Like lots of other Americans, I am searching for a job. I’ve sent out an endless number of resumes, given plenty of phone interviews and taken the time to drive many miles to in-person interviews, but even after all that, I’m still searching. Because looking for a job is my actual job these days, I have a lot of experience with the process, and there are some things that could definitely be improved. So here’s some advice I’d like to give hiring managers, and if you’re a fellow job-seeker instead, you can likely agree with these suggestions:
1. Don’t be cagey on salary.
Job applicants like me would be very grateful if more job posters would simply list a position’s salary in the posting. There’s no need to make salary a guessing game by asking applicants what their expected rate of pay would be. If an applicant says a figure that’s lower or higher than what the company wants to pay us, we’re knocked out of consideration without us even knowing why. And the old standby of writing “open” on job applications doesn’t always work on today’s online forms. Often, there’s a dollar amount that must be selected. So please, hiring managers, make it easier on everyone by stating the salary in the job description.
2. Don’t make us fill out everything all over again in an online form after we’ve already submitted our resume.
This is more of a suggestion to the web developers who create the job submission forms, but it’s extremely annoying and time-consuming to have to fill in all of our details repeatedly. If you have our resume, you should have at least most of the information that you need from us.
3. Decide if a cover letter is necessary or not.
I’ve noticed lately that many jobs (especially those on job boards like Indeed.com) have a place for an “optional” cover letter. I don’t know if those get read (or even submitted to the hiring manager) or not, so even though I do usually write one, I wonder if I’m wasting my time or if I’m actually giving myself an edge. If a hiring manager definitely wants a cover letter, they should write that in the job description. This can prove to be helpful in another way too — it can make sure an applicant reads the entire description, which is what you probably want in a potential employee. I’ve also seen companies ask for more creative “cover letters” — for example, one job posting for a newsletter editor wanted a cover letter in the style of a newsletter. This can be a good way for job applicants to stand out, but we need to know if they’re worth our time or not.
4. Put yourself in our shoes.
I know that hiring managers want to make the best possible hires. But for many of us applicants, it’s hard to project our best selves in an interview, especially when we’re nervous and we really want the job. I wish that hiring managers would keep that in mind when applicants are in front of them. It can be hard for anyone to make a good impression in 10 minutes or less. And just because someone may not be the greatest interviewer, that doesn’t mean that that person can’t do the actual job well.
On another point, please don’t call us in for an interview if, for some reason, you think we have zero chance of getting this job. That’s a waste of our time and yours.
5. Communicate with us.
It takes literally seconds to send an email. If we didn’t get a job, let us know! Many of us are interviewing at different companies at the same time as yours, and we’d like to know which jobs we can cross off our list as we pursue other opportunities. Please don’t leave us in limbo. So few companies follow up with job applicants and I don’t understand why. A friend of mine got very far into the hiring process with one company — he had multiple interviews, and he was told that the company would be making a decision “soon.” That was six months ago. He figured out on his own that he didn’t get the job, and he has actually found another one, but he should’ve been told that by the company itself. And the company’s lack of communication makes it look unprofessional. Since he told me and his other friends about his experience with it, we don’t really want to work for that company either. Spending five seconds to send an email to an applicant is not only common courtesy; it can save your company’s reputation too.
If you’re a hiring manager, what frustrates you about the job applicants you’ve dealt with? And if you’re a job applicant, what other frustrations about the hiring process can you think of? Leave your comments below!
Type Writing 