I'm screening resumes now...

[rbnyc]

...for the Associate Director position in my department. This is what I am learning.

1. People cannot follow directions. Most did not submit the things I asked for.
2. People cannot write. Cover letters are terrible!
3. People cannot spell.
4. People are not careful - so many typos!

I am finding myself deciding to interview folks who don’t quite have the experience I am looking for because they were able to send me the materials I asked for, error-free and with a decently written cover letter.

[Scuba]

1. Those are the ones I'd choose also. Better to have a good person with little experience...

...than a bad person with (possibly bad) experience.

[DaveJ]

2. Great news for competent job seekers!

However, I do suffer from being unable to write a few sentences without any typos. That's why I edit about 90% of my posts after the fact. Still, they slip by. I also knowingly leave out commas sometimes even where they would be helpful. And use sentence fragments, even though I know it's not right.

I think my resume skills have gotten better over the past 10 years, but when I look back on some of my past resumes I'm horrified.

My dad was very successful in business, and he never wrote his own resume. My mom wrote them for him.

[NewDeal_Dem]

3. It sort of amazes me that people applying for an associate director's position would have that level

of resume incompetence.

[dem in texas]

4. Telephone Calls

I am long retired, but used to work for a software company in Dallas. When looking for a support person, we would always start with an ad in the newspaper with our phone number to call. What so many of the applicants did not realize was that the initial phone call was an important first step in the job interview. The job required excellent phone skills and ability to always be supportive to our clients.

I used to take the calls and only a few would go to the next step. Some, especially men thought they were talking to a secretary, not the second highest person in charge of the company and they let it show. They failed the test, didn't want a customer support person talking down to one of our clients. Some just asked for our mailing address to send a resume, this was not a people person So keep in mind, whether it is a phone call or mailing a resume, make sure you are showing the important things the employer is looking for.

[bucolic_frolic]

6. Just interview the resume that says "Greatest worker in the world"

and has no references. That would be mine. Running home businesses puts one in that situation, and HR people don't understand it at all. Once you're on your own, they have no need for you.