Written for Valerie, a cohort-in-arms.
As my time winds down at my current position before heading to grad school, I posted my job last Friday to Craigslist. I am an office manager at a law firm and as such, I wear many many hats, including the head of HR! So, I am now going through resumes and cover letters of all the applicants. The moment they started to trickle in, I noticed an issue immediately - people not reading/following directions. But first, let me take a moment to discuss something.
In working out the job description for my position with my boss, I championed a few things. I feel strongly that for administrative positions, a bachelors degree is not necessary (like other postings require) and that experience is far more important. I can tell you that my education in college didn't prepare me for work in the administrative realm. I personally believe administration is a quality you are born with and it's not easily trained. Because of this, I wanted to break down the potential barrier to good applicants who wouldn't meet the education requirement.
Is this inability to follow directions an indicator of lack of education or possibly a symptom of the generation that is applying? Regardless of the answer, I feel it necessary to list the four top things to consider when applying for a new job.
TOP 4 THINGS WHEN APPLYING FOR A JOB
1. Read the job description.
Read through it in its entirety, including all the way to the bottom. Does this job fit you? Do you meet the requirements? If you don't have the minimum experience required, does your work experience or do your references speak to your ability to tackle this new challenge? If not, then this is not the job for you so please don't apply.
2. Follow directions.
When the job posting states at the end of the post to please submit a cover letter and resume, that is exactly what is required. What does that look like? Preferably, this is short email introduction describing your attachments and expressing interest in the position. And you have two attachments, one being the cover letter, the other being your resume. You can put this all inline in your email or use your email as the cover letter but it is better to do as instructed.
3. Be enthusiastic and polite.
Simply put, sell yourself but in a nice manner. Don't just respond with an attachment and no text in your email. This is your chance to show who you are and the niceties of that first email mean a lot.
4. Have your cover letter reviewed prior to sending.
Most jobs require writing skills and the cover letter is your chance to show your grasp on the English language. Huge red flags pop up when I see sentences that don't work. There are places out there that can help with this so take advantage of that if you plan to apply to a job that requires writing.
Case in point: My position listing stated a required skill is "attention to detail" and yet I have about a third of the applicants with no cover letter submitted. This just isn't going to fly folks. It's so simple but so easily done wrong. God bless all those folks who are applying and whatever their situations are. I'll be joining you soon in the ranks of those looking for employment. Just know that it takes more than just replying to a post to land a good job!
