Recruiters: Red Flags to Watch Out For

Whether you’re looking for a job or in charge of filling a position, there are a few key red flags to be aware of. The economy is still recovering, which means you either have a lot of competition to deal with or a lot of resumes to sift through. Only a select few will make it to the top, and some common faux pas can easily put a CV in the slush pile. Red flags on resumes are instant – easy reasons to pass on a job applicant.

This goes beyond the typos on your cover letter, although that’s a very common red flag. If a job applicant can’t put in the effort to spell check their application, what does that say about their work ethic? From positions selling computers to planning corporate events, applications should be grammatically spotless. However, there are a few less obvious warning signs to watch out for. [Read more...]

Michael C Deaven

Michael is a full-time blogger who has passions in all corners of the online world. In his down time he enjoys being outdoors, traveling, and blogging on everything from technology, to business, to marketing, and beyond.

Filed Under: Cover Letter, Personal Branding, Recruitment, Resume, Screening Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

The Top 6 Job Hunting Mistakes to Avoid

Job hunting and resume writing offer many pitfalls to the unwary. Knowing which mistakes to avoid increases your chance of impressing an employer with your credentials and securing that all-important job interview. Here are six common job-hunting mistakes you need to avoid:

1. Lack of a Cover Letter

It’s unclear what the source of this statistic is, but some sites claim 50 percent of cover letters never get read. The implication is you can skip writing a cover letter altogether.

Ah, but there’s a catch, isn’t there? If half of all cover letters are ignored, it follows the remaining half are read. So not including a cover letter is like playing the job applicant’s version of Russian roulette. Employers expecting to see a cover letter will dismiss any applicant who hasn’t taken the time to write one.

Even if an employer doesn’t read your cover letter, don’t assume they aren’t looking for one. Companies use some odd strategies to cull job applicants. An employer may not read the letter, but still cull applications without letters. If so, your unread cover letter might still get you through a round of the applicant selection process.

Frankly, when the job market is this intense, not including a cover letter is a major mistake. At worse, it won’t get read; if it is, your letter gives you a chance to sell yourself and your resume to the employer. Don’t take chances!

2. Not Networking

It’s reasonably common for people with good resumes to assume their work speaks for itself. As a result, they think they don’t need to network. Unfortunately, many of these confident, talented people remain unemployed.

In today’s competitive job market, you cannot afford not to network and social media makes networking easier than ever. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter allow job hunters to display their resumes, make industry connections and build a reputation on industry forums and message boards. For example, an expert in contractor software might offer advice to software users on one of LinkedIn’s forums, building connections that eventually lead to a job.

Don’t assume online networking eliminates the need for in-person networking. Nothing beats a face-to-face meeting. Join professional networks and attend local events likely to attract professionals in your industry.

3. Overly Creative Resumes

We’ve all heard tales of people who secured employment because they created elaborate, creative resumes. Sometimes taking an unorthodox approach to your resume works. In most cases, attempts to make a resume stand out only work long enough to get tossed on the reject pile.

Perfumed paper, bunny stickers, weird font choices and outlandish graphics all fall under creative flairs best left for birthday cards, not resumes. If your normal email looks something like “HotBob45@party.com” create a new email with a more professional feel. Employers aren’t impressed with unprofessional emails.

You may use online acronyms among friends, but use of “words” such as LOL, IMO and other online shortcuts on a resume won’t make a good impression on employers. Nor, for that matter, will spelling errors. Use your spell-checker. A single spelling mistake can make or break a resume.

On the other side of the creativity canyon, don’t use a standardized resume template, such as the ones Microsoft Word provides. Hirers have seen thousands of cookie-cutter resumes, and recognize them immediately. A template resume implies you lacked the will and imagination to write and format your own resume. Even worse, they’re boring.

4. Unfocused Resumes

Some resumes meander from education history to employment to skills without focusing on what’s important: why the employer should hire the applicant. Your resume should quickly and concisely tell your employer what he or she needs to know.

Don’t waste time. You’ve only got a few seconds for your resume to make an impression or it’s going into the reject pile. Use bulleted lists for your skills and achievements rather than burying them in dense, hard-to-scan paragraphs.

