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Stop Crashing Your Career By Doing THIS!
You are sitting at your computer, ready to apply for your dream job. You have been waiting for the perfect job to be posted or the certain person to reach out to you and so you start to ponder your cover letter. The butterflies are in your stomach and anticipation of getting the job is in your head. You are sitting there thinking “What should I write in my cover letter??” Well, be relieved that as much as you hate writing covering letters, hiring manager hate reading them.
It takes 7 seconds to review a resume and 1 second to scan your cover letter. So the truth is if we see another cover letter that expresses the “desire to learn” or how your education and experience matches that of the job, or how you managed 15 people which can clearly be seen in your resume please, don’t shoot us, just pull our eyes out! As there is no such thing as an “eye catching” cover letter. Don’t be fooled by posts with information that must be in the cover letter. For the love of anything do not have one…it’s old school!
In the new school of thought, there is no secret to writing a great cover letter, except for not having one and here’s why:
Cover Letters Have Proven To Be Your Window For Error: Countless people make so many errors in their cover letter. Aside for the fact people still make spelling and grammatical errors, people also forget to ensure their cover letter matches their resume and social media platforms.
The ATS- Applicant Tracking System Is Against You- All recruiting firms and most companies use an ATS to make their recruiting efforts more efficient so your cover letter isn’t even kept! It gets deleted as your resume put into the system.
Your Resume Tells Your Story: We know your cover letter is full of jargon about how you want the job but would you apply if you didn’t want the job or work at the company your writing about in detail??
It’s So Damn Long!! What the heck are you writing?? You make it as though we have all the time in the world to sit an read a novel during our work day. If you can’t write quickly, what will it be like meeting you??
The Cover Letter Profiles Your Monotony: Everything you have written in the cover letter is profiled in the resume..we get it. You worked at a, b c company for x years, managed so many people etc etc…again there’s no need to reiterate it in your cover letter.
Your resume, if strong enough, will highlight the elements of your resume that will ensure you are the right match for the job and company you are applying for. If it doesn’t then revamp your resume. Gone are the days when it had to be one page. If you have experience profile it, highlight it, embrace it but let the cover letter die in peace.
If you want to get noticed, don’t write a cover letter write an introductory email about the person you are writing to, as it’s not all about you.
Jessica Glazer is the Recruitment Director/Founder of www.MindHR.com-a head-hunting and resume writing agency. She can also be heard on Montreal’s NewsTalk Radio CJAD and seen on BTMontreal and Global television speaking about employment related issues.
Over 1M Recruiters, Who Is The Right One?
Every job has it’s perks and down falls and the biggest downfall in recruitment is the quality of talent that comes through staffing firms directly so here are the qualities needed for top performing recruiters you should know about if you are going to be working with them:
Emotional Intelligence: Being smart is one thing but a great recruiter needs to be able to read people and situations. They need to know what to say when and how, and WITHOUT LYING! Lying gets you nowhere but trouble
Diligent To The Point of Obsession: It’s one thing to be a perfectionist however top performing recruiters are people of the now with the vision of the long term as everything has to happen instantly for their candidates and their clients but building the solid relationship is always #1.
Multi-Task Masters: There is no way a top performing recruiter will take on one job at a time or talk to one candidate for one search. The don’t NEED a retained search as they know that they will find the top candidate and there’s no way they are working with one company so why make a company work with only them? Due to their busy desk, they need to know how to manage a different projects at different stages, hand while being observant enough to know what priorities are. As I was once told it’s “Magic hands”.
Listen: In sales it’s always important to listen but recruiters aren’t just sales people selling a glass. Their class walks, talks, speaks to other glasses and if they fall of the shelf, the recruiter can’t just find the exact same glass. So it’s so important they listen to the needs of their clients.
Caring: In all jobs the bottom line is important but someone who is in recruitment for the money is in it for the wrong reasons. The career placement industry isn’t a numbers game, it’s about changing lives.
Friendly: If the recruiter you are working with can not take the time to talk to you with a smile and caring voice, you have a problem
Sense of Sportsmanship:Recruiting is the People Person Sport. It’s impossible to be a successful recruiter without a team. It takes a village to make the right higher. They need the right tools and guidance from their clients and their candidates so if they aren’t working with you, they aren’t going to be able to help you
Energized: If a recruiter sounds like Eeyor you have a problem, they shouldn’t be like Tiger either. You need them to be a healthy balance of professional, fun and educated regarding your needs.
Self-Motivated: A recruiters lively hood depends on the clients they manage and the jobs they fill. If they are happy with just being at the level they are at, they will not strive to fill your jobs as they have no drive. A top preforming recruiter has drive faster then a formula 1 racer.
