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Old 03-27-2012, 08:57 AM
 
Location: Baltimore, MD
3,879 posts, read 8,366,902 times
Reputation: 5179

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Quote:
Originally Posted by annerk View Post
Grab me with your cover letter. Show personality and show that you can differentiate yourself from the pack. Offer me something besides your work history that is applicable to the job--volunteer work or even an interesting hobby that will translate to some facet of the job. Show me that you are a vibrant person, not some drone. That's what will get you the interview. I cull the pack of resumes hard before I even interview a single person, only 1% even get a phoner. And those are the people who have grabbed my attention with their cover letter.

Thanks Annerk!

I think this is really good advice. I've been attaching a matching cover letter with my resume with bullet points that hone in on the specific skills I offer (which are in line with the job ad) but I also highlight what I can bring to the team and one of my featured characteristics is "fun", which I think helped me land a job a few years ago.

Good advice!
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Old 03-27-2012, 08:58 AM
 
Location: Baltimore, MD
3,879 posts, read 8,366,902 times
Reputation: 5179
Quote:
Originally Posted by veuvegirl View Post
Good luck. I don't think there is a one size fits all for this situation. Every hiring manager is different what he or she wants or doesn't want as follow up. Some hiring managers find a person who calls after the interview to follow up as a go getter, others see it as desparate. You need to do the best you can 'reading' the cues of the hiring manager and ask probing questions to find out what the best course of action for THAT company is.
So true.

Its hard to read people these days but I am sure not one thing will work for all.

Its just good to get some ideas foe myself and the other job seekers on this board because it seems we all need to up our game.
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Old 03-27-2012, 08:59 AM
 
Location: Baltimore, MD
3,879 posts, read 8,366,902 times
Reputation: 5179
Quote:
Originally Posted by spm62 View Post
Good luck Crab, sounds like you showed a lot of initiative and were very prepared.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chef.sunny22 View Post
Good luck to you!
Thanks! I am hoping to hear something this week!
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Old 04-03-2012, 06:33 AM
 
Location: Baltimore, MD
3,879 posts, read 8,366,902 times
Reputation: 5179
Thanks to those that wished me well. Unfortunately, I found out yesterday that I didn't get the job.

And honestly, I'm kinda pissed about it. I feel like I did everything I could to stand out, to show initiative, to prove my worth and what things I could bring to the company, even giving them some ideas on furthering their marketing efforts and he even said I was well qualified and they still were not interested.

So I am stumped on what it takes to actually get a job in this economy. I guess its just a game of chance. You roll the dice and see what comes up. And in this case: game over.
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Old 04-03-2012, 08:53 AM
 
841 posts, read 1,914,317 times
Reputation: 1183
Miss C, I think it's fate telling you to have that baby!!
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Old 04-03-2012, 12:26 PM
 
1,206 posts, read 2,922,840 times
Reputation: 1153
Keep it up. Never let your guard down thinking you have a good chance of getting a job and then stopping your job search and waiting. Its not over til its over. Go for numbers. Also networking is number 1, if you have an in, your chances drastically increase.
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Old 04-03-2012, 04:39 PM
 
Location: Baltimore, MD
3,879 posts, read 8,366,902 times
Reputation: 5179
Nope. Not giving up. Just pressing forward.
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Old 04-03-2012, 06:53 PM
 
12,999 posts, read 18,842,604 times
Reputation: 9236
Quote:
Originally Posted by annerk View Post
Grab me with your cover letter. Show personality and show that you can differentiate yourself from the pack. Offer me something besides your work history that is applicable to the job--volunteer work or even an interesting hobby that will translate to some facet of the job. Show me that you are a vibrant person, not some drone. That's what will get you the interview. I cull the pack of resumes hard before I even interview a single person, only 1% even get a phoner. And those are the people who have grabbed my attention with their cover letter.
So you look at cover letters? I've heard some "experts" say don't bother including one, it just gets thrown out.
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Old 04-03-2012, 10:13 PM
 
Location: Central Ohio
10,823 posts, read 14,891,992 times
Reputation: 16525
Quote:
Originally Posted by annerk View Post
Grab me with your cover letter. Show personality and show that you can differentiate yourself from the pack. Offer me something besides your work history that is applicable to the job--volunteer work or even an interesting hobby that will translate to some facet of the job. Show me that you are a vibrant person, not some drone. That's what will get you the interview. I cull the pack of resumes hard before I even interview a single person, only 1% even get a phoner. And those are the people who have grabbed my attention with their cover letter.
Over my lifetime I've hired maybe 100 people and maybe it isn't for everyone but I like to go looking for the right person instead of them looking for me.

Some of my biggest disappointments have come from the traditional search with an advertisement in a newspaper, it may surprise some of you to learn but the internet hasn't been around forever, followed with the interview and usual BS.

But enough of that, let me tell you a couple instances where I hired by accident.

It was the early 1980's and going into work one bitterly cold January morning I passed a young man carrying a car battery being trailed by his young son. We were in the middle of nowhere so I thought a moment before turning around to offer him a ride.

Turns out he was taking the battery to a junk yard for scrap. It was 1982, unemployment was high and times were rough to say the least. Turns out he was concerned about the welfare of his family and was doing whatever he could to bring food to the table. What struck me is he was willing to walk several miles in the bitter cold (maybe 5 degrees) to bring home a couple bucks.

Took him to the junkyard, he got his $2.00 or whatever it was and I offered him a ride back home. We talked a bit and I just got a feeling this was a guy who would make a good worker.

Towards home I told him we could drop his boy off and I'd like to show him where I worked. Getting to the shop we each got a cup of coffee, I showed him around the shop and he impressed me by appearing genuinely interested in what we did especially since a job wasn't mentioned once up to this point.

We were a union company so after "interviewing" for a couple hours I offered a job as a "shop hand" where union membership wasn't required. He started work at noon.

The union owed me a favor, after a few months I got him into the apprentice program and as I knew it would he grabbed the opportunity making the best of it. He made journeyman in 1987 and was one of the guys I sent on a power plant project in Minnesota where his take home pay was never less than a thousand a week for nearly a year. To put it into perspective $1,000 in 1988 was equivalent to $1,924.45 today and that was take home pay.

By 1989 was a project superintendent. With union benefits and pay I like to think he did very well for himself and his family. With the battery he was taking initiative which always gets my attention.

I tell my people never to be afraid to make a decision even if it is wrong. I would rather have a wrong decision than no decision at all. If it is wrong we will talk about it as grown men so it isn't made again. Sometime that is the best way to learn.

We parted in 1990 when I went off to another company but years later I happened to run into him getting gas one day and he was still working and appeared happy.

He was devoted to his family and a church going man. Call me old fashioned but I like to see that in a man it shows responsibility.

What would have happened if he had decided it was to cold, and the walk to long, that cold winter morning?
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Old 04-03-2012, 11:37 PM
 
Location: So. of Rosarito, Baja, Mexico
6,987 posts, read 21,876,301 times
Reputation: 7007
Miss Crabcakes made one BIG mistake in trying to offer suggestions to improve a potential employer. The hiring person figured she was being too smart for her britches and passed on her.

Each company if in business for a long time more then likely have tried a particular move that failed to work for them. Each company will be different.

When in business hired a person that started to change my proven methods and when I corrected him he thought that his way was better then my working methods.

I explained that what he thought was a better way had been tried many yrs earlier and showed to be a poor choice.

A company that signs the pay check may be Right or Wrong in some ways but they are still the owners. Best to wait for a while to see how they operate and if asked offer an idea...they may accept or decline.
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