Lately, I have been receiving resumes and cover letters from friends and friends’ siblings to pass on to our HR managers. Now, I know there is a lot of pressure to find jobs these days and many people are discouraged, but that does not give any excuse whatsoever for doing any the following: - Not stating the job reference number in the cover letter - Not putting the date in the cover letter - Not putting a header at all in the cover letter - Putting ‘Hiring Manager’ or ‘To Whom It May Concern’ if the HR manager’s name is stated in the job description - Spelling words incorrectly - Formatting resumes so that nothing is consistently aligned - Stating age on the resume The next time I receive a cover letter and resume with the above-mentioned problems (that I have been fixing for people, I might add), I am just going to click delete. That is all.
these people deserve death.
You are probably being too nice. Just tell them that as a result of X omission/error their application will not be further considered. Say that you didn’t see it before forwarding it to the HR manager. Next time when applying to a different firm probably they’ll remember. At the end they could benefit from it if pay attention next time.
sublimity Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > these people deserve death. job ref: contract killer posted: 10/20/2009 source: analystforum general discussion Subj: I don’t get it, I really don’t Sublimity, Are you hiring? I think I would do well as a contract killer given my adequate background in crushing natties and slaying drunk sorority girls with my member. Sincerely, ConvertArb
TheAliMan Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > - Not stating the job reference number in the > cover letter I generally don’t write cover letters for jobs so n/a, but if I did write a cover letter unless the ad specifically said reference the job number I would only just say “I’m interesting in applying for the Systems Engineer” position or something like that. > - Not putting the date in the cover letter Annoying, but not a deal breaker for me. > - Not putting a header at all in the cover letter Again annoying, but not a deal breaker assuming the actual letter is well-written. > - Putting ‘Hiring Manager’ or ‘To Whom It May > Concern’ if the HR manager’s name is stated in the > job description Hiring manager is ok with me, to whom it may concern isn’t. > - Spelling words incorrectly I will trash any cover letter or resume that has even one spelling/grammar error, so agree. > - Formatting resumes so that nothing is > consistently aligned Depends how egregious. > - Stating age on the resume Tacky, but not a deal breaker if the rest of the resume looks good.
ConvertArb, send me your resume (strictly adhering to TheAliMan’s guidelines) and i will consider you. username at gmail dot com
sublimity Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > these people deserve death. Lol. Who was the AF dude saying those recent murders just asked for it? Hope he is not reading.
Is it not illegal to screen or state your age in the resume in Canada?
Part-time Crook Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > sublimity Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > these people deserve death. > > Lol. Who was the AF dude saying those recent > murders just asked for it? Hope he is not reading. cjones65. he strongly believes that Annie Le was a “bridezilla” b.itch who deserved to be asphyxiated. (i don’t hold these views, just answering your question)
adehbone Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Is it not illegal to screen or state your age in > the resume in Canada? Bingo. Why don’t people know this? "However, it is illegal for an interviewer to ask questions related to sex, age, race, religion, national origin or marital status, or to delve into the candidate’s personal life for information that is not job related. " http://www.prlog.org/10273868-how-to-handle-illegal-interview-questions.html
iheartiheartmath Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > TheAliMan Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > - Not stating the job reference number in the > > cover letter > > I generally don’t write cover letters for jobs so > n/a, but if I did write a cover letter unless the > ad specifically said reference the job number I > would only just say “I’m interesting in applying > for the Systems Engineer” position or something > like that. > > > - Not putting the date in the cover letter > > Annoying, but not a deal breaker for me. > > > - Not putting a header at all in the cover > letter > > Again annoying, but not a deal breaker assuming > the actual letter is well-written. > > > - Putting ‘Hiring Manager’ or ‘To Whom It May > > Concern’ if the HR manager’s name is stated in > the > > job description > > Hiring manager is ok with me, to whom it may > concern isn’t. > > > - Spelling words incorrectly > > I will trash any cover letter or resume that has > even one spelling/grammar error, so agree. > > > - Formatting resumes so that nothing is > > consistently aligned > > Depends how egregious. > > > - Stating age on the resume > > Tacky, but not a deal breaker if the rest of the > resume looks good. Fair enough, but no one should run those risks, especially in this environment. It’s you against HR, and HR is already up 3 points in the soccer game.
iheartiheartmath Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > - Spelling words incorrectly > > I will trash any cover letter or resume that has > even one spelling/grammar error, so agree. ^ This is the worst. I used to teach some college-level Math during a summer on my early 20’s, and the tests ended up being grammar/spelling examinations (not in English). I returned the tests full of red circles and side notes pointing all that crap. A dude just dropped my course because of that. The good part is that I was able to made out with two nice girls on my class. I had to resign when things went a little messy with one girl. I couldn’t even collect my last paycheck, lol. Good times! Anyway, my English is not good enough since I don’t live in the US or any other English-speaking country, but failing at this is inexcusable for any job seeker.
A friend of mine sent a resume to me because they wanted to apply at a top firm that I use to work at. The resume was the worst I’ve ever seen - horrible formatting, spelling/grammatical mistakes, poor organization, etc. Anyway, being a friend I sent them back a rather lengthy email of constructive criticism. I spent a good 45 minutes doing that. Got a reply “thanks for the feedback.” A week later I got a revised resume - formatting unchanged, 1/2 the spellers were not fixed, organization still all over the place. Unreal.
Part-time Crook Wrote: > The good part is that I > was able to made out with two nice girls on my > class. I had to resign when things went a little > messy with one girl. FTW
Ali, where do you work so I can send you a perfectly written resume.
Part-time Crook Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > ^ This is the worst. I used to teach some > college-level Math during a summer on my early > 20’s, and the tests ended up being > grammar/spelling examinations (not in English). I > returned the tests full of red circles and side > notes pointing all that crap. A dude just dropped > my course because of that. The good part is that I > was able to made out with two nice girls on my > class. I had to resign when things went a little > messy with one girl. I couldn’t even collect my > last paycheck, lol. Good times! > > Anyway, my English is not good enough since I > don’t live in the US or any other English-speaking > country, but failing at this is inexcusable for > any job seeker. mo34 could really learn something from this guy.
Kcin, email me at djaliman at shaw period ca