When you put out a job offer, how do you decide which person to seriously consider? There are bound to be applications coming in from everywhere. How do you weed out the good from the bad, where do you start? Here are some pointers to help decide which ones to toss in the trash.
1. If they fail to follow your instructions: Say you have posted your job offer on line. In the instructions you tell them to include the words “job offer” in the topic line. There either isn’t anything there or something like “here’s my resume”. Do you really want to hire someone who can’t even read and follow a simple instruction?
2. Having a “cutsie” email address: You go through their application and under contact is the email address “bigbadbob@______”. Really? How unprofessional is that? Do you want someone to work for you who doesn’t have the professionalism to have an email address that doesn’t make you wince? Move on and throw that bad boy out.
3. A resume that has cobwebs: An updated resume is important. There shouldn’t be reference numbers that aren’t in service, a job that has been left and not dated or a reason for leaving not listed. Everything should be current, completed and up to date. You shouldn’t have to play “guess where I worked last”.
4. Current references: You should be able to call the references on the resume and get actual people. Not a number that doesn’t exist or a number out of service or worse, you get a “who?’. The person has absolutely no idea who you are talking about. You feel like an idiot, you’ve wasted precious time and you’re frustrated. If the person doesn’t care enough to keep their references updated on what they’re doing, how well would they do their job? Would they be dedicated and responsible? A reference is used for many reasons. You may want to know if the applicant would work long hours, how they would deal with potentially challenging or stressful situations. How is their work ethic? Are they a team player? If the references are unreachable, then you can’t ask these and other important questions. The applicant loses.
5. The unprofessional attached file: So the application looks good and the instructions have been followed so far. Then you get to the attached file. This file has their resume on it and perhaps a work sample of their writing. You go to open it and it’s locked up tight. How can you read and evaluate something you can’t open? Or worse, the file says “resumeforanyjob”. Take notice, if the file says “resumeforlinda’sstuff”, which is the name of your company, then the person has taken the time to make sure their resume fits the job they are applying for. If it’s a generic file, then they are submitting to anything that comes along. You do want someone who pays attention to details and who cares about their work.
By paying attention to these few suggestions, you can quickly go through the pile of applications that have submitted for the job you posted. They will help you choose more wisely and hire the applicant that is right for your job!
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