Job Hunting Sins And How To Avoid Them

Over the summer, my company was in the fortunate position of growing our teams in several areas. As I always do, I posted on LinkedIn about these roles, so that I could hopefully share with my network and so that they would share with theirs. In the past when I’ve shared open roles on LinkedIn, I’ve received anywhere from 5-20 messages/connection requests. On this occasion I posted about two separate roles, and received 94 requests for introductory calls in less than a week.

I was unable to take all of those calls, but felt that it was important to have initial conversations with everyone who was a strong potential fit. Looking at backgrounds and relevant experience as the initial screening criteria, with some exceptions made for candidates who were specific about why they were interested in this particular role despite not having a clear fit, I ended up having over 45 calls with potential applicants. Candidates with strong communication skills, thorough responses to questions and tasks, and a genuine and thoughtful attitude, always stand out. At the same time, both before introductory calls and then throughout the following process, I saw some alarming behaviors. Some of the concerning behaviors were very prominent, and led me to create this list of Job Hunting Sins. These are my personal opinions, but I thought they might be helpful to share with job seekers, so in this post I’ll be talking through the following offenses, and rating them based on my own personal experience:

·       Unfinished Resumes

·       Poor Call Etiquette

·       Asking for a Call Without Explaining Why

·       Never Following Up

·       Over-Following Up

This is an incredibly challenging time to be looking for a job in many fields, and I approached writing this guide with as much empathy as I could muster, because I know that the hustle is serious and the competition is fierce. With that in mind, I also know that in a competitive field, committing one of these Job Hunting Sins could be enough to disqualify you from many search processes.

So, here they are: my list of Job Hunting Sins, how to know when you’re committing them, and what you can do to avoid them. 

1. Unfinished resumes

What does this mean?

I classify ‘Unfinished Resumes’ to include a wide range of resume tragedies. Perhaps most egregious is the resume or cover letter that was clearly and explicitly written for another job and company. My personal least favorite is the resume that still has comments on revisions in the margins from your friend or colleague you asked to give it a look over. I see you that replied to those comments! That makes me even more sad that you didn’t think to remove them before sending my way. Another error I would include as an ‘Unfinished Resume’ is a resume with significant spelling/grammar checks, which I believe happens often when writers depend entirely on Grammarly or other similar programs (in some cases, Google Translate (!!!)) as the sole check on writing quality in a resume, or even worse, a cover letter.

5/5 Cringe

3/5 Common

How to avoid:

Ideally, hire a professional to support your resume writing process. If you offer this service, feel free to self-promote in the comments! Many colleges and universities provide free resume support to students and alumni. There are a wealth of clinics and free services right now to try and support the current influx of job seekers. Take advantage of these resources!

If you can’t access a professional service for some reason, ask your friends, family, and trustworthy colleagues to support your process. Ask them to proofread and do your own proofreading process before and after. Ask for brutal honesty from your reviewers. It’s much better to hear the raw truth before you submit your application than to miss out on opportunities because of careless language mistakes.

Perhaps the simplest solution to solve many of the above issues is simply converting your resume to a PDF before sending. This will resolve many issues including the comments in the margins problem, as well as the possibility of someone opening your document accidentally modifying it before or while reading it. It is good practice to always send every resume and cover letter in PDF form. 

2. Poor call etiquette

What does this mean?

Things happen, and especially in our current moment in history, I’m not concerned if someone does not have a completely quiet place to take a professional call. Kids yelling in the background? Sirens going off because you’re in the fire escape trying to avoid kids yelling in the background? Dog just a little too eager to make himself known? None of these are necessarily problems in my opinion.

So, what does ‘Good Call Etiquette’ entail? The number one thing is, show up. There were several times when job seekers had their phones off or simply did not answer at the time we scheduled. In a few cases, we arranged the call so that the job seeker would call me. One time, the job seeker simply never called. Another time, they cancelled less than an hour before with a vague excuse and never followed up afterwards. On a third memorable occasion, the job seeker called me 18 minutes past the scheduled time, and didn’t acknowledge the delay at all. We had scheduled a 30-minute call and they seemed baffled when only about 10 minutes in I had to wrap things up and move on to my next meeting.

5/5 Cringe

3/5 Common

How to avoid:

Be very clear on the details of the call at the time it is scheduled. If you’re unclear on who is calling whom, the date/time, or the number you are supposed to call, ask for clarification. If the hiring manager doesn’t send a meeting invitation, feel free to do so and include the relevant details in the meeting invitation, such as writing “Breonna will call Cory at 312-312-3122” in the meeting location field.

Just as important is to manage your own schedule effectively, despite the world being turned upside down. It’s harder than ever, but do everything you can to set yourself up for a successful first call. Set reminders on your phone. Set back up reminders on your phone. Don’t schedule anything for yourself immediately before your scheduled conversation if possible, to give yourself a little time to clear your head and get yourself organized. That day may be the day to – and I can’t believe I’m saying this – keep the ringer on on your phone so that you don’t miss any reminders or miss the actual call itself. 