Tailor the resume to each specific job, but don’t take large amounts of text from the job description. Employers recognize this instantly – after all, they wrote the job description. You’re better off paraphrasing short parts of the job description and modifying your resume to suit the job. Which brings us to the next huge job applicant mistake:

5. Lying or “Elaborating” on an Application

I get it. I really do. The current job market is competitive and sometimes you need an edge to get noticed. Exaggerating a few areas of your resume tempts many job applicants. Some people pad their academic achievements. Others exaggerate their job accomplishments or neglect to mention certain parts of their job history.

Ethics aside, I can provide a very compelling reason not to, ahem, fictionalize your resume: you’ll get caught. Employers can cherry-pick their employees in a tight economy. They check facts online or pay for professional background checks. If the results of their research don’t match what’s on your resume, you’re not getting hired.

6. Applying without Cause

Finally, avoid the temptation to apply for jobs where you lack qualifications. A school of job hunting suggests under-qualified applicants should apply for jobs anyway because doing so shows moxie and gets applicant names onto the hirer’s desk.

Your resume will indeed wind up on someone’s desk, but they won’t be impressed by your moxie. They won’t think “Here’s a real go-getter, let’s keep him in mind for other positions”. They’ll just toss your resume. If they remember you at all, their opinion will be negative.

Apply for jobs you’re capable of performing. Tailor your resume for each application, and keep your networking ear to the ground for upcoming positions. Don’t lose hope; eventually persistence and hard work will pay off, and you’ll find the job you want.

Michael C Deaven

Michael is a full-time blogger who has passions in all corners of the online world. In his down time he enjoys being outdoors, traveling, and blogging on everything from technology, to business, to marketing, and beyond.

Filed Under: Cover Letter, Job Search Tagged With: , ,

Cover Letters: Do Employers Actually Read Them?

A cover letter is an opportunity to connect with the hiring manager. It is your opportunity to make them want to meet you over the many other CVs they have in their inbox.

Some say that employers don’t value them, but people must remember that the hiring manager is not just an email address – they are a person. Each has his or her own likes and dislikes and there are many who put a huge amount of value on cover letters.

What most hiring managers seem to agree on is that they do not value cover letters that read something like this:

To whom it may concern,
I am applying for the role of ………
I feel I have the skills you are looking for.
Please see my CV enclosed/attached.
I look forward to hearing from you
Mrs. A Bateman

And yet, so many cover letters that I see are similar to this one. What a wasted opportunity!

10 years ago, when I first started recruiting, this type of cover letter would probably do the job. However, in the current market, people have to ‘up their game’!

In order to make sure your cover letter is exceptional I would advise you follow these steps:

  • Make it Personal – Do your best to find out the name of the hiring manager (even if you have to call the receptionist and ask).
  • State The Position You are Applying For - It’s obvious (I know) but I receive so many applications which say ‘I would like to apply for the role advertised’ and I am often working on more than one.
  • Tell Them Why You Picked Them – If you want an employer to be genuinely interested in you, you need to make them feel that you are genuinely interested in them.
  • Tell Them Why They Should Pick You – Don’t just tell them you are suitable; tell them why you are suitable.
  • Add A Short Quote From a Referee – I graduated with a marketing degree and for three years I studied how advertisers and marketers use positive customer experiences to sell products/services. When I joined the recruitment world, I noticed that we have these and they are called references, but they are used at the end of the sale process!?! Your references/testimonials are your best sales tool, so use them and input a quote from your best one.
  • Tell Them How Much You Want It – Show some passion and use emotive language!

I can promise you that far more employers will value a cover letter than those who won’t, so always include one and make it count. Have you had any success with cover letters? Let us know in the comments below.

Aimee Bateman

Aimee Bateman worked for some of the world's largest recruitment companies, before setting up her own consultancy. She has helped thousands of people get their dream jobs and has appeared in a number of TV programmes as the 'Recruitment Expert' on BBC 1 and BBC 3. Aimee is also the founder of Careercake.TV which is designed to help people thrive in their careers. Follow Aimee on Twitter @CareercakeTV.

Filed Under: Cover Letter, Job Search Tagged With: , ,

7 Phrases I Never Want to See on Your Cover Letter

not good cover letters to write

The cover letter is a critical document that makes a good difference in the job application procedure of the applicant. It presents you in a professional manner to the employer and lets the employer know that you are the most desired candidate for the job position for which you have put in your job application. Hence, it is very essential to produce a well written cover letter that will win the attention of the recruiter and thereby, amplify your opportunities of winning the desired job interview.

