5 Critical Mistakes That Can Keep You From Getting An Interview

Ben does a great job on this article.
To read it in his original version click the link:
5-critical-mistakes-that-can-keep-you-from-getting-an-interview/ 
Thanks Ben!
Ev


The devil is in the details. The prior sentence is a famous idiom that emphasizes how critical it can be to pay attention to the little details of certain things. When it comes to resumes, interviewing and your career, it definitely applies.

Spending the last decade in talent acquisition, I have seen plenty of solid candidates who have been eliminated from interview processes for small reasons that were totally in their control. My guess is that most candidates weren’t aware of some of the negative consequences of these actions, which is exactly why I chose to write this piece this morning.
The following are four small things you can change to make sure you don’t self-eliminate yourself from interview process moving forward and one bigger picture change that might change your perspective on a few things moving forward. I know you are busy, so let’s jump right into these.

The objective on a resume that doesn’t fit

In the past, I have made my position on objectives abundantly clear, and today will be no different. If you have an objective on your resume minimize this chrome window, open up your resume on your desktop and delete it. Still here? Let me explain why.

I have probably looked at one hundred thousand resumes in the last decade. Guess how many dramatically improved their chances of landing a job with an objective. High five for those who guessed zero. Even if you apply for a Developer role at ABC company and your objective says something like “To become a Developer for ABC Company to contribute to overall company profitability and continue to grow my technical skills”, it doesn’t help you.
You are applying for the role, of course, we know what your objective is. That being said, I have seen a bunch of otherwise great looking candidates be eliminated because of an objective that didn’t fit with the role. I have seen people leave old objectives on their directed at other companies. I have seen hiring managers decide against a candidate because their objective gave them the impression the candidate wouldn’t be satisfied doing the primary tasks of the role. The list goes on.

The bottom line is I have never seen an objective help a candidate but I have seen it hurt many. It’s a marginal risk, non-existent reward scenario in my opinion. If you have an objective, do yourself a favor and delete it off of your resume forever. In the unlikely case I am ever floored by an objective that moves me to tears and makes me bang my fist on the table that a candidate needs to be interviewed, I promise you all that I will issue a blog post immediately.

Resume saved with a with a wrong name

This is a quick one but to me, that’s even more reason why it bears mentioning. The title you save your resume as will be seen by everyone who is sent your resume. So, if you save it as Ben White ABC Company, what does that tell you? Well, it tells whoever sees it that it is a resume made specifically for them and it is highly likely it isn’t an accurate portrayal of your skills and/or you are applying at numerous other companies (which may be the truth but nobody really likes knowing that).

 What if your resume says Ben White Sales? Again, this means it is a resume crafted specifically for sales roles and to a degree is even more damning because it lets people know that you are in all likelihood applying for roles that aren’t sales roles. Which would lead a logical person to question your dedication and passion towards sales roles if you are exploring other avenues for your career that don’t involve a sales position.
Luckily, it’s a simple fix. Title your resume Ben White Resume. It’s that simple. Before you ever apply for a job or you share your resume with anyone, give it a simple title like that. The truth is we know you have a different version of your resume and you are likely applying other places if you are applying for a role with us, but this way we can have the illusion of doubt.

Rude when answering initial call

You know those sweet ringtones where you can have Slayer playing when somebody calls you and they wait for you to pick up? It is decidedly less sweet when that person calling you is from a potential employer (even if they love Slayer). On a similar note is answering the phone in a super rude way.
Believe it or not, countless times I have called a candidate who applied to a role I was working on just to have the candidate be weirdly rude to me. I’ve called and had people answer like “Who is this?” No hello, no pleasantries just “What” or “What do you want”. My favorite is I will call and say something like “Hi, is this Joe Smith?” and the candidate replies, “Who is this?” I then say this is Ben White calling from Titus Talent Strategies and then the candidate goes “Oh, hi, this is Joe”.

I then respond, “Hi Joe” but I assure you, in my head, I am thinking “Why did Joe respond like that? Is he a fugitive or something?” Is Joe on the run from something? Does Joe have bill collectors calling him? The truth is, I don’t know why he answered like that but it is starting things off on the wrong foot. If you are in the job market, just answer the phone like a normal well-adjusted adult and you can avoid people like me thinking you are on the run from a Bond supervillain.

