Do you hire? What can you tell me?

mha3484

Thu, Mar 23 2017, 6:26 pm

I read resumes for a living. I like to see a resume that has clear job descriptions with your contributions. I am a healthcare recruiter so I want to know how many patients did you see, what procedures did you do, how did you make your mark.

I think unless its an art job splashy graphics are too much. I don't want to see frequent job changes or large gaps. Also if you have a professional license please include the name that it is under on your resume because we check.

The best advice is to be reliable and flexible. My boss was terrified of hiring someone with small children because he thought I would call off a million times. But I proved him wrong. I show up every day. I work most of Friday, erev yomtov, chol ha moed. We had a middle aged woman who worked here who left insanely early on Fridays and it put a bad taste in our mouths. There is no reason to leave at 2 when shabbos starts at 8pm.

An example of being flexible, I had scheduled a day off and my boss had to go to a funeral so I rolled with it and took my day off another week. We have a deal that I don't take days off on Monday if I can help it and I stick to it. Its these small things that make you really indispensable.

amother

Ivory

Thu, Mar 23 2017, 6:44 pm

amother wrote:

I'm giving a group discussion to a bunch of upcoming graduates - can you chime in?

What are you looking for in a resume? Not looking for?
What will tip the scale and garner an interview and what is the deciding factor to put aside a resume?
What advice can you offer for a young girl entering the workforce?

Thanks

If they are writing resumes and entering the work force, they are women, not girls. That's not semantics. I am looking for someone who presents herself as an adult, not a child.

I am looking for related experience. I am looking for any positions that showed responsibility.

A resume should be in pdf form (if electronic), no typos, clearly formatted, and geared towards the position. If I'm looking for an assistant, I want to know that s/he knows Word, Excel and Power Point, and that s/he types X words per minutes. If s/he is proficient with a dictaphone (one person in my office still dictates) I want to know that. But if I were looking for a store clerk, I wouldn't care about that.

My best advice is to be professional. Our biggest problem with young hires has been a lack of responsibility, and a lack of knowing his/her place in the organization. A new hire should not send out an email saying "I'll be out on this day and that"; s/he needs to request vacation time. A new hire should arrive not only on time, but a little early. I've worked here almost 20 years; I have flexibility. If you were hired 3 months ago, you haven't earned that yet. And yes, I do ask my receptionist and my assistant what they thought of the prospect, no matter what position we are hiring for. Being nice to the person interviewing you is easy; I want you to be nice to everyone.

rachel6543

Thu, Mar 23 2017, 6:45 pm

So I am not a hiring manager, but in the past, my managers have let me look through resumes and give me my input.

Things that I look for:
- experience relevant to the job being hired for. Do candidates already know the software and related processes?
- college degree. Is the college degree from a "real" college? I have less or little respect from degrees from for-profit schools or schools with a negative reputation.
- how often is someone changing jobs? If someone is changing jobs every few months or year or two, could be a red flag, unless there is an explanation explained on the resume (I.e. The position was seasonal, temporary, an internship or company had layoffs)
- resume is easy to read, with clear and easy language to understand prior work experience
- multiple typos and grammar mistakes drive me crazy. Please spellcheck!!

amother

Ivory

Thu, Mar 23 2017, 6:53 pm

zaq wrote:

Lose the buzzwords. Tell me plain and simple what you did or studied. Preferably in words of fewer than three syllables and that existed more than three weeks ago.

Yes.

I still have an occasional chuckle over a resume I received many years ago, where the candidate used every buzzword he could think of, and attempted to make his experience sound much more impressive than it was. Boiled down to it, he mowed lawns. We were looking for a part-time file clerk; his experience would have been fine. But we rejected him because he tried to pretend to be something he was not.

MagentaYenta

Thu, Mar 23 2017, 6:54 pm

Education, is it relevant to the job? Work experience, are those skills transferrable to the job? Experience in dealing with and communicating with a diverse population. Examples of team work or collaborative efforts, how do they relate to the job you are apply for. What are your skill sets? What level are you at with these sets? Beginner? Intermediate or mastery? How have you applied them in previous jobs.

nicole81

Thu, Mar 23 2017, 7:27 pm

I put resumes with typos, grammatical errors, and/or inconsistent grammatical tenses to the bottom of the pile. I also google every candidate and look them up on social media. And yes, I judge them based on what I see. People should make sure their social media accounts are private, and that whatever is in the public domain wouldn't be construed as a negative by a hiring manager.

amother

Oak

Thu, Mar 23 2017, 9:34 pm

nicole81 wrote:

I am searching for a job now. Is it a problem if I don't have any social media accounts?

imeinu

Thu, Mar 23 2017, 10:12 pm

-send in a very current resume. not one last updated in 2015.
-reply to inquiries in a professional manner, not like you are texting to your friend
-give the job your focus. I've been on the phone with potential hirees while they put me on hold and I hear them in the background talking to others. If you are available, you need to be all in. If it is not a good time, be honest.
-no chewing gum on an interview. put your phone on silent mode and no looking at it during the interview.
-come prepared to the interview. research the company, check out their website if they have one.

working hard

Thu, Mar 23 2017, 10:43 pm

When I am hiring, I tend to throw out resumes without references. I do not have time to contact someone for references and then call them... I like to have what I need on the spot.
I also get annoyed when people fluff related experience when they do not have what I am looking for. If I ask for Microsoft publisher, please do not tell me about how you are an expert in powerpoint. I may be willing to train you in publisher but not if you do that to me.

nicole81

Fri, Mar 24 2017, 7:15 am

amother wrote:

I am searching for a job now. Is it a problem if I don't have any social media accounts?

