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Tuesday 19 July 2022
Sunday 10 July 2022
Saturday 9 July 2022
The No. 1 mistake people make when applying for jobs
There are a few golden rules to follow when searching for a new job: Check your resume for typos, address the right company in your cover letter and be on time for all interviews, to start.
Some mistakes, however, are less obvious, and harder to avoid – but such oversights can be the difference between landing a job offer and getting rejected.
Lauren Gardner, the head of global talent acquisition at Microsoft, understands these mistakes all too well. She’s evaluated thousands of job candidates in her 31 years working for the tech giant, and tells CNBC Make It that job-seekers tend to make one major mistake during their search.
According to Gardner, the worst thing a candidate can do is resort to “blanket applications.” “They’ll send out a thousand resumes and hope that one gets a hit,” she explains. “I wouldn’t recommend sending out only one or two applications, but when you send out too many, people will start to question what you’re truly passionate about.”
Instead, Gardner recommends targeting your job search, starting with a list of 10-15 companies you’re interested in and expanding your search if you’re not seeing results. “You want to make sure that you can demonstrate genuine interest in multiple companies,” she adds.
It’s also important to be succinct and make your resume fit on one page. “People oftentimes provide ridiculously long resumes, but nobody has time to review all of that information,” Gardner says.
Your resume doubles as your elevator pitch: If you had someone’s attention for 30 seconds, what would you want them to know about you?
“I’ve seen some fantastic resumes where people not only capture their skills and experiences, but they include a short ‘interests’ section highlighting their hobbies and passions, and they cover it all in under a minute [of reading time],” Gardner says. “That’s about as much as people have an attention span to review – you want to call out the things that are most unique to you, fast.”
Gardner recommends a similar targeted approach to other aspects of the job search. “You don’t need to write a hundred cover letters – you’ll drive yourself crazy,” she says.
Have a basic cover letter structure on hand for job applications, and tailor the details to each company, or role, you’re applying for. “We know that it’s a hot market and people are applying to many different companies,” Gardner says. “But why are you applying to ours, and what is most interesting to you about working here?”
Friday 8 July 2022
The best way to 'instantly impress' any hiring manager,
Nickle LaMoreaux, IBM's chief human resources officer, has helped hire thousands of job candidates since joining the tech giant more than 20 years ago. While there's no such thing as the perfect interview, she recalls one applicant who came pretty close — and it was thanks to an act as simple as sending a thoughtful follow-up email with proof of their recent work.
As LaMoreaux remembers, she interviewed the candidate right before IBM released its annual earnings report. While the candidate was "articulate" and "well-prepared" for their meeting, the hiring committee was still considering several applicants in their search.
But hours after the IBM report became public, the candidate sent a game-changing email.
"They sent me a note outlining their four key takeaways about IBM from the report, from an outsider's perspective, tying in their past experiences and asking about the different technologies we were producing at the time," she tells CNBC Make It. "I was instantly impressed."
The candidate got the job.
While you may not need to learn to read an earnings report to a land a job, LaMoreaux says all applicants can boost their chances of getting hired by being proactive and sending examples of their work to the hiring manager after an interview.
It's even more impactful when you can connect your work sample to a project the company is currently working on, or a specific goal the hiring manager mentioned.
"There's nothing like seeing an actual piece of work, whether it's a detailed presentation you put together for a meeting or a link to your online portfolio," she says. "It's a substantial piece of evidence that can help prove you're the best fit for the job."
Another way to make a strong first impression during an interview: Ask how the company is aiming to live up to its credo and how managers are working to improve certain aspects of the business.
"I love getting asked questions that dig deep into our organization," LaMoreaux says. "For example, a candidate once said to me, 'You say that IBM values transparency and diversity. Can you give me an example of how the company is working toward those goals?'"
You can also ask the interviewer if you can speak with two new hires "off the record" about their onboarding experience. Such conversations will not only help you better assess the role and the company, but it demonstrates a strong interest — and willingness — to learn the ins and outs of the organization, LaMoreaux says.
Asking thoughtful questions and showing initiative, she adds, demonstrates that you are "really engaged" during the interview and excited about the role — and brings you one step closer to securing a job offer.
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