Over the next week or so I'll be writing about the absurd ways people find to apply for a job, and give you some advice on how to avoid becoming and example for my blog!
Not only does January bring our students back to campus, it also officially kicks off Search Season 2011. For now my inbox is full of ACUHO-I intern applicants and Residence Director hopefuls. Soon we'll be opening searches for a few other positions and then things will really get interesting!
For now, and for the next few posts, I want to focus on getting things right from the start- your application.
I cannot stress enough the importance of carefully reading a position posting. The posting doesn’t just give you the position title, description of duties, start date and salary for goodness sake! It gives you important clues about the institution, the person writing the posting, what is being sought in a successful candidate and quite importantly- specific instructions on how to apply. We all know that the simple things can make or break your candidacy- misspell a person’s name, slip up and forget to put the correct institution name in your cover letter, fail to catch glaring typos- all are errors that can easily put your resume in the recycling and give you nightmares for years. There are however, other ways to accomplish the same result.
Today's hot topic- look carefully for directions on where and how you are to submit your application and think about the message you deliver when you hit the send button.
My institution does not subscribe to an online application submission service. We do however require electronic applications- it clearly says so in our advertisements and on our employment website, so please don’t mail me a paper copy. Just today I received a very pretty resume from an eager candidate who spent far too much on expensive paper, matching envelopes and postage- and now we get to email him and ask him to send an electronic copy for our records. He didn't put himself on top of the pile, he got himself labeled as "work", and candidates should not want to be known as work to an employer.
We actually have an email address set up specifically to receive applications - once again, it is listed repeatedly- so don’t send your resume to my direct email, it won’t get you ahead in the process and in fact makes me wonder about your ability to attend to detail and follow directions. It clutters my inbox and might just get lost in the hundred or so work emails I deal with each day. I now get to do your work for you and forward your application from my inbox to the email address you should have sent it to in the first place. Take an extra moment and double check to whom it should go before you hit send.
If you do send me an email, attach your resume and cover letter. I was astounded this week to receive several ACUHO-I internship applications where candidates referred me to the website where I could look up their resume. One candidate even referred me to her personal website where her resume is posted. Two candidates merely wrote one line sentences "I'm interested in your position, please contact me so we can set up an interview". Really?? Really!?! As amazing as you might be, I'm getting applications from a hundred other amazing candidates who told me more about themselves and attached their resumes. Be better than that please! Once again let me repeat- do not make me work to like you. Technology is wonderful, it can enhance your candidacy if used correctly but if you want to make it past my initial screening and into the pile of "possible" then do the work on your end well. Share your technology prowess later.
Back to those intern applicants I used as examples above. Before you write me in outrage please know that for undergraduate students I am a tad bit forgiving in these processes. In fact, I've been graciously forgiving to all the eager applicants this week. So far I have sent a message asking all of them to please provide me with an attached cover letter and resume. Several candidates quickly wrote back apologizing for forgetting to attach (we've all done it). One lovely man wrote me an eloquent paragraph explaining and asking my forgiveness for his error and attached his resume (nicely done). There were several however who merely replied to my message, attached their resumes and hit send. No written comment, no apology, nothing to entice me to open their resume and look further. If you cannot be bothered to include a simple "here you go, sorry for the confusion" or some similar line of text then why on earth should I want to spend eight weeks mentoring you this summer?! At this very busy time of year, heck at any time of the year, your job as a candidate is to make it easier for an employer to like you, be intrigued by you, want to learn more about you- simple as that. By now I'm guessing you are getting the idea.
Check and double-check where and how you should submit your application! If it says mail it- do so at least a week in advance of the application deadline. If it says email it- do so and only do so to the email address provided (again- try to send it at least a week ahead of the deadline). As an employer who attends national placement conferences- I do not check the box that allows candidates to apply via their electronic system, but it never fails that several people choose to submit that way. Follow the directions and that simple act will take your candidacy farther than any slick answer can any day. Then please do impress me with your authentic skills and strengths.
