The more clients I coach through the job search and interview process, the easier it is for me to draw parallels between dating and hiring someone for a job.
For jobseekers, it is hard to relate to what’s going on with an employer and their process if you’ve never been involved in hiring someone for a position. You start to read into every little thing, and in many cases what you’re perceiving as a problem in how you’re presenting yourself is really an issue on their end that you have no control over.
I’m finding that helping people remember a time when they were “evaluating candidates” from the dating pool helps put things in a different perspective.
Jobseeker Complaint: “I interviewed with them a week ago, but I haven’t heard anything. They must not have liked me.” Or “I can’t believe the company called me 2 months after I interviewed there…they must be a disorganized mess.”
Dating Equivalent: “I had a great date but I haven’t heard from them in a week. They must not like me.” Or “I can’t believe he/she called me 3 months later. They can’t be that into me if it took them that long to call.”
For this example, I’d like to introduce the concept of “guy time” in dating. I read in some book/Cosmo/Glamour article years ago that men and women are on different timelines, and that time moves much more slowly for a woman than a man (i.e. 7 days will feel like 14 days to a woman, and only 2 days to a man.) So while the woman is sitting around, counting the days that she hasn’t heard from the guy and writing him off because he’s clearly not “into” her enough, in his mind, they just talked a few days ago and everything’s cool.
On the employment side—the same thing happens. You can have a great interview with a company, they like you—you like them. It’s all happy-happy-joy-joy. But then you don’t hear from them for a week or two and you immediately assume that they’re just not that into you—only to have them call you back for another interview a few weeks later. And from that you assume they’re a disorganized group.
The part that amuses me most is when men start panicking about this employment timeline and I get to remind them about the “guy time” concept…but I digress.
Jobseekers in this scenario have one distinct advantage over daters because before they leave an interview they can ask the hiring manager or HR person what their timeline is for making a decision. (Not recommended date-behavior.) You can ask a company what the most convenient way is to follow up. Then keep in mind that unexpected situations can arise. Many times the position is put on hold pending a budget review, or someone else in the company gives their notice, which causes them to rethink the duties/necessity of the position you interviewed for. Both perfectly valid reasons. Both have absolutely nothing to do with you.
So the advice is the same for jobseekers as daters. You can not change the rules of “guy time.” After a week and a half has gone by without a word from the employer, you can politely email or call them to just check in on their timeline to hire (if you forgot to ask in the interview). However companies—and men— will not make their hiring (or dating) decision on your timeline.
In the meantime you should definitely continue your search (unless you currently have a job or aren’t desperate for a relationship, in which case you’re fine waiting to see how this pans out.) If you have a great 2nd interview with another company—but your dream job still hasn’t made an offer—then it’s OK to go back to the dream job and let them know that there’s another company with serious interest in you. That’s really the only leverage you have. If they remember you as a fantastic candidate, and can get their act together on their end, they’ll throw their hat in the ring.
Cover letters can be such a pain in the neck to write—it’s OK to just skip it isn’t it? Does the hiring manager or HR department REALLY read them?
As a hiring manager, I have to admit that I did read each and every one of them.
They’re important for several reasons.
#1: As a hiring manager, if I got a resume without a cover letter it indicates a lack of effort on the part of the applicant. Back when I was looking for jobs, I would lie on the couch and randomly hit “Submit Now” to anything that looked remotely interesting on Monster.com. Would I have been thrilled if I actually got an interview? YES! Did I clearly demonstrate my interest to an employer by not including a cover letter? NO! Because I’ve been there (and many employers have too), I know how easy it is to just hit that send button and forward a resume without putting much thought or effort into it. Show them that you care enough to write a cover letter.
#2: Cover letters give you a chance to further explain some very relevant points on your resume. Suppose that for three out of your last six positions, you worked primarily with a specific accounting program, and in one case even convinced the company you worked for that they should purchase it. If you see that the job you’re applying for calls for someone with extensive experience with that software, indicating that upfront in your cover letter will make it more obvious to an employer than just relying on them to find it in your resume.
#3: Cover letters let you clearly make the connection between what they are looking for, and what you are able to provide. You can even make two columns in your cover letter—one that is labeled “Your Requirements” the other “My Relevant Experience”, and then do a point by point comparison.
