Y U NO GIVE ME JOB?!? The Recruiter Thread

[Zelig]

Well, I'm not a recruiter or HR, I just give my input on resumes that pass through my office, and sometimes sit in on interviews...

Before I had any involvement in dealing with employees, I was really reluctant to cut my (short) interests section.

When I look at resumes, I'm generally not interested in personal interests. If the interests are valuable, and the person is at all useful in the interview, interests will come up anyway.

FWIW, I don't find your written skills/interests interesting, which I'd like to avoid when other people read my resume, even though I think my own interests are interesting.

My current resume has languages, volunteering, professional and personal interests all rolled into one section, I'm going to need to do some formatting work next time I revise it.

 

[dutchfire]

DT, you've mentioned that you check (criminal/driving) records of people. If you don't like them, you'll turn people down. Do you turn down anyone with a criminal record, or just certain offences?

 

[downtown]

I'm currently updating my resume to include recent volunteer experience and internship experience.

Would you employers recommend I ditch the "skills and interests" part?
Currently I have listed:

• Accomplished public speaker, addressing crowds in political, social, and business settings
• Writing and editing skills
• Start-ups

The bottom is of course an interest and something I've focused on academically and brought that perspective to my workplaces, but not a skill per se.

It takes up space. It gives real information. You tell me.

I think it depends completely on the types of jobs you are applying for. Your interests should be targeted towards the position you are trying to get. If you are never going to need public speaking skills, it isn't very relevant, and can be left off your resume. Like Mars said, these are things that you can easily work into your interview. If it is relevant, include it.

I don't have an interests section on mine...I have at tiny "other affilaitions and accomplishments" type section, which mentions my work with my frat, other professional organizations, and my Eagle Scout award. When I start getting language certifications, I'll put those there too.

DT, you've mentioned that you check (criminal/driving) records of people. If you don't like them, you'll turn people down. Do you turn down anyone with a criminal record, or just certain offences?

Having a criminal record doesn't necisarrily mean I can't consider you. I actually don't have any leeway with criminal records...my supervisors and legal team came up with guidelines I have to follow. If you've been convicted of theft or fraud, there is no way I can hire you, since my company does retail consulting, and we're in stores *all the time*. I can't hire anybody with a DUI, because our jobs require a lot of driving, and that makes our insurance go up. If an offense was more than 7 years ago, or for something small (say, pot possession), we may be able to overlook it.

I hired at least one ex-con as a mechanic in my last job. I doubt I'd be able to do that for my current company.

 

[squall78]

Dowtown, where you able to find out the question regarding conditional hires and military service?

 

[downtown]

Dowtown, where you able to find out the question regarding conditional hires and military service?

Yup, just asked. My understanding (and this is not legal advice) is that you can't be discriminated against for guard deployment, nor are you obligated to mention that info. If hired, they need to keep your position open for you until you get back. It's only happened to us once in 5 years though, so its possible my manager is misinformed.

 

[GoodGame]

I'm currently updating my resume to include recent volunteer experience and internship experience.

In doing so I have to cut some old stuff to make room. There is some obvious consolidation, plus some needed edits anyway, but I do need to make some wholesale cuts.

Would you employers recommend I ditch the "skills and interests" part?
Currently I have listed:

• Accomplished public speaker, addressing crowds in political, social, and business settings
• Writing and editing skills
• Start-ups

The bottom is of course an interest and something I've focused on academically and brought that perspective to my workplaces, but not a skill per se.

It takes up space. It gives real information. You tell me.

Just my 2cents, I would not cut out real experiences and real skill development; that's just selling yourself short. It's one thing to say you like writing and you like reading about startup businesses. That'd be filler that could be cut if needed. Useful for breaking the ice in a conversation, or displaying interest in a job that uses that skill....but not essential.

OTOH, if you did an internship where a significant skill, accomplishment, achievement was doing a bit of writing for your boss, or researching startup business law/strategy/planning for your boss, then I would definitely leave it in. Though it'd be better as a bullet in your work experience section. If it was school related (e.g. you wrote a 40 page paper on the art of startups), then you might try to place it as bullet in your education section.

For your public speaking, I'd list whatever clubs, events, etc that you developed that skill.


My own job hunting experience is that if you cut descriptive detail out, you might hear back that you were an ok candidate, except you lacked that specific detail (which you had, but didn't mention on your resume). I've had that happen.

