I’ve run into this resume issue many times and have realized I may be missing the boat here. When I look at a resume, here is what I believe I can learn: -Work History – Obviously, where they have worked, positions they have held, successes they have achieved, how long they have earned a paycheck in an industry. Oh, and it is probably embellished. And next-to-impossible to completely verify. -Education – I can find out where they attended college, what degrees they earned and whether they graduated magna or summa cum laude. And this is the section that contains the most falsehoods on any given resume. The information must be… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Automatic Cover Letter
From my junk mail: Stop writing cover letters the hard way. _____________ helps you quickly and easily crank out a killer cover letter that is guaranteed-to keep your phone ringing. With just a click-of-a-button, fill in the blanks and in just 3.5 minutes out pops a brilliantly worded and perfectly crafted cover letter – 100% customized for you. I think “customized for you” needs further clarification. We are receiving a handful of cover letters with the exact same wording in each of them.
Continue ReadingAnother Cover Letter Bomb
From a resume received by a VP of HR: Here are my qualifications for you to overlook.
Continue ReadingWipe Your Facebook
The thought of using social networking sites as part of a candidate background check has been debated greatly in recent months. I have to confess, I am of two minds on the topic. Foxnews.com offers up an interesting story titled Job Hunters Hire Pros to Clean Up Online Profiles. Some CareerBuilder.com stats are provided within the story: A study of 1,150 hiring managers by Careerbuilder.com found 26 percent of managers admitted to using search engines such as Google and 12 percent of managers said they used social networking sites like Facebook.com in their hiring process. … Of the 12 percent who checked social networking sites, 63 percent declined to hire… Read More
Continue ReadingHow Did We Get This Resume?
Have you ever been flummoxed by some bizarre resumes you have received in response to a clearly written ad? We receive them frequently. And often we explain these scenarios to our customers. In case you ever wondered, I received a promotional email today that revealed much: You can use <product> to instantly search all major job sites (at the same time) for jobs you like. Next, review the jobs it found and put a check mark next to your favorites. Then, press a single button to send your resume & cover letter to ALL the jobs you checked. It’s that easy! You can apply to 1 or 1000 jobs all… Read More
Continue ReadingWho Have You Met?
I’m not sure this is the most compelling statement regarding your own skills on an email cover: I am better at network management than anybody I’ve ever met
Continue ReadingApostrophes Are Overrated
From a resume cover letter I found online: I have been sending emails to job postings to customer service/sales positions on <job board> now for awhile and I cant figure out why it is that I dont get any replies back. Im colleges educated from a 4 year liberal arts institution… As a fellow liberal arts-educated person, I do have sympathy for this person’s plight. I think a good first step would be punctuation and proof-reading.
Continue ReadingQuestioning A Potential Employer’s Sanity
I have a weakness for poorly-written cover letters and have enjoyed Cover Letters From Hell from Killian & Co. Their latest newsletter has a new twist – candidate responses to rejection letters. Ah, new territory to expand my enjoyment. This is the one that had me rolling: Dear Madam, Here in the body and mind of [Name], we express ourselves thoroughly and as accurately as possible. We highly regard integrity and honesty and as such, only pursue those actions that are aligned with those qualities. Thus, we have found some inconsistencies in your response and we feel compelled to respond… You say that you only ‘are able to’ pursue professional,… Read More
Continue ReadingGreat Cover Email Line
One guy closes with this line: P.S. – I haven’t taken a sick day in years – I don’t get sick. I don’t know why, but that line caught my attention and made me laugh. Not a bad technique to stand out in a crowd.
Continue ReadingTop 5 Candidate Lies
CareerBuilder offers up the 5 most common candidate lies in this article. They bring up a good point in that 85% of all companies perform some type of candidate verification. Surprisingly, candidates continue to embellish or falsify their information. The top 5 lies: Exaggerating Dates of Past Employment…as many as 35 percent of all resumes include discrepancies related to previous employment Falsifying the Degree or Credential EarnedWith roughly a 20 percent discrepancy rate in information provided by candidates regarding their education qualifications, it’s important that companies understand the variety of ways applicants lie to claim unearned degrees.Even if a candidate has earned a legitimate degree, the applicant may lie about… Read More
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