3. Asking for a call without explaining why

What does this mean?

I’ll keep this brief since we’ve already covered several call-related crimes. As with all interactions on LinkedIn, requests for informational calls about posted jobs are best done with transparency, honesty, and specificity. This error occurs when someone reaches out without asking for a specific enough request to be useful. A great example is, “Hi Liz- saw that your organization is hiring. When is a good time to connect?”. The problems here include that you haven’t specified which roles you’re interested in, clearly expressed your interest, or explained why I should take a call with you. One or two of these messages may not seem so concerning, but in the mix of 50, 100, 200, or 500 messages, you don’t want to give the hiring manager or person who posted the job any reason to ignore you. A lack of specificity is definitely reason enough.

4/5 Cringe

4/5 Common

How to avoid:

This one, thankfully, is one of the most avoidable on the list. Send thoughtful, specific, transparent messages when you’re asking for someone’s time. Here are two examples, one more formal and one more casual based on your preference and industry:

“Dear Liz,

I saw your post for a Business Development Role in Chicago and wanted to connect to express my interest in applying. With 4 years of business development experience (add a relevant specific detail or two), I believe I could be a great addition to the team. Would it be possible to schedule 30 minutes with you to review the role and company, and have an initial discussion about the opportunity and whether I might be a good fit? With our shared backgrounds in the retail sector, I’d particularly like to get your input on the company’s current work within that space.”

Alternatively:

“Hi Liz,

Thanks for accepting my request to connect! I saw the BDM role you posted, and I think it might be a good match for my skills and interests (be more specific here if you can). I’d like the chance to chat about if this might be a good fit, if you’re open to it, and get an overview of the interview process. Do you have time next Tuesday for a call, anytime after 2pm central?”

4. Never following up

What does this mean?

Once you’ve had a call with a hiring manager or anyone who’s considering referring you, you should be considerate of the time and energy they’ve put in to supporting you. At a human relationship level, see this process through, even if you don’t care to continue.

This summer there was a candidate I was excited about. We had a long intro call one evening, and I felt this was a really strong potential fit. We were clearly not aligned though, because the next morning she wrote to me and told me she was withdrawing her candidacy. Disappointing? Yes. Infuriating? Absolutely not. I’m so glad to know this at the start of the process and not waste any more of our time.

But in the same way that employers ruin their reputation by ghosting candidates, candidates hurt their reputation and relationships when they ghost. Once I’ve had an initial call with someone, I’m excited to move forward. To never hear from you again is frustrating, and may even slow the process for other candidates. It also definitely disqualifies you in my mind for any other opportunities in the future, since I don’t know that I can count on you to treat other people respectfully or follow up on and complete your responsibilities.

5/5 Cringe

2/5 Common

How to avoid:

Thankfully, this one is easy. Keep track of your job search in an organized way that works for you so as not to do this accidentally. And once you’ve decided to no longer continue a process, be proactive in communicating that politely and clearly. 

Over-following up

What does this mean?

It’s important to remember that, with rare exception, hiring is a multi-person process. The person you speak with first is likely dependent on several other people and processes before a decision can be made. We want to hire quickly, and we know you want to know quickly whether or not you’re still in the running, and ultimately if you’ll be receiving an offer.

That all being said, it’s not a good look when you follow up incessantly. If someone tells you they won’t have news for two weeks, and you follow up one week later, you will look desperate and annoying. If someone tells you that they are waiting for a colleague to return from leave, listen to them. Sending a barrage of emails to the person who referred you, or to the person who is one cog in the hiring machine, is simply not effective or positive.

3/5 Cringe

4/5 Common

How to avoid:

Listening is key here. When someone tells you that they will follow up in two weeks, believe them, and then follow up with them only after that time has passed. If someone tells you that they must go through several other interview processes that could take 2-3 weeks, don’t reach out next Tuesday. Think about all of the things on this person’s plate, and try to consider how you can be an asset and a bright spot in their day, rather than someone they come to dread seeing emails from.

And that completes the list of Job Hunting Sins.

The points above are emotional-intelligence driven, communication-focused guidelines for your job search. I hope you've found this to be a helpful perspective. If you’re looking for a job right now, I truly wish you all the best. I invite you to check out some of my favorite resources for additional tips and support in the job-hunting journey:

-Liz Ryan: fantastic career advice for everyone, whether you're hiring or looking to get hired. She's really helped me to consider the impacts of how companies treat candidates and employees, and how to approach all aspects of work in a more human-centered way.

-AskAManager: no matter what problem you're facing at work or in your job search, chances are it's been covered in at one point or another in the Ask A Manager column. And if it hasn't been, it's an advice column, so go ahead and ask!

-JT O'Donnell: JT provides a ton of free advice to job seekers. I have really appreciated her straightforward approach and specific, actionable advice, and have followed her suggestions many times over the years.

Please feel free to share more of your favorite resources in the comments.