Comments on: Candidate Dealbreakers? Let’s Hear ‘Em.

By: The Small Stuff « The Job Quest

The Small Stuff « The Job Quest — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:37:56 +0000

[...] that tell job seekers not to sweat the small stuff. Two examples are this post from Career Hub and this one from Clue Wagon, in which Kerry Sandberg Scott says in her comments: “The font on your resume is not going [...]

By: Kerry Sandberg Scott

Kerry Sandberg Scott — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 13:45:22 +0000

Hank—hope the interview went well.

By: Hank Hill

Hank Hill — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 01:12:18 +0000

When you get down to it, everything is a matter of preference. Speaking of which, I got an interview earlier this week because I called to follow up mere days after sending in my resume. The hiring manager specifically said that impressed him.

By: Kerry Sandberg Scott

Kerry Sandberg Scott — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 09:40:51 +0000

Hank—this post is about things that are personal preferences…being called “Mrs.” versus “Ms.,” resumes that are one page or two, the font used for the resume, etc. These are things that if you ask multiple hiring people, you’re going to get different answers as to which is correct, because they’re preferences. Some people like to be called Ms. and like two-page resumes, and other people like to be called Mrs. and only want one page resumes. There’s no universally agreed-on rule for these things. That’s why it’s frustrating; because the candidate can’t guess what the employer is looking for.

The post you linked is about things that are not preferences, like being a jerk, not getting work done on time, giving employers wrong telephone numbers for references, etc. Those aren’t things on which someone is going to say, “I like the telephone number to be correct,” and someone else is going to say, “No, I like the telephone number to be wrong.” Advice doesn’t conflict on those issues. Advice is pretty universal about not being a jerk, getting stuff done when you say you will, not giving employers wrong info, etc.

So I don’t think there’s a contradiction there.

By: Hank Hill

Hank Hill — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:42:28 +0000

They must’ve gotten into the medical grade pot at the MPP again, because Ask a Manager’s response directly contradicts this:

http://www.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2009/9/28/why-the-little-things-matter-in-your-job-search.html

By: What’s the biggest deal breaker for hiring managers? | Job Blog | SnagABlog.com

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:03:29 +0000

[...] a new post asks hiring managers and human resources personnel (you know, the people who hire you) what their deal breakers are. Kerry, the author of the blog, wondered “What are the things candidates do (aside from the [...]

By: clobbered

clobbered — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 00:11:13 +0000

I work at an equal opportunities employer. We have a scoring scheme based on qualifications, and as far as I know we can’t technically dismiss somebody on anything that is not already on the score sheet. So while good presentation might be in some of our job descriptions (eg for receptionist) it might not be in others (say, mechanic).

I often wondered what would happen if, as somebody has already commented, we got a very smelly applicant.

By: Geoff

Geoff — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 22:55:02 +0000

Re: Alcohol smell. Sometimes that smell isn’t actually booze. One time I had two recruiters report to me that they thought one of my candidates was drunk at the interview, which was a shame because they really liked this person’s answers. Turns out, the candidate was a teetotaler, and the smell was cologne, which was alcohol-based and applied too liberally for the stuffy interview space. The happy ending was that the candidate got the job and did well. But I can see how not all recruiter/interviewers would be willing to give the benefit of the doubt.

By: Kerry Sandberg Scott

Kerry Sandberg Scott — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 19:02:15 +0000

Class Factotum—I’d state it pretty much as Dawn suggests. You’re allowed to admit that everything wasn’t rosy; it’s the personal attacks on former bosses and colleagues that get people into trouble.

When you’re being diplomatic, most interviewers with half a brain will see your discomfort and the fact that you’re choosing your words carefully, and they’ll know that there’s more to the story. You’ll get your point across, and you’ll get extra points for not having gone dirty with it.

By: Dawn Kubiak

Dawn Kubiak — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:50:09 +0000

Doing phone interviews on the fly and treating it too informally. I’ve run into a couple of recent sales candidates that when I’ve contacted them to schedule a phone interview they’ve wanted to do it right then.

One of the problems I’ve run into in doing this is that they are on a lousy cellphone so I’ve had to have them repeat themselves several times or being hung up and it’s hard to get through the actual interview.

I’ve also noticed that some of the candidates take the phone interview too casually especially when they want to do it right then. They aren’t really addressing my questions, are distracted, don’t sound professional and many times don’t recall anything about the position or the company (which is another problem, at least look at our website).

I recognize that when I’m calling a candidate I may not be catching them at the best time which is why I state that I’m calling to schedule the phone interview. I’d recommend that candidates take that opportunity to schedule a good time for them to devote their full attention to me, review their resume, prepare for questions and at least look at our website and job posting all prior to our scheduled phone interivew (I’d recommend having all of that info in front of you when actually on the phone as well).

Class factotum – can you state that bureaucracy within your company led to the delay of the project and missed deadlines and leave it at that? I think most recruiters recognize that candidates are not always be in sync with their boss on everything and it’s ok to recognize that without trashing the former boss but it does have to be done diplomatically. And it’s a small world, you never know if the recruiter and your former boss know each other somehow.