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I recently received the following response to an for the school. In the ad it requests that the person send in a resume if they are interested in the position. Here is what they sent.

Hello. My Name is John Doe. I am very interested in the position you have listed. I have never actually built up a resume, but I can provide references and Job history. I have worked for near ten years scheduling, managing, and handling an Art gallery/tattoo studio. About 80% of my days were spent on the phone. I also ran a dunkin donuts for over a year in this time, so fast paced customer service is something I am no stranger to. I would love to talk more with you if you are interested. 555-555-5555. Thank you for your time.

Is this extreme? Not at all. I encounter this about 10% of the time. People ignore what is requested in the job listing. A resume isn’t important to them so they don’t understand why it should matter to anyone else. To them it’s just a formality. Of course, the grammar, capitalization, presentation and several other issues are all red flags as well for someone who is applying for a position that states that good verbal and written communications skills are important. Here was my response.

Dear John Doe;

I want to share something that may be helpful and please know that I’m sharing this with all due respect and no insult intended.

The interview process begins with the response we receive from the ad. In the ad it states to send a resume for several reasons which include understanding a person’s written communications and presentation skills, what their education and work experience looks like, particularly duration at each job, and to get a sense of who they are. When the first thing that we ask for is not provided, any employer will see that as a sign of a person who does not follow directions or doesn’t value the employers time.

You could be the best employee in the world, a hard worker and very intelligent and if you can’t deliver what’s asked for, your value is diminished. You are also in competition with other people for the position so the person who makes it as easy as possible to be hired is the one who is most likely to get the job. Providing what’s requested, being available for interviews and being excellent at following up are the things that employers look for.

If you would like to apply for this job, please submit your resume and I will be happy to forward it to the hiring manager.

Respectfully,

Kris

p.s. I hope this information will help you find jobs that are worthy of your skills and intelligence.

The point of this is for everyone to understand the following: Employers are very busy, usually have reasons for what they ask for and will hire the person who is the most responsive. The job of getting a job is the job of listening to what is being asked for, supplying it, whether it’s explicitly or implicitly asked for, and to anticipate the needs of the employer as much as possible. This requires paying close attention to what is written or said (take notes) and assimilating it as quickly as possible. The person who demonstrates this ability has an unfair advantage over all other candidates. The employer not only appreciates that they employee understands what’s expected and responds appropriately, they also expect that these same skills will be applied to customer interactions and working with fellow employees as well. So take this value lesson from John Doe and use it to make yourself the most employable person in the world. It’s a skill that you will be using repeatedly so the faster you learn it, the more you will prosper. (After all, even if you have your own business, you will be using this skill with every customer.) So get really good at it and watch your career take off. Kris p.s. And remember to learn everything you can about the company before the interview (Google and website) and remember to send thank you notes when an employer takes the time to interview you. This will give you a triple advantage. http://Spa Tech.edu

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