Feel Free To Join In

If you have any samples or stories that you want to share about hiring or interviewing employees, please send them to esmesblog@sbcglobal.net. Spread the joy!

Objectives

Rule #1: Do not list objectives on your resume. It limits you.

Rule #2: If you do list objectives, only apply for jobs that meet your objectives.

An applicant sent in a resume with the following objective:

Seeking a career in Music. Although, the main objective is to teach and influence the youth of today on the power of Music.

The job he was applying for? Nothing to do with music....

Spell Check Might Have Helped

I have recently had the opportunity to visit "craigslist" for the first time I might add and was very suprized and impressed with some of the available information is has to offer. I am writing to you with regards to the position you are avertising on their site.

Actually, probably not.

Beware of Google

I google all potential candidates. One woman, who looked ideal on paper, had written a review on amazon.com that referred to "insensitive employers" and gave away some personal information that made me decide to pass on her. So, how hard is it to use a fake name and location when posting things on the internet? In fact, if this woman had just used her first name, I would never have found her. A friend of mine told me she interviewed a guy who she was ready to hire. And then she googled him and found his My Space page on which he listed "recreational drug use" as one of his hobbies.

People scare me.

All Roads Lead To Rome

I am helping a client recruit for an entry level marketing communication position. We have advertised on Craig's List and here is one of the responses we received:

Subject: In regards to the designer position
Hello my name is xxxx and I am an advertising graduate of Art Center College of Design. My background in Graphic Design, which I got the best education- from Type Nazis. Design theory I uphold is "All roads lead to Rome" and I believe in design that always has efficient execution.

I have tried to enclosed my resume and some samples but it seems that Craigslist only allows 150KB. Is there another email that I can send my stuff to?

I personally have made it a policy not to mention Nazis in my initial contact with potential employers but, you know, whatever works.

Beyond the resume and cover letter

If a resume and cover letter pass my screening, we move on to the phone interview. The other day I interviewed a woman for a customer service position. The job entails helping clients over the phone. In the middle of the interview, her response to one of my questions was "huh?"
Just one word and it says so much....

Three Main Ingredients

This portion of a cover letter came from a response to a posting for a job in the education field helping low income high school students with financial aid and scholarship applications:

I believe in hard work, dedication and determination. These three are the main ingredients and if properly applied, any person can be successful in life.

This person goes on to sell herself by talking about how she took a group of students on a field trip to the Staples Center and ends the letter with:

Please call me for interview only when you are willing to offer me a position.

Okay, we'll do that then.

What It's All About

I am a freelance human resources consultant in the Los Angeles area. Many of my clients ask for my help with recruiting employees. In the time that I have been doing this, I am still constantly amazed at some of the cover letters and resumes that hit my inbox. They are too good not to share. And maybe we will all learn something in the process.