Guess What Happens if you get an A?
The best way to get a read on if your resume will do well is to be preemptive. Do your homework. Investigate HR sites and see what they consider annoying. You might never know if your “sly compliment” was actually interpreted as a sexual advance… and they will most certainly never say so. If you never knew that “love” was not an acceptable thing to call your interviewer, you might be prone to making that mistake if you were, say, a swashbuckling Englishman with a taste for women and employment. But people still tend to do it anyway. And why? All they had to do was read the blogs of the people that were going to hire them.
You can generally avoid stupid mistakes (or at least big pet peeves) by visiting the blogs and websites of the people who are actually reading your resume and cover letter, the ones who are actually doing the interview with you, and so on. They, like everyone else, tend to spill the beans on the worst of the worst that they encounter. While it may seem only like common sense to not flirt like a drunken sailor, make eyes like a Hooters girl or beg for a job like a junkie searching for his next fix… people still do it.
Hiring managers, also sometimes known as “HR” (they tend to conglomerate together in something called a ‘Department’ and make rules about things and make you watch those awkward videos about places you can’t touch…) are usually the ones to read your resume and call you back for an interview. So, to help you out, I’ll list some of my new favorites here that look at things from the opposite side of the cover letter:
- I Hate HR – very well written and concise. A lot of HR-specific content, but good tips and hints here and there to make the read worthwhile for a job seeker.
- Not Hired – hilarious doesn’t quite cut it when talking about this site. They find the worst of the worst resumes/cover letters/etc… a definite must-read.
- Important Elements of Resume Writing – multiple points of interest in this article in particular, and on a few of the other articles on this site. Good place to get info.
Read through those sites… enjoy it… and then realize the most important thing you can ever realize about job searching: you are your own worst enemy. The HR people… they’re allies in disguise.
In today’s job market, it sometimes seems that who you know is more important than what you know. This is especially true in certain industries that favor word of mouth as a way of finding new talent.
Persistence
You know what though? I’ve been watching the graph fluctuate. I know my fat-ass needs to lose some weight. I know that the longer I spend on it, the more that graph dips. And I know that after I get on it for about 30 minutes a day, seven days a week, after I stop feeling like I want to die, I feel much better.
I may sound bitter. I am. I can’t believe that I’m in my early 20’s and I need to exercise every day and can’t gorge myself on Chipotle burritos every day and still live to be at least 30. So, why do I get on that white board of death every single day? Because I know the consequences if I don’t. Americans are getting fatter and fatter and there’s no end (at least, not the kind that I wanna see) in sight. Thinking about becoming a doctor? You should, you very well may be supporting 66% of the American population when they become obese adults.
Or worse, when they develop obesity related diseases, like diabetes, heart disease… well, you’ll be rolling in the dough.
Don’t take it personal if I try to keep your wallet a few dollars skinnier, though.
You might be wondering – how do I tie this back into the workplace? Well, because, much like your health… your motivation to do well every day at work has long-reaching consequences. If I don’t work out every day, I’m going to get fatter and fatter and then… well, you won’t have as many articles to look forward to from me. If you don’t work well at work every day, you won’t be able to afford the internet to view my articles.
Your motivation can sometimes be as simple as setting yourself a mediocre goal: Don’t get diabetes. Don’t die in a state that requires a crane as a pallbearer. Don’t get fired.
The sad reality is that most people just think they will be okay even by not setting these goals. They don’t have persistence. And what’s worse is that, even if you do try for those mediocre goals, it’s only human to sometimes fail. I have to face the possibility that even if I do everything right… I may still get diabetes. I may still be overweight. You may still get fired.
That’s the thing about being fired, though. And having diabetes. The simple fact that you *are* something – anything besides dead – means that you have another chance to make it right… or at least do something about it. So… screw up today – get back on it tomorrow. Even if it makes you feel like death.