A resume that isn’t enticing to hiring managers

There can be a huge difference between what a hiring manager see and what a recruiter sees. A recruiter (most, not all) looks at your resume and spends about seven seconds confirming your education/training, job titles, duration of stay at organizations and a quick scan for any caps. That may seem like a short time but that’s the reality.
A hiring manager will look at your resume differently. They are looking at your roles and what you did there. What technology did you use, what projects were you part of, what was your contribution to the organization and can they see some sort of impact.
What I am getting is that when you craft your resume, you have to do so with multiple people in mind. For the recruiter make sure the formatting, grammar, and aesthetics are handled. For the hiring manager think specific, quantifiable impact in every role. In some professions it will be critical to include certain technologies or types of projects (I will assume if its relevant to your industry you understand what I am getting at here).
A good example might be: Spearheaded an 18-month project where I lead a team of 10 to reduce waste on a manufacturing line by implementing lean principles. Over 18 months improved efficiency by 25% and eliminated significant waste and downtime which lead to an $80,000 over that time period.
Now, I am not a technical person but I think you can get what I was aiming for there. It was specific, quantifiable and it lets the hiring manager imagine how your skill-set might be utilized in their organization. I could probably write a 2000-word post on this topic alone but I will leave it at that for now.
Now I don’t personally offer resume writing as a service but I do have a few recommendations. I am pretty fond of the innovative strategies at Blue Sky Resume, currently, they have a special deal going on with a money back guarantee, check price HERE.
Another unique service is Resume Scanners. It is a pretty awesome service that can help you tailor your resume against job postings you are interested. What I specifically like about this service is that it’s so customizable to the position you are targeting. It’s a one of a kind service that to me is worth exploring further if you are willing to make a purchase to enhance your chance at a position, check the price HERE.

Burnt bridges that work for a new organization

At the beginning of this post, I wrote there were four quick things and one longer-term thing I wanted to touch on. This topic is the latter. In my time recruiting and interviewing I have had many people tell me that didn’t need to give their two-week notice or during that two-week notice period they planned on just coasting. I have also had people let me know that for various reasons they have burnt bridges at previous companies.
All of these actions are pretty big mistakes in my opinion. It is also extremely short-sighted to think that your actions when negative won’t impact you down the road unless your plan is to apply at a company you have worked at previously. When people say they don’t think these actions will have repercussions I like to ask them the two following questions to reframe their perspective.
Is it not possible that the people at your company switch organizations and wind up at an employer you might want to work for in the future? Is it possible that people at a company you apply at know people at previous employers? Your actions are always going to matter. In a world as connected as ours, you can ill-afford to cultivate a negative impression of yourself.
It is a small world and the actions you take at one employer could very well have far-reaching implications down the road. You might leave an organization with absolute certainty that you will never work there again but if you think for one second your reputation there might not adversely impact you down the road you have made a huge miscalculation.
The way you treat people and the effort you put forth can certainly have an impact on your career and what doors will or will not be open for you in the future. If you have applied for a role you were perfect on and not gotten an interview, this could be a reason. Your reputation, your brand, the perception people have about you is always going to matter.

Putting it all together

Well, there you have it. The first three tips are things that take no time to implement. They are quick, easy things that could potentially have a pretty large impact. The resume bit is something that can take more time. If you need professional assistance with your resume there are plenty of services out there to help you create a great resume.
I don’t personally offer any services like that but if you check out my Resource Page you can find a few great services to assist you. The last tip is obviously something that isn’t quick or easy. It is something that you will have to work at over time and continue to be cognizant of; however, trust me when I say that it is completely worth the effort.
I cannot tell you how many times I have presented a candidate just to have a hiring manager say that they know someone who has worked with the candidate and they would like to ask them first. In some regards the impression you make with the people you work with can have a bigger impact than the skills you pick up along the way. That goes both positively and negatively.
Leaving a job is not about what the people at your old job will think about you after you are gone. It is about what they will tell people about you when they ask. I can tell you for a fact that it is a critical thing that a lot of people just do not take into consideration.
I appreciate you taking the time to read this all, I know it was a long one. Do me a favor, if you liked this please share it with your social networks, it helps me quite a bit. Specifically, if you have a Pinterest a LinkedIn or a Facebook, any shares on those platforms can help me big time. And lastly, what please feel free to comment below.
Do these tips help you? Are there any other tips that I did not mention that you think should be included? The first step to nailing the interview is getting the interview so this is a critically important step. I would love to hear what other factors might be important that I am missing so that I can incorporate them into future posts.
If you have more time and want to read another post, last week I wrote What successful people do before interviews. It is a bit shorter than this one but it is a great piece with some really helpful tips as well. Thanks again for reading and have an awesome day!
Ben