I would like to add some points to Sarah’s list of poor job-seeking techniques:
- Don’t put an email address in your contact information if it contains some variation of a celebrity’s name. It comes across as unprofessional (and a tad creepy, to be honest). Use some variation of your name and initials.
- Don’t claim to do work you didn’t do at a previous job, particularly when you’re sending a resume to the person who actually did that work in the time period you specified. (Yes, that happened during our last round of resumes; I didn’t react too well to seeing my work on another person’s resume.)
- If the posting for a job says no phone calls, do not call about the job. Also, if you work for a staffing agency and call about a job posting that is labeled “principals only,” you earn whatever curt responses you may encounter when you call the company or send swarms of email.
All this being said, we have seen some really good resumes and cover letters (and email addresses reflecting applicants’ names).
Also, in your email address, do not indicate your political affiliation, such as:
democrat62@blahblah.com
or
iloverush@blahblah.com
Unless, of course, you’re applying for a job with a political party; in which case you should make sure that your email address matches the affiliation they’ll be looking for.
PS I wish I were making this up.
How do employers view blogs? If you’re reviewing a stack of resumes, and you see that someone has a blog (related to the topic of their career), is that a benefit or liability in the person’s job search?
Also, how frequently would you say that employers google applicant names?
A career-related blog can be an asset, provided that it is:
(Although I see you show up at numbers #6 and #7. Nice.)
* Well-written
* Entertaining
* Interesting
* Not TOO outrageous
Google can be a useful way of validating an applicant’s resume “story.” It works better for people who have names less common than “Tom Johnson.”
Blogs, e-mail lists, and forums are all evil. You should avoid them all, just as I do.
As Alan received a resume listing work he performed, I actually interviewed someone who brought in a manual I’d written for a client of mine. He turned a ghastly pale when I got up and pulled it off my bookshelf.
Good post. Hope to see more excellent posts in the near future.
Wow, GREAT stories!
I have seen my work on another person’s resume, but (unfortunately) they weren’t applying to me at the time. How I wish…