Two Tips for Job Applicants

I spent the weekend reading through 50 job applications for two job openings in our organization.  I identified five good candidates.    For the other 45 applications, I have the following two recommendations:

Stop spamming job applications.   I can't believe the number of applications that were a complete non-match for the job.  It was almost as if they had not read the job description before applying.  Their experience was in unrelated fields, their education didn't meet the minimum requirements, or they didn't have any management experience.  Multiple applicants submitted for both jobs, implying that I was to decide the one for which they were most qualified.  (In all cases, the answer was "neither.")

Pay attention to details.    Many applicants had a different college major than specified in the job description.  In addition, their job experience was completely unrelated to our role description. One applicant even misspelled his own name.  At first, I thought it was a unique name, until I checked the Internet and noticed the person's name was spelled differently on Facebook.  In my opinion, if an applicant can't pay attention to details when applying for a job, I'm not likely to get better results after they become an employee.

Maybe applying for a job is different now.  In my case, I generally try to figure out why a hiring manager might be interested in me.  Then I try to customize my application for the hiring manager.  However, based on the recent applications I have reviewed, customization of a resume/application doesn't appear to be the approach any more.

For more on Crossing Generations, check back every Thursday  for a new segment.

This is not financial, job application, or career advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

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