The candidate must ensure that the cover letter is written in an uncomplicated language so that the reader does not have troublesome experiences while interpreting the document. The candidate should plan what points are needed to be included in the cover letter. The best way to do it is to create a basic skeleton of the cover letter. Later, the candidate can add more points and elaborate the letter. Every cover letter should have an introduction, body, and conclusion. At the end of the letter, the candidate should give his gratitude to the recruiter for having read the document.

It should be noted that the job title, name and address of the organization, and the personal details of the applicant must be mentioned in a precise and accurate way without any mistake. The candidate should avoid beating around the bush and come right to the point. This will avoid the unnecessary lengthening of the letter and even maintain the curiosity of the employer to read your document. It is beneficial to use the online proofreading tools for making sure that your letter is free from any type of typographical errors, sentence construction errors or spelling mistakes.

Most of the applicants are found performing the usual mistakes in their cover letters, especially by adding some phrases which are strictly needed to be eradicated from an ideal cover letter.

7 phrases you need to avoid in your cover letter:

  1. To whomsoever it may concern: This is one of the common phrases that the applicants make use of in their cover letters. It is more a generic kind of phrase which is not suitable to be included in the letter. Every letter should be addressed to a specific person. Therefore, it is necessary to clearly mention the name of the individual to whom the letter is addressed. Moreover, such kind of phrases showcase unprofessional attitude to the reader, which creates a spoiled impression on the recruiter
  2. Call me at… : It is a phrase which most of the candidates use in their cover letters so as to make sure that the employer gives them a call once he/she decides to select them for the job position they have applied for. However, this is not the right way to invite the interview call from the employer through your letter. The candidate should be subtle in his language and ask the employer to call him for further procedures in a more formal and humble manner. For example, ‘You can contact me as per your convenience’
  3. Yours lovingly: This is a commonly made mistake by the applicants in their cover letters. Such phrases are usually used as a concluding phrase in informal letters and not in formal letters like ‘the cover letter’. Since the cover letter is drafted to the recruiter with a purpose of applying for a job, it should be created in a professional way by keeping in mind the formal etiquette of letter writing. Instead of such phrases, you can use ‘yours sincerely’, ‘yours respectfully’, ‘regards’, etc., in your cover letter
  4. I want a positive response: This is a too direct and commanding type of phrase which the applicants should avoid using in their cover letters. On the contrary, phrases like ‘I am waiting for an affirmative reply from you’ or ‘I hope for a positive response’ can be used by the candidates in their letters. These sentences sound more formal and modest. The purpose behind including these sentences in the document is to receive a reply from the addressee for the job application sent
  5. Phrases with ‘I’: It is redundant to use phrases starting with the word ‘I’. This is another type of common error that most applicants use in their cover letters. Due to constant use of the word ‘I’, the reader may lose his interest in reading the letter. In this case, the candidates can try to use different words or start the sentence with any word other than ‘I’. Another way to avoid the word ‘I’ is to change the structure or formation of the sentence in such a way that it does not start with the word ‘I’
  6. Looking for an interesting job: This is a non specific phrase which does not really tell the employer what exactly is the applicant looking for. While drafting any type of cover letter, the candidate should be very specific and not let the reader keep guessing about it. The candidate should be very clear while mentioning the job title he is applying for; otherwise, it may create confusion in the hiring process. There is also a possibility of the recruiter evaluating the candidate for some other position which the candidate is not looking for. Hence, such phrases should be avoided in the document
  7. I feel that…: This phrase is considered to be vague in the corporate world. By using such phrases, you tell the reader that you are low in confidence. It shows that you are not sure about what you are talking about. It has to be either ‘I believe’ or ‘I am confident’. As a candidate, you need to be confident and maintain clarity in speech. This will help the recruiter to understand you and reflect you as a sure-footed and steady individual

Once you are aware of these 7 cover letter phrases which need to be stringently avoided, you can develop your skills for drafting an idealistic cover letter.

Related: How to Make Your Cover Letter Grab the Employer’s Attention.

Sandy Dsouza is a freelance author and blogger who is having more than 4 years of experience in the field of writing. She is always eager to share her knowledge on various topics like resume and career development. Connect with her on Twitter to know more about her and also to get new tips and updates from her own experiences. Check out more on resume and cover letter tips at bestsampleresume.com.

photo by: JohnGoode

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