 

[GoodGame]

I'd say that internships can work for some people. I've done two and they don't do anything except allow me to write them down in my CV and cover letter. I guess that's most of what people are after, but I think there are other better ways in which you can be more appealing to employers. To be fair, the vast majority of people these days have to do them, but that means it becomes more of an expectation that you do them rather them being beneficial to you in any direct way. In short, it all depends on personality, industry and personal aims.

Many companies and organisations, though, are just looking for cheap labour. It shows. You had better be proactive in trying to turn internships into something. There's no free lunch, possibly with the exception of the companies making you work for free.

I'm sure you are right that internships are cheap labor to companies. I've seen that companies that are big on internships are typically small on entry level positions. I guess the internship saves hiring costs for the company in multiple ways.

You should list your internships as job experiences, not just education. Write them up as at least one or two skills, achievements (don't just name-drop the place you interned at) and be sure to get your supervisor to be a reference for later schooling/job-hunting. And be sure to network for inside connections while you're there.

 

[Hygro]

Cool, thanks for the feedback, all. I've cut the section and consolidated other parts.

Now it's a matter of, do I want to have a crazy full on, all-in everything resume or do I focus it on the obviously relevant and read more boring.

 

[GoodGame]

Cool, thanks for the feedback, all. I've cut the section and consolidated other parts.

Now it's a matter of, do I want to have a crazy full on, all-in everything resume or do I focus it on the obviously relevant and read more boring.

I think the answer is both. Have a data bank resume that has everything, even redundantly. Use that resume to create application-specific resumes. In other words modify your resume for specific jobs, or at least for specific categories of positions.

Basically apply to a job using a resume that makes you shine the best for the specific job.

 

[downtown]

Cool, thanks for the feedback, all. I've cut the section and consolidated other parts.

Now it's a matter of, do I want to have a crazy full on, all-in everything resume or do I focus it on the obviously relevant and read more boring.

Always make it specific to the job you're applying for. If you have a "full on everything" one, keep it for your own records.

When I want excitement, I'll watch college basketball.

 

[Hygro]

I think the answer is both. Have a data bank resume that has everything, even redundantly. Use that resume to create application-specific resumes. In other words modify your resume for specific jobs, or at least for specific categories of positions.

Basically apply to a job using a resume that makes you shine the best for the specific job.

Totally. The resume I'm putting together is the "general resume" from which I make copies for the firms I am interested in.

Always make it specific to the job you're applying for. If you have a "full on everything" one, keep it for your own records.

When I want excitement, I'll watch college basketball.

I'm skeptical, though, because this is basically removing achievement and experience in favor of being more like everyone else--everyone else who is probably not going to get the job.

 

[Eat_Up_Martha]

I applied for a job with a large company last week and have not received word back from them. I am planning on calling in soon (if they don't call first) and checking on the status of my application. By that I mean politely shouting "look at me!" at them.

Is there anything I should know of when calling back? I really don't know much more than just restating my interest in the position and inquiring about the application status. I am actually very well qualified for the position and really, really want it. I'm just nervous about screwing up my chances if I end up annoying the HR people.

 

[downtown]

I applied for a job with a large company last week and have not received word back from them. I am planning on calling in soon (if they don't call first) and checking on the status of my application. By that I mean politely shouting "look at me!" at them.

Is there anything I should know of when calling back? I really don't know much more than just restating my interest in the position and inquiring about the application status. I am actually very well qualified for the position and really, really want it. I'm just nervous about screwing up my chances if I end up annoying the HR people.

A polite call asking to check on the status of your application, and asking if they need any additional info is perfectly acceptable after a week. You can also send a thank you email to the recruiter (if you know their contact info), which should get your name back in their minds. If it is a big company, they prob have a lot of people to get through...and anything to get your name in their head again is fair. I've hired somebody that way.

Just don't cold call. that's a pain in the butt.

 

[downtown]

Thought i'd bump this to share a tidbit we got at work today. Apparently, the best days to apply for a job are Tues-Thurs. Job postings are typically refreshed before the weekends, which can mess up where you application sits!

 

[GoodGame]

Thought i'd bump this to share a tidbit we got at work today. Apparently, the best days to apply for a job are Tues-Thurs. Job postings are typically refreshed before the weekends, which can mess up where you application sits!

Yeah I've heard that too in that Monday is typically the "slow day" and Friday is typically the "get ready for the weekend day" that applications just sit on those days. But I think that plays more a role if you actually do phone/email inquiries.