Top 10 Tips for Job Seekers

Top 10 Tips for Job Seekers

By: Lauren Weiner

My company has been in the midst of a huge recruiting push over the last 2 months, and my staff and I have seen it all—from some great resumes and cover letters that really stand out from the crowd to some terrible interviews (often with people we were really excited about based on their resumes). In no particular order, here are some of my own observations about what works—and what doesn’t—when doing your job search.

1. A cover letter can make or break you

A beautifully written cover letter can easily overcome a mediocre resume (especially if it explains why certain things—education at a less-than-noteworthy school, resume gaps, etc—exist). In contrast, a poorly written one can kill even the most impressive resume. Keep in mind, the email sending your resume and cover letter is just as important as your actual cover letter, as it is the first introduction you provide to the recruiter.

2. Tailor your cover letter (and preferably your resume) to the specific job/company

Nothing says “I’m just looking for a job, any job!” more than a cover letter that reads as entirely generic. (And, by the way, tailoring a cover letter doesn’t just mean inserting the company name in your generic letter…). I would actually say that no cover letter but a well-written and succinct email along with your resume is worlds better than a generic cover letter. In your letter, you should include how you heard about the company and/or job opening (especially if you were referred by someone in the company) and why the particular company and/or job interests you. (See #6, and do your research on the company before submitting your resume).

3. Your “objective” should never be “to obtain a job at XYZ company”

I’ll admit, I’m not a huge fan of the “objective” section of a resume overall, because I’ve rarely seen it done well. If you do use it, this is the one section, in my view, that shouldn’t be tailored to each position. It should be a strong statement about what your short and long term career objectives are, and what your goal in job seeking is. Saying that your objective is to get a job with XYZ Company is obvious—you wouldn’t have put in a resume if you didn’t want a job with that company. But it is a waste of space, and to me it shows a lack of critical thinking. If you waste space on your resume, you’re also likely to waste my time (or, worse yet, our client’s time).

4. For goodness sake, PROOFREAD!

And not just for typos, though you’d be shocked at how many otherwise strong resumes I see with really awful typos. (Please, please, please, get the difference between their/they’re/there right on everything you send to me!) Bring out your old college copy of Strunk & White and check grammar/style as well. Bullet points should all be in the same verb tense, punctuation should be correct and uniform, and format should be uniform throughout.

5. Dress appropriately for an interview

Unless you’re applying for a job at Google, you really can’t go wrong wearing what we’ve dubbed internally in our company as the “no comment” suit-- conservative colors, cut, and style, with no plunging necklines, subtle makeup, and all tattoos covered. Most companies no longer have suits as the standard dress code, but even if everyone else is in khakis and golf shirts, you’ll never make a bad impression showing up for the first round of interviews dressed up. Take your cues on further interviews from the first interviewer.

6. Do your research on the company

You’d be amazed at how many people come into an interview without having looked at the company website. Nothing says “I don’t really have an interest in working for this company” more than that—if you can’t take the 5 minutes to do a web search and read what we’ve written about ourselves, you aren’t serious about this job. You should know something about the company—and reference it— in your cover letter as well as the interview itself. Some of the best interviews we’ve had have been with people who pick something out of our website (usually something about our founding, or our corporate values) and talk about why it resonated with them.

7. Don’t be cocky

The best example I have of this mistake wasn’t an interview that I conducted, but one that a close friend conducted. She was recruiting at a business school job fair, and was talking to one of the students. She asked a standard interview question—“tell me about a time when you made a mistake, and what you did to fix it.” His response? “I don’t make mistakes.” Her response to that? “You just did. Interview over.” Yes, you need to sell yourself. And yes, you need to spin things to the positive, even when asked about mistakes or weaknesses. But you can be a great fit for the organization without being the best person ever to walk the earth. Don’t overdo the confidence to the point you become a blowhard. Subtle confidence is much more appealing, and much more believable.

8. Send a thank you email

Again, just like the cover letter, tailor it to the specific interview you just had, instead of making it a generic thank-you-and-reminder-of-my-strengths email. Reference something specific from the interview, especially if you think it specifically resonated with the interviewer. One of my employees, who conducts most of our preliminary interviews, told me that she absolutely notices if someone doesn’t send a thank you note. To be honest, I don’t—I’m usually on to the next thing right after the interview closes—but I absolutely do notice a great thank you email when it is sent, and it can help to reinforce a decision to put a candidate on the short list (and sometimes bump them up a notch on that list) for hiring.

9. Leave salary demands somewhat flexible and understand the full compensation package, if the rest of the job appeals to you

Be smart when looking at a compensation package, and understand the trade-offs between base salary, bonuses, and other benefits. If, for example, base salary is lower at one company but they have a robust profit-sharing plan (and they’re doing well), your overall compensation may be better in the second company over the course of the year. And some companies provide other non-monetary benefits that may be even more attractive to you than the salary package—strong professional development opportunities or work-life balance flexibilities, for example. Finally, look at the place this job will play in your professional development and career track. It certainly isn’t worth taking a job for an extra $1000 a year that won’t allow for fast career advancement as compared to a lower-starting-pay job that will launch your career.

10. That said, don’t sell yourself short

There are numerous studies that show that new employees (particularly women) do not negotiate effectively for the salary that the employer was willing to give you! Do your research and figure out what a typical salary for the position is. Be honest with yourself and determine if you really deserve more or less than that typical salary. And then, politely, listen to the salary offer they give and provide reasons why you deserve X% more. They may say no (at which point, see #9 above), but it certainly doesn’t hurt to—politely—ask!