Most of the online job listing sites have an option for you to store your information and send that to potential employers- I implore you not to unless you know for 100% certain what format your information will be in when it arrives in my email. More often than not it is a jumble of information that I have to filter through to find what I need to know- do you meet our minimum qualifications or not. It is not pretty, easy to read, or nicely laid out. It makes you look like you don't care enough to email me your resume directly. It makes me wonder what other shortcuts you might take on the job. I can't help it, I'm human and will indeed wonder about you- don't expect otherwise, just give me good things to wonder about like how awesome you might be as a new member of our team.
Snapshot summary:
* Be sure you know where, how, and to whom you should be submitting your application
* Follow our directions carefully- send paper if we require it, email if we request it and do not assume that doing both will give you a leg up.
* Do not rely on technology to do your work for you.
* You are "on" from the moment you hit send- that might be your first and only impression so make it a good one!
* Your job as a candidate is to make my job as an employer easier so I can relax and be interested in your candidacy not have to dig around to see if I might want to pursue you further. Make it easy for me to think you are a star!
Until next time- when we'll talk about errors, typos, mis-edits and more!
The Employer
Hello! I recently stumbled upon the link for this article on a friend's facebook page, and since I am a student affairs/residence director hopeful myself, I was compelled to read it. I am sorry to say that finding your in such a haphazard way, I am not sure to whom I should address myself, or what institution you are currently working at. I apologize for my lack of familiarity. It was a well crafted piece, and as such I do believe I have found myself one more blog to follow.
ReplyDeleteWhile I did enjoy the piece, and found most of it to be very accurate (including the all too painfully familiar feelings of horror at botching an application or interview question), I wanted to perhaps share my two cents regarding the recent ACUHO-I internship applications.
As I said earlier, I am a residence director hopeful. I spent many years as an RA at my first institution and I am currently pursuing a masters in Ed Leadership in hopes become more marketable in the future. I recently applied for various internships made available through ACUHO-I. It was my first time applying to something structured quite like that. I found the entire process to be rather poorly illuminated actually; I felt adrift and uncertain about many different issues. At one point I sent an email asking my Assistant Director of Residence Life for advice. I was not sure what I should include in my email to prospective host sites. I asked her if I should stick with just a brief email, or if I should craft something a little more formal in the way of a cover letter, especially considering that the ACUHO-I website said that contact would just be email.
So I stuck with her advice, and I sent out emails to the various schools that I hoped to work with over the coming summer. I may have even sent one to you and been an unintentional frustration. I did not include any attachments in my initial email, because also on ACUHO-I's website is the following line: "IMPORTANT: Host Sites already have access to the candidates' applications and resumes. DO NOT fax or mail additional items unless specifically requested to do so." Now, when I saw your piece, I went back to double check this line, and I realized that they could have meant for us not to send anything physical. In my mind, however, the very notion of sending physical resumes, cover letters, and the like was so preposterous that I just assumed they meant for us to send no additional documents until prompted to do so by our host sites.
It is only in this small way that I find any sort of disagreement with what you have written. I do not think that it is reasonable to find fault with people for not sending additional documents, if the organization's web site says not to send them.
At any rate, thanks for the insight from the employer perspective, and I look forward to many more to come. Good luck sifting through the many applicants that I am sure you have.
Cheers
D
D- thank you for pointing that out about the ACUHO-I instructions. I do believe they meant (at least I hope they did) for you not to fax or mail anything else. My suggestion to you, and all other applicants is to take the extra step and make it just a bit easier on us employers. I'd say go back and email those places you have already applied, and attach your documents.
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed confusing, but worth it to take the extra step and attach electronically, which takes up no space and might just put you ahead of someone they have to go log-on in order to look up.
Best of luck to you D (please share where you end up this summer), spread the word about the blog, and keep asking questions!
What do you think about a candidate following the directions and also mailing a paper copy?
ReplyDeleteHonestly- just follow the directions. Mailing me a paper copy is just several more pieces of paper wasted, and makes me wonder if you forgot you had applied already electronically. If my administrative assistant doesn't catch it in time, it means a second file for the same candidate which also wastes more time and paper. It really doesn't give a candidate a leg up in the search- and if a search chair is actually swayed by the move, I question their ability to run an unbiased search. Stick with applying the way our directions instruct and that itself might help a candidate go a long way in a search when so many candidates just don't follow directions in the first place.
ReplyDelete