can this be? I’m selling employees instead of widgets and I’m good at sales.”

Many of the people with the strong sales backgrounds are truly good at sales.  They are competitive and recruiting is a highly competitive business.  The recruiter, who submits the resume FIRST, is the one who gets paid (assuming that person is hired).  If you take the time to talk to the candidate, some other recruiter is submitting that same resume before you and you are out of luck.

Why I don’t do this:

First, I’ve had my resume submitted for jobs I did not want, in areas that I would not commute to and also once to a company where I had friends working and I knew it was about to move to another State.

Second, and more importantly, I cannot sleep at night if I even think I’m doing something to jeopardize someone’s job search.

There are good and bad in every profession.  Just be sure you work with someone you can trust.

Cover Letter Vocabulary

I recently received a cover letter that knocked me for a loop.  Word for word (with the exception of the names), as it was received is as follows:

“Joe Smith asked that I would get in touch with you as he and I both feel I would be the perfect acquisition for Company ABC.  The culmination of my eclectic back ground would allow for a seamless integration into the Company work force.  Please review my attached resume with intrigue and excitement.   Joe further said that Company ABC will be at an International Trade Shwo in Sand Frnsico, CA next week. I’m willing to fly down and meet with you and the President one on one.  I could then assist and work the show with Joe, which will afford a first hand look at my interpersonal skills.    Keep this in mind, it will only take a spark to start a fire, and I’m a never ending firework.” 

While it sounds somewhat like this was run through a language translator from something into English or someone using English as a second language, the degree and all work experience were from this country.

With the exception of “Talent Acquisition” I’ve never seen the use of the word acquisition in reference to an application.  I prefer to think you’re being hired, not acquired.

Eclectic backgrounds are interesting but I don’t know anyone who reads a resume with “intrigue and excitement.”

Two spelling mistakes in the same sentence.

And last, but not least, I’m not sure anyone really wants to hire a firework.

While some people do not even read cover letters, it is better to write one as professionally as possible, just in case.

DIY Job Search

My dear, departed grandmother used to say “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink it.”

It’s an old expression but lately it seems to be so true with job hunting that I swear I can hear her saying it now. “You can apply for them, but you can’t make them follow up, interview and actually accept a job offer.”

More often than you might think, I am receiving resumes from candidate’s parents, college career counselors and friends.

That’s a very nice thing for these people to do to try to help their children, students and friends find work. BUT, when it comes right down to it, a very small percentage of the actual candidates follow up on the initial contact.

I’ve called, emailed and texted the candidates directly. I’ve contacted the parent, counselor or friend directly and said “Yes I would be interested in speaking with them and have a possible job opportunity to discuss.” Thus far, less than 1% of the candidates have actually gotten back in touch with me.

Honestly, I do not bite and I’ve been told I’m very easy to talk with on the phone, so I’m at a loss to explain this.

Now What? – Part 1 – Your Resume

One question I hear the most is “Now what do I do?”

Whether you have suddenly found yourself out of work or after reworking your resume a dozen times or more, the question arises…where do I go from here?

It’s an excellent question and one I wish I had a fail-proof answer for…unfortunately I don’t. I do have some suggestions:

Start with your resume.

Look at it with “fresh eyes.” What does it say about you?

Just as you are judged in the first 30 seconds when you meet someone in person, your resume gets about 10 – 30 seconds before the reviewer moves on. When you are reviewing dozens or hundreds of resumes, you learn quickly to pick out what is important on a resume. That is assuming a person is actually looking at the resume. If it’s going through a computer and a keyword search program first, then the rules are even stricter.

Time yourself. What do you see on your resume in the first 30 seconds? Is your contact information easy to find and read? Can I reach you by phone or email? Do you live anywhere near the job opening? If you live locally and don’t include at least your city and state, you could be passed over because it appears you need relocation.

Trivia: In some instances in Word 2010, when I enable the document to save it, everything in the Header disappears. Not everyone knows how to get that back. So if your contact information is in a header, it may not stay visible.

Do you have an objective line that states specifically what job you want or do you change that for every job application? Are you remembering to change it? It’s a huge turn off to receive a resume with an objective stating a job other than the one that is open.

I see more candidates replacing the objective with a concise summary of experience and career highlights. It’s a good way to get the skills you have that are applicable to the job you are applying for to show up fast.

Are you assuming you are an engineer or accountant because you know you’re an engineer or accountant or because your resume states that very clearly somewhere near the top?

Are your titles clear? Dates of employment? Educational background?

Have you included the specific technical skills (MSOffice, C#, .NET, SolidWorks) required for the job? Never assume that just because you have done the same type of work, the hiring manager will know you already know how to use the tools/software they have.

If you have been unemployed for some time, what have you been doing with your time? It is much more impressive to show that you are taking classes relevant to you field in your free time or keeping current on the technology.

Common advice seems to be to leave off the date of graduation to avoid “age discrimination.” I’ve seen resumes that have no dates at all on them. In my opinion, that’s going overboard. How can I tell if you have three months of work experience or 30 years if I don’t know when you worked somewhere and for how long? Are you a job hopper, spending a couple of months in each position or can you show longevity in each position? Dates are important.

If you have more experience than is required for the position, there’s nothing wrong with abbreviating your resume to the last 10 – 15 years to show the experience that is relevant to the current opening. But don’t assume that someone will know that you have just exactly what they need in your background, if you’ve cut it off the resume because it was 20 years ago.

Read it word for word backwards if you have to. Make sure there are no spelling mistakes.

Looking for a job is a full time job. No matter what happens you have to keep a positive attitude and project a competent and upbeat persona. Be the kind of employee that everyone wants to work with…even if you have to fake it for a little while. There is truth to the power of positive thinking.

Job Hunting Suicide – 2

On the continuing theme of job hunting advice that is not for every situation…I would like to tell a story. Actually this has happened to me on more than one occasion, with the same end result.

As a recruiter, I rarely share the name of my client company with a potential applicant. There are multiple reasons for this:

• My client is conducting a confidential search and doesn’t want anyone to know they are hiring for a particular position.

• In keeping with the confidential search process, some applicants will follow up with phone calls. Multiple phone calls. So many phone calls that a restraining order might be a good idea. When a client company uses a recruiter, the recruiter is the one who has to field all those follow up calls.

• Once an applicant knows the name of my client, they can bypass me and submit their resume directly. This is bad for what I think is an obvious reason, but I’m surprised at how many people don’t seem to know that most recruiters are paid on a commission-only basis. If we do not submit the resume for the person who is ultimately hired, we do not get paid.

In the instance where a recruiter does tell you who their client company is, this information should be respected. Not only are you expected to not bypass the recruiter to submit your resume, you are also expected not to tell everyone you know “Company Wonderful is hiring and you should send your resume right in.”

You could, however, say “There’s a recruiter I know working on a terrific job opening and you should contact her.”

So, back to my story… One day, I was on the phone with an applicant. We were discussing, in detail the requirements for a position. I was trying to determine if he was truly the perfect fit that he appeared to be.

After we hung up, I forwarded his resume to my client company. Within ten minutes I received a call from my client. Four minutes before my email arrived, the applicant I was speaking with had forwarded his resume. He was actually submitting his resume to my client while we were on the phone.

Technically, as I did not submit the candidate, I was no longer the recruiter on record and would not be paid a commission.

In reality, this is what happened. My client called me and said it was obvious to her that the candidate was trying to bypass me and that he had to have been talking with me on the phone while he was submitting his resume.

My client asked me to call the applicant back and tell him they were not interested in hiring someone with such low ethics.

Sadly, he was a very good fit, but at that point there was nothing I could do or say to save the situation.