Reading another interview on Hiring Librarians. This one points to being tired of the use of the word “I” in resumes/cover letters. I can figure out how NOT to use I in the resume, but it’s not so easy in the cover letter. What do you do to not overuse the I?
Category: Resumes
Hiring Librarians
OK, I’m going to push another blog. Hiring Librarians by Emily Weak. The majority of the posts I’ve read in this one have to do with what those hiring want to see from those interviewing. A lot of the questions have to do with the resume and cover letter – key components to getting past the mailbox and into the interview room.
There are other good topics too, like the one about hiring those with disabilities – specifically Autism. Lots of good info was shared in that post.
Incoming Searches & Job hunting posts
I’m am still getting large numbers of hits from the job hunting posts I’ve written – mainly the scams. The reason that I posted about some of these “names” is because I couldn’t find anything on them and wanted to share my concerns and observations.
What did I learn:
I sent off probably 200 resumes/applications for a variety of postitions because I thought I might not be able to find a teaching job in this state. At first I sent off the one resume for all types of jobs. Then I developed a skill specific resume for the types of jobs I was applying for regularly. That was when I started getting calls. I wish I’d done that earlier, but I was learning.
I got some good leads off of Craig’s list (and a couple of good interviews), but you have to be careful. If the ad gives you no indication of the company or location (more than the city), and you still want to contact them, then just send them basic info in an email. I was contacted in return by a few of these that gave me more info. The good ones tell you more. The same can be said for Monster, HotJobs and CareerBuilder.
Distrust any job recruiting email that is from gmail. If you are legitimately in HR and using gmail, get your own domain! If you are in the HR department for a company, insist that your company get one. They need a website any way.
Always run a search on a gmail email if that’s the only contact info you are given. You can find the scammers pretty quick that way. If the account doesn’t show up, then go ahead and send them the feeler email.
I use gmail and for individuals it’s great, but . . .
Run a search on every company – especially HR firms. That’s how you find out about companies like NES Employment and Apple Staffing. If a company has the exact same job posting for multiple locations, I’d be highly suspicious. If they have the exact same job posting for multiple locations and for multiple jobs, I’d hit the back button immediately and resume my search.
Sign up for career specific job boards. I couldn’t believe the number of job boards there are for teachers. Different districts that are close to me posted on different boards, and some of those same districts did NOT register with the state as having vacancies.
Lots of companies have their own job boards. School districts are very good at this. If you know of a company for which you want to work, go straight to the source. Some of them have online applications you can fill out and then they will keep them on file.
I used the newspaper too and did get some calls from ads I’d responded to from the local paper. Getting call backs made it worthwhile to check the paper each day, but it was frequently disappointing because so few companies are using it.
I got one call resulting from a jobfair. The teacher job fair I went to was great, but there were hundreds of people there. The general job fair I attended was not so great. There was not a large number of employers represented and most of the jobs were entry level. There were so many people there, they had to move the people into the fair in small groups.
Some of the people that interviewed me (or didn’t but were still talkative) told me that they had up to 100 resumes/applications for a single spot. That explains the slowness or lack of response from employers. It also means more interviews before placement because so many are looking and interviewing.
If I think of anything else, I’ll add it. I do hope what I’ve learned about job hunting in a recession is helpful.
Resume Lies
These are the whoppers:
1. Candidate claimed to be a member of the Kennedy family
2. Applicant invented a school that did not exist
3. Job seeker submitted a résumé with someone else’s photo inserted into the document
4. Candidate claimed to be a member of Mensa
5. Applicant claimed to have worked for the hiring manager before, but never had
6. Job seeker claimed to be the CEO of a company when he was an hourly employee
7. Candidate listed military experience dating back to before he was born
8. Job seeker included samples of work, which were actually those of the interviewer
9. Candidate claimed to have been a professional baseball player
38% admit to embellishing job responsibilities – that’s the highest number, but there are some flagrant lies admitted to.
What do the companies do about it?
. . . Most companies disqualified candidates after discovering their dishonest. Thirty-six percent still considered the candidate, but ultimately passed on hiring them. Six percent of hiring managers overlooked the “flawed résumé” and hired the applicant anyway. The survey also found some industries seemed to be more likely to have incidences of résumé fabrication. The industry reporting the most deceit was hospitality, with 60 percent of employers reporting they found lies on résumés. The transportation/utilities field and information technology followed close behind with 59 percent and 57 percent of hiring managers respectively. The industry with the fewest liars: government at 45 percent.
6% got hired anyway! Amazing.
Resume pet peeves
There is a wealth of information on wordpress blogs!
A link on the search-word employment led me here: Insider tip on Resumes
Elyse says spelling is the number one mistake. She’s got some other good insights too.
Jack Of All Trades 