Not at all. I hire in the secular world, with the majority of my interviewees in their young-to-mid twenties, fresh out of college and some have not yet learned the art of discretion.

I also want to add, since I don't remember seeing it above, that it's important to craft a thoughtful question or two for the end of the interview. Don't ask anything just for the sake of asking, and don't ask simple logistical questions. The right question will showcase that you've done your research about the company/firm/whatever as well as your drive to excel in the position.

Iymnok

Fri, Mar 24 2017, 7:27 am

Keep your resume up to date.
It's okay, even good to revise it according to the specific position you're applying for.
Use a template for your resume, nit a simple word document. A little color and graphics catch attention. A little. Too much graphics is distracting. I guess for a graphics job you could get away with a little more. I suggest one color in 1-3 tones.

amother

Mistyrose

Fri, Mar 24 2017, 9:53 am

If they call you in for an interview, make sure to send a follow up thank you e-mail after. Once, we had one position open and 2 equally qualified people past the interview stage. One sent a follow up thank you e-mail afterwards, and one didn't, and guess which one got hired?

Also, if from your resume doesn't show that you have the relevant qualifications or experience, make sure to include a cover letter explaining why you can do it anyway. For example, we had a position open for someone with a Master's. They don't even keep the resumes of people who applied without a bachelor's. But one candidate had exactly the right work experience, even though she only had a Bachelor's, and writing a cover letter which described how her previous job made her qualified allowed her to be considered for the position. Of course, this doesn't always work, but don't assume that what your resume says speaks for itself.

Make sure that you know what the company does and what the position is before the interview! They often ask.

And of course, check your spelling and grammar. And don't use a whimsical font or colors, you want to look professional.

amother

Blush

Fri, Mar 24 2017, 10:09 am

I do the hiring for our school so I'm only familiar with education/teaching resumes.

The main thing we look for is experience. In education, it's important to get as much experience as you can in that field. Even if it's just starting out as a substitute teacher, it shows any future employers that you can handle a class. A bigger plus is getting the principal from any schools you subbed in as a reference to back you up.

We also look for typos and the format of the resume. I got a lot of resumes with spelling mistakes. As a school, we are not hiring someone that cannot spell correctly--especially on the resume. The resume is your first impression to an employer. Make sure it's perfect because the field of education is a flooded and there are many resumes coming in. They should have someone look over the resume to make sure there are no spelling and grammar mistakes. As far as format, I got resumes where the words were all over the place and there was no organized format. It's very important that your resume is organized, clean, and clear. No format gives the impression that you're a messy and disorganized person.

Another thing I noticed, especially with a lot of younger candidates resumes, is the employment is in the wrong order. You should put your most current position first and work your way back. Employers look at the front page first and don't want to flip through your resume to see where you're currently working.

Edit to add:

Employment changes are a pretty big deal. If I see someone changed jobs every year for five years, that resume is going in the garbage. Constantly changing jobs is a big red flag for employers, it shows you're unreliable and might have a foot out the door.

Also, bring a copy of your resume to the interview. Since there can be more than one interview that day, you don't want the interviewer shuffling through 10 resumes to find yours. Better to bring your own to show your efficiency.

nicole81

Fri, Mar 24 2017, 10:42 am

amother wrote:

Also, bring a copy of your resume to the interview. Since there can be more than one interview that day, you don't want the interviewer shuffling through 10 resumes to find yours. Better to bring your own to show your efficiency.

Good point, but I'd say bring 5 copies! You may be interviewing in front of a panel and having copies for everyone upfront shows a bit of extra thought and preparedness.

One more add... Oftentimes the first "question" in an interview is "So tell us a bit about yourself." This is an extremely important question that sets the tone for the entire interview. Hiring managers are not looking for your personal life story, and you need have an answer that sheds some insight into who you are, highlights your skills and assets, and what makes you an excellent match for the company or position (without saying that outright). You should conclude with what you're looking for in terms of a position/work experience (again, obviously something that screams "I'm a great match!") but don't go over the top.

You should practice your answer to this question over and over. If this is your first question, and it doesn't go well, you can basically kiss the job goodbye. There are plenty of online resources about how to craft answers to this and other common interview questions. Check them out, or recommend that these women do as part of their career preparation.

amother

Ivory

Fri, Mar 24 2017, 10:48 am

amother wrote:

Make sure its on nice paper, not just copier paper. eg, http://www.staples.com/Crane-C.....cMNBw

Also have a list of references and, if applicable, a writing sample.

Someone mentioned having a list of questions for the interviewer. Do not ask personal questions. There is a school that apparently counsels its graduates to ask vaguely personal questions of interviewers. The first time I encountered it, I thought the person was socially awkward and not a good fit for the position. The second, I was curious. The third, I realized it was the placement office. None of them got the job.