Good Advice for Job Seekers

The longer I engage in the work of running search committees and listening to hiring managers debrief candidates, the more I become convinced that most job seekers stand or fall on the basics.  It's painful to see potentially qualified candidates "blow it" because the make one of many classic errors in their cover letter (e.g., "I, me, I"), their resume (e.g., 3 pages riddled with typos), or the interview (e.g., dissing the receptionist in the lobby or failing to shake hands).

One of the reasons I started this blog was to share some of those basic errors in the job search in order to help job seekers be more successful in their quest.  Jason Monastra at Lambentpath has done the same thing.  A veteran recruiter, Jason blogs about job search tips and strategies to help seekers be successful. 

I like his recent posting on having a professional e-mail address.  I've had candidates with e-mail addresses like "supermodelwannabe" and "gottafish."  Monikers like that are fun for friends and family, but unfortunately can distract potential employers from more important things in your cover letter and resume.

I also like that his postings are instructive and encouraging rather than snarky.  If you are conducting a job search in these competitive times, take a look around Jason's blog and you'll find some good advice and encouragement!

Comments

[Jason Monastra]

Thanks for the kudos. Much appreciated.

Your statement about it being painful to watch good candidates get caught in the net of avoidable errors is something I relate to. Working in this business, and seeing companies pass on great people for some of the smallest things can drive you batty.

However, I think there is something to learn there. Candidates take the job search process from a casual perspective. With computers and email, face to face contact is limited and therefore a person's guard can be down. What they need to understand, and all of us for that matter, is that when we press submit or send, that is for the most part all a potential employer will ever see of us. I think if people realized how important it was, that they would proof read and take the time to ensure there best foot was forward.

[William Mitchell, CPRW]

Being a resume writer, it is part of the process to proof the work several times before finalizing for a client. I instruct callers who decide to do their own work to proof at least two times: once for phrasing and flow, and again for spelling and grammar. It is two separate mindsets and should be done separately.

[Mark M]

Helpful article and a very helpful site. We all need encouragement and to be positive in the job search. Here is another fairly new tool your readers may want to know about. A website called http://www.linkup.com can be another helpful tool for job searching today. Many employers are still hiring, but they don't post on the main job boards (which is where most of these other aggregate sites search) because they are getting inundated with resumes from tons of people that are not qualified. However, the company is still required to post the job--so they may just post it on their own company website. This website is a search engine that looks at company websites only. It's free and can be very helpful.

[lynn]

check out selectcandidates.com to submit your resume

[angstcorner]

Nice Advice and suggestion

[morren]

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[Derek Rosenstrauch]

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The thing about the "professional e-mail" is simply indispensable. My friend has this strange and comic e-mail, and he keeps putting it on his resume... is there any hope for him? I don't think so.

[Austin Jobs]

Right on.

Adults with email addresses like "[email protected]" need to step up the professionalism a notch. First and last name/initial is much better.

To take it a step further, MSN.com and YAHOO addresses are also out of style.

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[Steven Johnson]

By experience, nothing gets you so not hired like an email address dubbed [email protected]. And the funny thing is, this often happens.

[Katy TX Jobs]

[email protected] isn't going to cut it... but I don't see anything wrong with [email protected]

[alexis]

A lot of people in their rush to find employment forget to stop and consider all of the little things like you point out in your post.

[Jack R.]

Thanks for the info ole chap, really helpped me out.

[Charles]

When you get to the executive level in your career, you’d think that you know a thing or two about going for that ‘intimidating’ interview. Yet, you have to take a step back and remember that executives are the best at what they do, they’re not professional interviewees. We deal with top executives, headhunters and companies looking to recruit here in South Africa – and we offer them as much help as possible. Thanks for the referral to Jasons Blog! You can check out our website here: http://www.executiveplacements.com.

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[Lua Belle]

Whoa, thanks alot. I was wondering about half those thing already. So thanks for the answers!

[Richard Aslam]

Job search is not an easy task. It is important to get proper advice from the professionals that can help to get appropriate job. London job search provides with effective guidance in support to get you proper job.

[Job-Maldives.com]

Using a professional email address can be the first impression when the hiring manager looks at your resume. Please remember each and every letter in your resume can make a big difference.

[Helping You Hire]

Involved in the Staffing Services ad Staffing Solutions business, I found this to be very interesting and helpful. As a matter of fact, I rejected a candidate today for having an inappropriate email address.