Think of cover letters as another opportunity to make that connection with a potential employer. When you’re clamoring for their attention, you need to use every trick in your arsenal to your advantage.
Don’t you wish you knew why you didn’t get that job? You worked so hard on your resume, got through the phone interview and was called in for the in person interview. You think you’re on a roll, but you never hear back from the interviewer. What happened?
Here’s a peek behind the interviewer’s desk.
They saw something promising on your resume and decided to call you for a phone interview. That went well—you handled yourself well on the phone and answered the basic questions they asked.
Something happened when they met you in person.
Each interviewer is different, but here are some common reasons why you may not hear back from them.
You weren’t dressed appropriately for the position or company. Think about the way others at the company were dressed, and the status of the position you were interviewed for. Were you “dressed to impress”? One time I interviewed someone for an account manager position that might be a bit of a stretch from what he was currently doing. I was willing to give him a chance. However when he showed up for the interview he was dressed pretty casually and didn’t even bring a notebook to take notes during the interview, or a pen to write with. I needed him to show me that he was going to project a professional image without my having to follow him around to remind him to bring a notebook when he meets with a client. I expected him to look more pulled-together, and that he was hungry for this job. I didn’t see that in him, and was turned off.
Your body language was a turn-off. Did you maintain eye contact with the interviewer? Not in a creepy-staring contest kind of way, but in an honest, sincere, and interested way? Did you look comfortable? Were you jumpy and nervous? Did you talk very quickly? What was your interviewer’s facial and body language while you were speaking? Try to be objective about how you were presenting yourself. You want to learn from each interview, not perpetuate your problems because you refuse to admit what you do wrong.
You just weren’t a good fit for the organization or with the interviewer. Remember that they need to work with you day in and day out. If they think that you’ll be irritating—for whatever reason—unfortunately it’s their prerogative to not hire you. Period. End quote. It isn’t fair, but better that they eliminate you now, than you get on each other’s nerves after you are hired. There isn’t anything you can do to improve your chances if it was just a personality-thing, but just hope that you will have a better fit in your next interview.
So why don’t you hear from an interviewer after the in-person interview? Consider the possible reasons I’ve outlined above and then imagine yourself in the interviewer’s position. Would you rather have them cite one of the reasons above, or give you a polite but inaccurate reason, or not reply at all? There isn’t a best answer, but those are the choices most interviewers are faced with. So send your followup email, but if you don’t hear back from them, just move on with your search and try to improve your performance in your next interview as best you can.
With the Nations unemployment rate close to 10%, you are wasting your time sending your resume for a job that you are overqualified for. I know what the majority of people think, and that is if they take a step back to a lower level position, it would be a piece of cake to land a job. There is only one problem with that thought and it sounds good, but it’s not good and sound!
If you see a job that you are overqualified for the reason why people will not hire you is because when the market does turn around, they feel that you will leave for a better opportunity. That is why your resume needs to be fine tuned for a particular job you’re interested in.
With the large number of people currently unemployed, you can only imaging how many resumes come into a company from an ad. For years I have told people that ads don’t work well. In this market that’s an understatement. Clients are using us more than ever because of the bombardment of resumes. If a company is hiring, than they are for the most part using search firms, unless they are just filling their database for the future. I wrote about this in a blog titled Wrong Perception at the beginning of the decline. Companies staff today are without question being overworked. They don’t have the time nor the resources to go through all of the applicants resumes that they receive day in day out. And if they are seriously looking to hire staff, then typically time is of the essence.
If you happen to be one of the fortunate ones to have a recruiter represent you, then make sure for your sake that you do not delay the process. The reason why I use those words is because not everyone will command a fee to be hired. It is only a slight few whereby a company will pay a fee to hire someone. Search firms such as JTL Services, Inc. have large networks of top talent.
This is no time to be lazy, or to procrastinate, but a time to be meticulous to detail. And what is up with these reports I keep hearing about the people who just stopped looking for work? How do you stop looking to get paid or to give up making an income? What ever happened to the “never give up” attitude?
Never Give Up!
