I was recently asked to manage a piece of recruitment for a company as they needed a Business Development Manager. They were flexible with their requirements in terms of industry background, as long as the individual had a successful track record in sales.
After presenting my shortlist of four individuals, three of whom I already knew and rated professionally, I was certain all four would be interviewed.
However, one of the ladies I presented wasn’t actually on LinkedIn and my client wouldn’t see her on this basis. He just wouldn’t contemplate interviewing someone for a business development role who hadn’t yet utilised and seen the benefit of LinkedIn.
I agreed it was his company and clearly he should be comfortable with the way his team are representing the business and building relationships, but I pushed him to meet her.
Anyway, it went well and he thanked me for challenging his thoughts, but it has left me wondering how many other hiring managers would feel the same? Each person is different; some hold things dear that others wouldn’t value and I expect it would be a different matter if the role weren’t within sales.
I know some people are more judgmental than others and here is a little list of just some of the things my clients have been put off by recently:
- Photos that don’t match the personal brand your CV is promoting. For example, an image of someone with his colleagues in what looked like the back of a limo with a bottle of champagne in his hand. Oh and the guy who was leaning against a Ferrari with a pair of sunglasses on…my client really didn’t like that.
- The candidate who used the summary section to describe what she was looking for in a perfect job and what an employer could offer her, rather than selling the benefits she could bring.
- It sounds obvious, but people with incomplete career history, or dates that don’t match the CV. Unfortunately these profiles are extremely common.
Finally, it isn’t just the profile that can harm an application. The way people communicate on LinkedIn can be quite sloppy and hurried at times. A hiring manager, after receiving an application where the job seeker had expressed how much they wanted to work for her, sent the job seeker a connection request. The job seeker responded with ‘Excuse me, but who are you and how exactly do I know you?’
I’m actually quite forgiving when it comes to LinkedIn profiles, but even I have refused to meet people due to their LinkedIn conduct (the hiring manager in that last example was actually me!)…..but to initially reject a candidate because they weren’t on it at all? I’m not so sure about that. Would you do that? Let us know in the comments below!
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