Ridiculous Researcher: A top recruiter won’t just research a company to know what they do, they will know the company and the match of what they are looking for better then an adult tooth moving into a mouth. They love to research, to the point of almost stalking. It;s their passion to research, learn and talk to others. It’s just in their blood.
Laugh At Themselves: If they can’t laugh at themselves they will die as some things said and done along the way can kill them…literally.
14 Small Business, Big Hiring Mistakes
Expanding a small company is never easy. Everyone has a role and in a small office a bad hire has a greater impact. Below are 14 of the biggest hiring mistakes small business make:
Hiring A Friend Not A Fit: Your friend is great but unless you already have an established company keep them out of the office. There are studies that less work is completed when hiring a friend plus there is a reason you don’t mix business with pleasure…not everyone can separate the two.
Not Knowing What You Need:You know you need someone but do you know where or how. Write a list regarding where you feel your company is lacking strength from there you can decide where you need to hire but once you decide to commit to hire, hire.
Hiring Someone With Limited Skills: Don’t pin one person into a specific category. When hiring, think of their growth potential as you intend on growing.
Hiring Someone Do To A Bit Of Everything:You don’t want a jack of all trades with skills in none. You want someone who can fill a specific void or strengthen a weakness.
Hiring Someone Who Is Cheap: When push comes to shove if you hire the cheapest option you will get the least results. There are times you need to pay more to get more or at least know the market value of what you are looking for. Pay less and you risk losing that person which will cost you a lot more in the long run.
Hiring Someone To Help Them: You need someone, and yes many people need work but even a non-profit has to be selective and you are not a charity. You became an entrepreneur to run your own business, make your own hours and see success where there were clear issues in the systems out there. Remember that when hiring.
Making People Partners Too Soon:If you can’t afford someone, don’t hire them. Making someone a partner too soon means you will not have control over your own company, is that what you want so soon?? Hire those with potential but don’t make them partners off the bat.
Take Too Long To Take A Decision: Great talent who is interested in your company will get off the market quickly if they decide to interview at other places so don’t take too long to hire your ideal candidate. If you like them, put a ring on it!
Nitpicking: Being overly picky will hinder your chances of hiring the right person. There is no such thing as perfect. You have to make compromises
Over Hiring: Do not hire so many people that you don’t know what to do with them or that you have to train everyone at once. Know what your needs are then hire accordingly. Everyone will have their place but there’s no point in hiring 10 people if there’s only enough work for 4.
Over Interviewing: You need to know the person you are going to bring on is the right person for you. You can interview them, have them interview team members, give them a test and have a trial but after all that, you really need to make a hiring decision.
Not Prepared To Conduct An Interview: When someone arrives at your office, have your questions in hand. Know what you want to know from the person. Respect their time and ask questions about them while giving information about your company. This is not a you show. You do not need to prove why you are worth working for. Let them figure that out through their own answers.
Do Not Do Background Checks: You love the person, they have everything you need and want. They are 11 on 10 but don’t jump the gun just yet. Make sure you or someone you know checks their references or does a background check on them. Just because they appear great, know they might just be great interviewers…be weary.
Don’t Consider Head-Hunters: Small companies work on tight budgets. Shop around as some agencies aren’t as expensive as you think they are and can work with you to ensure you make the right hire. As stated earlier a bad hire can cost you a lot more then a little recruiting fee and a great recruiter will help you through the entire process.
12 Sure Ways To Not Get A Job
1) You are are applying to jobs you want to work for but have zero experience in the field or industry
2) You are pushy. If you are pushy in the interview process how will you be in the office?
3) You are late. You don’t call. If you want a job and you are late you call, if you are lost you call, it’s that simple.
4) You know everything so act like you do. This is sure to be a winning personality trait.
5) Ask about money and benefits. You don’t want a job you want a vacation your first day!
6) Talk terribly about your previous employer and coworkers. People love gossip chatter box away!
7) Ignore recruiters. Ignore their emails and their calls. What do recruiters know anyway? There’s no way they know what they are doing, just because they have a job, doesn’t mean they are good at it!
8) Don’t analyse the company, the team or the people you will be working with. The less you know the better. Who doesn’t love surprises anyway??
9) You job hop like a pub crawl.
10) You don’t sell yourself. You don’t care about the job and you don’t care about you. You wonder why they are even interviewing you in the first place. You were only picked out of probably 50 profiles!
11) Your biggest weakness when asked you answer “organizational skills and prioritizing” (yes, we have heard this)
12) Your resume hasn’t been modified so it’s not only outdated but you actually didn’t change the template, not even the words “place information here”
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