Don’t Let Your Resume Sabotage Your Networking Efforts
As a writer who devotes the majority of her waking hours to advising college students and recent graduates about landing jobs, it’s more than a little discouraging when one of your own readers applies for a position in the following manner. And yes, this is a true story.
Several weeks ago, I posted a few paid internships on my website GradtoGreat.com. One was for a graphic design internship. Within hours I received an e-mail that appeared in my inbox from “Dr. Love.” I wouldn’t even have opened the e-mail had the subject line not said “internship application.” Attached to the e-mail were a semi-professional resume and cover letter. The young man’s real name was included in these documents, so of course I Googled him to find out if he had an online portfolio, since he had failed to include a link to one in his application materials. I did not find any samples of his work, but what I did find was his Twitter account for which he had chosen the handle “porkrinthehine.” Did he seriously think this would land him on the short list for the job?
The reason I bring this up is not to single out and disparage grads who have less than a clue as to how to break into the workforce, but to give hope to the grads who spend countless hours proofreading their resumes and polishing their online presence. It does make a difference, and when coupled with a networking referral, you have a good chance of being called in for an interview.
Hiring managers receive hundreds (if not thousands) of resumes for every job they have available these days. And for a recent grad, the odds of having your resume plucked from the pile seem slim. But the truth is that three-quarters of the resumes submitted for every job have one of the following issues:
1. Typos
Hiring managers are growing weary of job applicants who are unable to locate the spellcheck tool on their keyboards. If your resume has a typo, it will be tossed. The only typos that don’t eliminate you from the initial resume screening process are ones that hiring managers wouldn’t notice. For example, if you spell your name wrong and they don’t know who you are…no big deal. Of course, if you get to round two and go from Juli to Julie, don’t expect to move on to round three.
2. Skills indicated on your resume do not match the job description in the slightest
Please stop applying for graphic design positions if you’re only experience is making sandwiches at a deli counter and you don’t know how to operate a Mac.
3. The applicant has unknowingly included something on the resume that offends the hiring manager
This can be anything from loud graphics to information that seems gratuitous; a lack of information or an inappropriate e-mail address. There are many more examples that we’ll talk about in later posts.
4. The applicant has spelled the hiring manager’s name wrong in the cover letter or e-mail
Take a few minutes (or hours in some cases) and do the research. Some hiring managers will excuse this, but many won’t. If you know the name of the hiring manager, it’s only logical to assume that you have the brains to figure out a way to make sure you spelled their name right on your cover letter.
5. The applicant has sent the resume to the wrong person and it never gets forwarded on
This happens sometimes, and often you don’t know that your resume has been lost forever at a certain company.
6. The objective statement is used in a manner that the hiring manager doesn’t like
Some hiring managers abhor objective statements, whereas others don’t mind them as long as you state what you can do for the company. (We’ll talk more about this in a later post.)
>Note: If you are someone who proofreads everything, and who has been described by others as fastidious, meticulous, or detail-oriented, skip the next paragraph and get out there and network! Your efforts will pay off in the next few months, and you will land a job. Just stick with it. You need to be persistent and tenacious in this job market. If not, stay with me here.
So, while I am aghast that I even have to state this again, I feel duty bound to do so. Do not use offensive e-mail addresses or Twitter handles in any correspondence, ever. Employers will find them online and they immediately disqualify you from getting called in for an interview. And the absolute worst case scenario is when someone (who is already working for the company you are applying to) recommends you to their manager, and you send in a resume with a typo or something offensive. Not only do you look bad, but you make the person who went out of their way to recommend you look bad. They will not be likely to help you in the future and now you’ve lost a potential job offer, and a networking referral. Do yourself a favor and spend a few hours right now making sure that everything about your resume and online presence is professional and not offensive in the least.
Next week we’ll talk about the best way to approach someone for help with your job search.
About the Author
Anne Brown is a former journalist who became involved in writing about career development and success strategies, after gaining experience in a wide variety of fields and industries herself. Anne has worked for universities, non-profits, start-ups, and large corporations. She’s worked in offices as large as tens of thousands, and for firms of less than ten. Before becoming the full-time editor of GradtoGreat.com, Anne was the Director of Operations & Senior Web Producer at Sender LLC, a design and digital brand consultancy in Chicago. She is also the founder of GradtoGreat.com and co-author of "Grad to Great: Discover the Secrets to Success in Your First Career" (Dalidaze Press, 2007) as well as "Some Assembly Required: A Networking Guide for Graduates" (New Year Publishing, May 2010). She received her B.A. from Michigan State University, and her MBA from Loyola University in Chicago. She is also an alumnus of the Executive Scholar program at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
