I came across a sales resume this morning that listed this title for the person’s current sales position: Bid Writer Every siren at Select Metrix simultaneously went off on that one. If you are in sales and this is your title, change it on your resume. This title reads of someone who simply responds to Request For Proposals (RFP). Yet, this salesperson describes himself as a “High Performance Salesperson.”
Continue ReadingWearing Out The Delete Key
From a cover email I just received in response to an ad for a regional sales manager: Hi, Lee. I am _____. I live in __, however, I am international, or regional, or national, or whatever the job calls for. It gets worse. The candidate worked in a collection-type role and included 2 pages of collections (amounts, dates, commission, payment type). He included the first and last names of the people from which he collected the late payments. Unbelievable.
Continue ReadingA Memorable Resume Title
I’ve been mining through a major job board resume database looking for a specific type of salesperson this morning which is tedious work. The “detailed” view includes very little information about the person. The one item that does stand out is the resume title. Most are boring and forgettable. However, I did find this one rather clever: “Dry Behind The Ears” Sales Pro That is a good approach to get noticed from a long list. In a separate resume, the person appears to have mistyped. Well, at least I think he mistyped. His desired salary is $801,000. I have a feeling that number is going to keep him out of… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Disarming Casualness Of The Web
We’re in full-fledge sourcing mode here at Select Metrix and I am taking up the task of resume mining. I am aghast at what I am finding. A new trend that I have seen before, but not to this level, is writing without capitalization. I know this is an offshoot of texting. My dislike of this improper writing format probably reveals my lack of appreciation for text messaging. I don’t do it – email is fine with me. Online resumes are difficult to manage in that the formatting is often truncated and oddly spaced due to the job board’s coding. Yet, capitalization is not affected. I just read through a resume… Read More
Continue ReadingOur Most Desired Question
One question we would love to hear more often from our customers is this, “What factors make this candidate a strong fit for our sales position?” This is the best question to ask when first viewing a candidate’s information. Unfortunately, we hear many customers resort to their old method for measuring a candidate – what does their resume contain? I often wonder if hiring would improve if resumes were removed from the process. I know it will never happen, but it would force hiring managers to take a more comprehensive approach to their decision-making. The focus would move from prejudging viability based solely on a sheet of paper to interviewing… Read More
Continue ReadingEnglish Gone Very Wrong
The latest update to Cover Letters From Hell is out and it is quite entertaining. The cover letter errors will make you laugh along with the snarky commentary from Killian’s people. One of my personal favorites this time (Killian’s comments in italics): “i am a freeelance writer and have worked with a magazine for almost three years before. i came across ur advertisement in [name of magazine]. if you wish i can send you my cv along with some sample writings.” “To seek career in a dynamic & well Organization which offer Good oppertunities & challenging revelant exposure, self enchancement & growth…” While we have no idea what this means,… Read More
Continue ReadingReading The Resume
If you have read The Hire Sense for any period of time, you know we have some strong feelings about using resumes to filter sales candidates. This approach is ripe with problems. However, we know it occurs and until we change the world on this topic, we’ll have to make the best of it. In that light, here are the items we look for when reading through resumes: Performance. Has the person succeeded by what you can see in their work history? Is this success supported by specific numbers? Progression. Has their sales career shown overall growth through their different positions? Have they been with only 1 company or have… Read More
Continue ReadingDumb And Dumber Resume Moves
I came across this quick info from The Career News newsletter (sorry, no link): Job site CareerBuilder.com recently asked pollsters Harris Interactive to survey hiring managers and find out the wackiest resume items they’ve seen lately. Out of 2,627 responses, here are the top ten resume blunders made by job candidates: Attached a letter from her mother. Used pale blue paper with teddy bears printed around the border. Explained a three-month gap in employment by saying that he was getting over the death of his cat. Specified that his availability to work Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays is limited because the weekends are “drinking time.” Included a picture of herself in… Read More
Continue ReadingMediocrity On Full Display
From the title of an online resume: Not the best…but NOT the worst… I would describe that title as inspiring.
Continue ReadingYou Need To Know Skills
The resume discussion rages on. Today’s ERE article by Dr. Williams is an excellent discussion about why skills are important in hiring. Resumes cannot clearly display a candidate’s skills so you have to do more digging. Here are a couple of excellent excerpts from the article (emphasis mine): Once you get past an executive’s glowing resume, dig for details. Most important, try to understand the skills and motivations he or she will bring to the job. Often these will not be evident in the resume, nor will they be evident in the interview. Both usually address results, but “results” are often not the same as skills. Think of results as… Read More
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