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Old 11-05-2015, 10:32 PM
 
331 posts, read 379,716 times
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Thought this was a good post to share -- a timely one as well considering two of my friends are having a hard time finding work:

Two CRITICAL mistakes that job seekers make

I think the author missed one, though. A lot of people don't prepare for interviews and, as a consequence, get blindsided by tough questions.
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Old 11-05-2015, 11:31 PM
 
Location: East Bay, San Francisco Bay Area, CA
23,278 posts, read 23,649,722 times
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Another mistake is that candidates don't research the company in advance and also don't research the people (I understand that sometimes you won't know, or won't be informed) that will be interviewing you in advance through LinkedIn, or other channels. In tight knit industries, though, you may know in advance who will be interviewing you.
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Old 11-05-2015, 11:35 PM
 
6,387 posts, read 4,079,864 times
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I would argue that for certain professional jobs, neither of those things matter.

My current job and my previous 2 jobs, I gave them my generic resume and I never wrote a thank you letter. I sold myself by my demeanor, my abilities, and my skill levels in the profession.
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Old 11-06-2015, 09:14 AM
 
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,098 posts, read 80,155,784 times
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As a hiring manager, I agree with tailoring the resume, it's often obvious that someone has applied for some other job and even forgot to change some of the wording to reflect my opening. Without a tailored resume the person is not likely to get an interview. As for the thank you, I consider that a waste of time. By the time I get that email or letter, I have almost always made the decision. We rarely interview more than 10 even with 100 applicants, and do them all on the same day or two days. By the time the last is interviewed I will make the decision. I can't understand why anyone would hire someone because they sent a thank you, or would not hire the best person because they failed to send a thank you.
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Old 11-06-2015, 09:20 AM
 
Location: broke leftist craphole Illizuela
10,326 posts, read 17,331,997 times
Reputation: 20321
The last study I read indicated <20% of cover letters are read at all and most of the rest are just quickly screened through. Cover letters are largely a waste of time.
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Old 11-06-2015, 09:28 AM
 
6,387 posts, read 4,079,864 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MSchemist80 View Post
The last study I read indicated <20% of cover letters are read at all and most of the rest are just quickly screened through. Cover letters are largely a waste of time.
Agreed. I have never submitted a cover letter. My boss tells me he just glances through the cover letters but never reads them.
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Old 11-06-2015, 09:33 AM
 
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
41,940 posts, read 36,716,568 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MetroWord View Post
Agreed. I have never submitted a cover letter. My boss tells me he just glances through the cover letters but never reads them.
Depends on the field. In some sciences and IT, sure. But in other fields I've worked in, such as development, they're critical. Most places I've worked if there isn't a cover letter the application isn't complete and the resume isn't glanced at, for a second.
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Old 11-06-2015, 10:18 AM
 
6,387 posts, read 4,079,864 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by timberline742 View Post
Depends on the field. In some sciences and IT, sure. But in other fields I've worked in, such as development, they're critical. Most places I've worked if there isn't a cover letter the application isn't complete and the resume isn't glanced at, for a second.
Just curious. Can you define "development"?

I've worked in programming and construction engineering. I never had a cover letter.
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Old 11-06-2015, 10:24 AM
 
Location: Southern California
12,713 posts, read 15,400,683 times
Reputation: 35511
Why not write a cover letter even if there's only a small chance someone will read it? I'm guessing it is read just as much as the actual resume is read.
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Old 11-06-2015, 10:54 AM
 
2,702 posts, read 2,746,161 times
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I agree with tailoring the resume but the thank you letter sounds silly. If a hiring manager gets like 100 emails a day, he's not gonna be picking out that lonesome email to read.

The last position I interviewed for, I expressed my interest in the position once more after two weeks. Thats all I did.
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