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So I posted an ad on our local Craigslist for a CSR for our company. Need to hire someone right away to get them trained before our current CSR leaves in two weeks. So in order to do this I stated in the ad that you need to drop off your resume on Friday between 9 AM and 1 PM. That way I can read the resume right away and if I like it I will interview you on the spot.
As of Wednesday night I had received 6 resumes via email. If you can't read the simple instruction that you need to drop them off, I'm not going to call you.
Somethings to avoid if you want me to call you in for an interview:
- Don't have an email address like "fungirl89@.....", grow up and have your name as the email address.
- Don't send me a 5 page resume for a CSR job
- Spell the name of your current and former employers correctly
- Three, maybe four bullet points is all you need - not 20+ to highlight the skills you use in your current job.
- At least try to write a paragraph or two when you send me an email about why you need the job. Don't just send me your resume and nothing else. I realize it is a CSR job, so not having a full blown cover letter attached won't hurt you.
- Dates, I need dates of when you worked someplace. Don't send me a resume with no dates of when you worked someplace. Also the name of the company you worked for doesn't hurt either. Honestly got a resume yesterday and for employers she listed: construction office, real estate company, etc... Let me know where you worked.
Rant over, now it's time to go back to work and see what gems I have in my email this morning.
I have been amazed at the people using our local Craigslist in Nashville for resume posting. Why would an employer bother calling you if you can't take the time to use a simple spell check program? You can't be bothered to post some of your skills in the ad title? Posting three identical ads in a row is going to get you a job? I have many more rants but I will spare you.........
I agree with most of your rant. As far as the "bullet points" I would say it depends on how they are used. I have ten "bullet points" on my resume each covering a unique software skill relevant to the position. I have low expectations of people and feel if the skills were in paragraph form they would be "skimmed over".
My "low expectations" of people's reading comprehension has been confirmed countless times. I am changing careers and CLEARLY state that on my resume. I have my complete employment history listed yet people ask me what kind of experience I have in the new field??????
Another issue is that I am looking for a very specific type of job. I make it very clear in my Craigslist ad and on my resume yet people call about jobs that are barely related to my goals.
You should really lower your expectations. Craigslist is not a site where I would go in person to a business unless they were very local to where I live, or a company I have heard of.
Not sure exactly what a "CSR" consists of where you work, but if you are looking for a truly serious candidate, you are much better off posting the job outside of craigslist.
You should really lower your expectations. Craigslist is not a site where I would go in person to a business unless they were very local to where I live, or a company I have heard of.
Not sure exactly what a "CSR" consists of where you work, but if you are looking for a truly serious candidate, you are much better off posting the job outside of craigslist.
Lower your expectations because you're advertising on Craigslist? I disagree. I've gone through exactly the same thing as the OP when posting vacancies in venues other than Craigslist (and which could be described as more prestigious than CR).
When I've specifically said, "No phone calls, please", the 'phone will ring incessantly; when I've specifically said, "No walk-ins, please", watch out for the troops. I'll add that if you can't follow simple instructions when replying to an ad, why on earth would I want to hire you for a position that requires you to have some degree of intelligence and be able to follow simple written and oral instructions?
You want people to drop their resumes off in person?
Seriously?
Do you not know how to download and view a Word document or PDF?
Sorry, but no. Expecting people to spend gas or commuter money and then take the time to travel to where you are just to drop off a resume when there is no guarantee of an interview is expecting too much. It's not cost-effective on the applicant's part, because in the two hours it takes to accommodate your inability to use technology, the applicant could have applied to five or six other jobs.
You should really lower your expectations. Craigslist is not a site where I would go in person to a business unless they were very local to where I live, or a company I have heard of.
Not sure exactly what a "CSR" consists of where you work, but if you are looking for a truly serious candidate, you are much better off posting the job outside of craigslist.
CSR stands for Customer Service Rep, basically someone to answer the phone and do data entry for $10/hour. Craigslist provides a decent pool of applicants and it's free. If I was hiring for one of my technical or professional positions I would post someplace else. I'm only hiring one person so just need 20-30 resumes to peruse.
CSR stands for Customer Service Rep, basically someone to answer the phone and do data entry for $10/hour. Craigslist provides a decent pool of applicants and it's free. If I was hiring for one of my technical or professional positions I would post someplace else. I'm only hiring one person so just need 20-30 resumes to peruse.
A salary of 10 bucks an hour is all the more reason for someone not to go in person. I wouldn't dirty a dry-cleaned suit (that's 10 bucks right there) and spend the gas unless I knew I was going to be interviewed.
Smart job-seekers know that Craigslist is a joke--because it's free. First, it's a haven for scammers who collect your information from your resumes and use it for everything from telemarketing to identity theft. Second, if an employer is too cheap to spring for an ad on a reputable site, that employer is going to be cheap in other ways. That's not to say that legitimate employers never post there, or that every employer there is a tightwad, but it's not a place where professionals or people who want a career-track position go.
You want people to drop their resumes off in person?
Seriously?
Do you not know how to download and view a Word document or PDF?
Sorry, but no. Expecting people to spend gas or commuter money and then take the time to travel to where you are just to drop off a resume when there is no guarantee of an interview is expecting too much. It's not cost-effective on the applicant's part, because in the two hours it takes to accommodate your inability to use technology, the applicant could have applied to five or six other jobs.
You want people to drop their resumes off in person?
Seriously?
Do you not know how to download and view a Word document or PDF?
Sorry, but no. Expecting people to spend gas or commuter money and then take the time to travel to where you are just to drop off a resume when there is no guarantee of an interview is expecting too much. It's not cost-effective on the applicant's part, because in the two hours it takes to accommodate your inability to use technology, the applicant could have applied to five or six other jobs.
Work smarter, not harder.
I'm the one sitting next to the front door accepting resumes. If I like the way they look and their resume pans out I'll interview them on the spot. This way I don't have to waste time calling people in for interviews. Only need 10-20 people to show up and I'm sure I will find someone by Monday morning.
So I am working smarter, not harder and not wasting time calling people, going back and forth on scheduling and spending a week doing interviews. Our office is centrally located and within a 10 minute drive of at least 50,000 people. Plus for a CSR position I don't expect someone to come in wearing a suit. I wear shorts or jeans every day and I'm the only one in the office without tattoos. It's a decent entry level job, so just show up with clean jeans and a resume and I'll talk to you.
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