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The 10 Worst Job Tips Ever

The 10 Worst Job Tips Ever

To call or not to call, that is the question.

Liz Ryan | Business Week

September 03, 2008

Nearly every day, someone sends me a bit of astounding job-search advice from a blog or a newsletter. Some of this advice seems to come directly from the planet X-19, and some of it seems to have been made up on the spot. Here are 10 of my favorite pieces of atrocious job-search advice, for you to read and ignore at all costs:

1. Don’t Wrap It Up

The Summary or Objective at the top of your résumé is the wrap-up; It tells the reader, “This person know who s/he is, what s/he’s done, and why it matters.” Your Summary shows off your writing skills, shows that you know what’s salient in your background, and puts a point on the arrow of your résumé. Don’t skip it, no matter who tells you it’s not necessary or important.

2. Tell Us Everything

Another piece of horrendous job search advice tells job-seekers to share as much information as possible. A post-millennium résumé uses up two pages, maximum, when it’s printed. (Academic CVs are another story.) Editing is a business skill, after all—just tell us what’s most noteworthy in your long list of impressive feats.

3. Use Corporatespeak

Any résumé that trumpets “cross-functional facilitation of multi-level teams” is headed straight for the shredder. The worst job-search advice tells us to write our résumés using ponderous corporate boilerplate that sinks a smart person’s résumé like a stone. Please ignore that advice, and write your résumé the way you speak.

4. Don’t Ever Postpone a Phone Screen

A very bad bit of job-search advice says “Whatever you do, don’t ever miss a phone screen! Even if you’re in the shower or or on your way to be the best man at your brother’s wedding, make time for that phone interview!” This is good advice is your job-search philosophy emphasizes groveling. I don’t recommend this approach. Let the would-be phone-screener know that you’re tied up at the moment but would be happy to speak at 7 p.m. on Thursday night, or some other convenient time. Lock in the time during that first call, but don’t contort your life to fit the screener’s schedule.

5. Don’t Bring Up Money

Do bring up money by the second interview, and let the employers know what your salary requirements are before they start getting ideas that perhaps you’re a trust-fund baby and could bring your formidable skills over to XYZ Corp. for a cool $45,000. Set them straight, at the first opportunity.


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    nyloe

    14 days ago

    58 comments

    I've never used corporatespeak in my resume, but I do put in some of the keywords from the job description. So if the job description has corporatespeak in it, and you have experience doing the work, then if you wnt employers to notice your resume instead of putting it in the shredder, then you have to use keywords just the way they want. (But don't lie, of course)

  • Steve_and_diana__cancun__04_max50

    katiedid

    14 days ago

    2 comments

    You have GOT to be kidding me! All of these comments and not one mention of the "poor grammer" OR all of the misspelled words or "is" where "if" should have been. NOT ONE WORD. I am VERY disappionted!

  • The_betty_max50

    Pohpohsmom

    2 months ago

    2 comments

    Unfortunately, a computer (not a human) screens resumes submitted online or forwarded by email. These computers scan documents for keywords that fit the position. If the job description says: "cross functional facilitation of multi-level teams", then you better state something similar in that resume or it won't reach the recruiter. In most cases the recruiter reads the "hits" or how many times a keyword or phrase shows up in your resume before referring it to hiring party. Yes, they look for keywords that show how many years of experience, etc.

    For those of you who consider writing an objective juvenile, try something new! Instead of objective and/or summary. Try "accomplishments". Most companies are looking for folks who can focus in on the bottom line ($$$). So dig deep and write up those instances where you saved the business money, time, or solved a problem.

    Here's a laugh about a phone screen interview: While listening to a recruiter describe their company, my brother walked passed the room and made comments about my cat who from time to time whittles near his old stinky shoes in the closet. He said: " If your cat comes in my room one more time, I'll cut off his head and feed it to the dog outside!" I tried to waive him away before he began to describe what he would do with the cat's head, but he was too emotionally wrapped up in the moment to read my nonverbal expression in time. Luckily, Pohpoh (the cat) nabbed a mouse that night and won back one of his lives.

    Good Job Hunting!

  • Photo_user_blank_big

    writerone_1965

    2 months ago

    2 comments

    As far as phone follow-up is concerned, in the past, I would leave an interview with a handshake and this, "How soon should I expect to hear from you?" or " May I contact you in three (3) days?" Hey, it works.
    WriteOne

  • Photo_user_blank_big

    PetDiva

    2 months ago

    6 comments

    As a former legal recruiter alot of the time I told my Attorneys to leave off the Objective unless they could tailor it to the position that we were working on. Most of the Attorneys that I worked with were Intellectual Property Attorneys who had special skill sets. Most objectives were written that they were a team player goal oriented and so forth which if you were not you would not have had an Attorney position to begin with. When working with a recruiter let them get your resume to the hiring manager but make sure that you take at least 3 copies with you to the interview in a nice folder on "nice" paper. ALWAYS write a thank you note to each person that you spoke with and send it to them in regular mail...trust me it will make you stand out as very professional, you may not get the job but they will remember you. I have had clients tell me how impressed they were with getting the note.

  • Photo_user_blank_big

    careeradvisor27

    2 months ago

    10 comments

    Great article. When using an objective people should not write they are looking for a rewarding career. Aren't we all looking for a rewarding career?

  • Phyllis_neill_max50

    SheMentor

    2 months ago

    94 comments

    This is terrific advice. I particularly liked item #1, about not leaving off a "Summary" section on your resume. The only thing I'd add is that if you're going to use an "Objective" statement instead of a "Summary" statement, that you make sure it does contain language in it that neatly wraps up your experience and aptitudes (not just - "here's what I want in my next job")- AND - I believe that you should think about slightly tailoring this statement for each different job opportunity (where appropriate.)

  • S010_bella_sol_max50

    Insanitek

    2 months ago

    302 comments

    Sigh. I wish some of these tips worked in the field of academia, but a lot of them are not practical. Most of the time, we are applying to jobs all over the world. Snail-mail is impractical for as much time as they allow for things to get there, and they actually encourage email only-resumes. Many times, this can only be to a "company only website". We also have to bring up money because our jobs depend on getting grants, which means if we can't fund ourselves, we can't really get hired. Also, if we can't speak the lingo, we can't get in. If we post our CVs on every job board in our field, our name gets out there and we get more contacts. 5/10 being the same is good enough, I suppose. =)


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