Poor Advice for Job Seekers

“Only send your CV via an online job ad” – Yes, the job ad may well ask you to do this, and you should but why stop there? You will be doing the exact same as every other job seeker out there.  Successful job seekers use friends, contacts and anybody else in their network to make contact with a potential employer.  Ask yourself, do you want the same odds as everyone else, or better? If you’ve got a way into the decision maker’s office, use it.

“Never send a paper CV as it won’t get read” – Sending a paper CV is a friendly approach.  By all means, we are not saying this is the only way you should send in your CV to a potential employer.  However, a surface mail letter can increasingly often get you an interview in a case where an e-mail would get ignored or spam-filtered. By posting your CV, you are saving them the task of opening the email, downloading the attachment, opening it and then printing it.

“Wait for them to call you” – To get yourself noticed call and follow up on the resumes you’ve sent and the applications you’ve made.  Opportunity is often missed by people who sit and wait for one.  Turn a situation into an opportunity. Your CV is in a stack with 100 others.  The bottom line is if you don’t take steps to push it up to the front of the line, no one else will.

“Bombard them with everything you have to make sure you get noticed” – Bad idea.  Give them your CV, your cover letter, and your time in a phone call or face-to-face interview, but don’t give anyone your list of references or other documentation until it’s clear that mutual interest to move forward exists.  The last thing you want to do is apply your way out of consideration altogether!

“Don’t bring up money” – Do bring up money. In the first interview, make reference to expecting a salary that reflects your experience and skills.  Potential employers will get irritated sitting in an hour long interview only to find out at the very end that the salary does not meet your expectations. if you take the job without talking about money, you’ll have nothing to complain about when your first salary is nothing like as much as what you were expecting. You’ll be surprised how often this happens.

“Don’t write a personal mission statement” – The summary or objective at the top of your CV is your own, personal mission statement; it tells whoever is reading it, ‘This person knows who they are, what they’ve done, and why it matters.’ Your Summary shows off your writing skills, shows that you know what’s significant in your background, and it offers a focal point to your resume. Don’t skip it, no matter how many people tell you it’s not necessary or important. It is.

Have you been given bad advice in the past with regards to job seeking? Comment below to help out current job seekers!