6 pieces of Really poor job seeking advice that you should ignore and why

Here are six of my favorite pieces of piss poor job search advice, for you to read and ignore at all costs:

1. ‘Only send your resume via an online job ad or the school’s web site, anything else is a waste of time’

The job ad may ask you to do this, but that’s exactly why you shouldn’t leave it at this; everyone else will be doing the same thing. Successful job seekers use friends, contacts and anybody else in their network to make contact with a potential employer. Playing by the rules often gets your resume to exactly the same place as everyone else. Ask yourself, do you want the same odds as everyone else, or better? If you’ve got a way into the decision maker’s office, use it.

From experience:

I already knew my current boss as she is a friend of my former boss. I’d met her at conferences and been to workshops she’d given. Although we have a ‘strict’ online application policy, I emailed her my resume and got an interview immediately, despite having not followed the accepted application process.

Ignore advice that instructs you to send one resume via the school’s web site and wait to hear from them. Do as they ask by filling in the form online but go beyond this. Even at this stage, extra effort to get you noticed.

2. ‘Wait for them to call you’

You can’t wait for schools to call you back. You just can’t, alright? You’ve got to call and follow up on the resumes you’ve sent and the applications you’ve made. If an ad says ‘no calls’, use your connections to put you in touch with someone who can put in a word with the hiring manager.

From experience:

When I was looking for my first job, I applied to several schools. A couple of years later, I happened to be sitting in a bar with someone who turned about to be the recruiter at one of the schools I’d applied to. I’d found a job fairly easily, so didn’t bear a grudge that he hadn’t at least called me, but I did ask why. He openly explained to me that either a) he’d filled up his desired number of interview slots before he’d gotten to my resume, or b) he’d called me but the phone was busy or he couldn’t get through, so moved on to the next applicant. Simple as that; no job for me.

Don’t sit and wait for the call to come. Your resume is in a stack with 100 others, and if you don’t take steps to push it up to the front of the line, no one else will.

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3. ‘Never send a paper resume, they never get read these days’

The response rate for sending snail mail letters is pretty high, and the approach is friendlier. A surface mail letter can increasingly often get you an interview in a case where an e-mail would get ignored or spam-filtered.

From experience:

One friend of mine sent her resume and cover letter via postal mail to a major university in the UAE and got a call a week later from a recruitment manager wanting to interview her in London, where she was living at the time. She showed up at the interview to see a fax copy of her actual, signed letter and resume sitting on his desk. An e-mail might have ended up in the spam folder to be forgotten forever. Don’t rule out the old-fashioned method.

What do you think recruiters do when they receive an e-mail resume? That’s right, by posting your CV, you are saving them the task of opening the email, downloading the attachment, opening it and then printing it. Whatever you do though, don’t use brightly coloured paper, stick to classic white.

4. ‘Bombard them with everything you have to make sure you get noticed’

Give them your CV, your cover letter, and your time in a phone call or face-to-face interview, but don’t give anyone your list of references or other documentation until it’s clear that mutual interest to move forward exists (usually after two interviews).

From experience:

A friend of mine decided to apply to a place I was working a few years ago, not a bad place and a definite step up from where he was working at the time. I arranged for an informal drop in meeting with the woman who did the hiring. A couple of days later, she came up to me and said, ‘I know he’s a friend of yours, but…’ He’d not only given his CV, but also practically a whole photo album of pics of him in the classroom and DVD with a video of one of his lessons. The HR lady told me that the pictures were total overkill and the lesson, which I was forced to watch as ‘punishment’ for some reason, really wasn’t very good: Too much too soon and my friend not only got noticed but had effectively applied his way out of consideration.

Let the employer know that you are happy to talk to see whether your interests and theirs crisscross. If there’s a good match and you want to take it further, you’ll feel better about sharing more time and energy on whatever measures they’ve constructed to weed out unsuitable candidates.

5. ‘Don’t bring up money’

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: Do bring up money. In the first interview, make reference to expecting a salary that reflects your experience and skills. By the second interview, let the employers know what your salary requirements are before they start getting ideas that they can get away with paying you loose change for your hard work.

From experience:

I know a few recruiters and the thing that bugs them the most is going through an hour-long interview with someone, only for their final question to be about the money and then get up and walk out because it was unsuitable for their needs. Worse still, some candidates will accept positions despite having no intention of taking the job because they have already been offered a better compensation package elsewhere. Recruiters I’ve spoken to generally just wish that interviewees would be open about their expectations, for everyone’s sake.

If your requirements are beyond what they’re willing or able to pay, not mentioning it will be a huge waste of time, yours and theirs. Also, if you take the job without talking about money, you’ll have nothing to complain about when your first salary is nothing like as much as what you were expecting. You’ll be surprised how often this happens. Set them straight, professionally, at the first opportunity.

6. ‘Don’t write a personal mission statement, it looks pretentious’

The summary or objective at the top of your résumé is your own, personal mission statement; it tells whoever is reading it, ‘This person knows who they are, what they’ve done, and why it matters.’

From experience:

The same friend who blew it with the photo album and dodgy video lesson had actually gotten off to a great start. Although I no longer work at the university, I still know the HR lady and bump into her from time to time. She still brings up my friend, mainly because of his gross overdoing it, but also because she can practically remember his mission statement word for word after almost five years. It instantly made a great impression.

Your Summary shows off your writing skills, shows that you know what’s significant in your background, and it offers a focal point to your resume. Don’t skip it, no matter how many people tell you it’s not necessary or important.

Feedback on and additions to this list will be greatly appreciated, looking forward to your comments as ever.

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