The Unmasked Recruiter

A few words on the merits of using Comic Sans in your CV…

no no no no no no no no no no no no……..

Thankyou

To whom it may concern…

I am writing in response to the vacant Retail Store Logistics Manager position, a post which I feel I am ideally suited, having consolidated ten successful years within customer services in a senior management position. The post would be an ideal progression at this stage in my career. I relish its many challenges which I am confident would enable me to utilise my progressive experience & knowledge and network connections.

Just swopping the job title in your standard covering letter from the last application isn’t really going to cut it. Yes, it might save time, but perhaps you could save even more time by simply applying for vacancies for which you have some relevant experience

Just a thought…

On 4 different CVs

Some intriguing comments on CVs from yesterday’s batch of applicants…

Due to a domestic dispute took a career break…

Interests: Producing young horses…

As kitchen assistant I helped prepare 6 different types of sandwiches…

As a cleaner it involved, mopping up, sweeping, hovering…

That last role must have been particularly demanding!

Why you shouldn’t rely on spellchecking software for your CV….

yet another example…

I am currently employed by a beauty magazine as a data in putter.

doh!

What does a good cover letter have on it?

I was asked this question on Quora, and thought I would post my answer here;

A good cover letter should show why a candidate is worth phoning about an opportunity. It should show some skills, achievements, and level of experience that make the recruiter want to pick up the phone. It should reference the vacancy applied for, ideally it should be addressed to the consultant by name and not as dear sir / madam.

It’s probably easier to look at this in reverse, in terms of where candidates go wrong. When applications come through via an online tracking system the first thing a recruiter will see is the covering letter - and if, as many are, it is full of typos, or references a completely different job to the one that has been posted (so is basically a cut and paste effort with no thought attached), or clearly indicates a lack of relevant experience for the position advertised, then I probably won’t read the attached CV.

Why should I if the candidate has by one of these actions shown they are unsuitable for the role? Yes in theory in some cases they might be suitable for something else - but if they’ve applied for a manager of a £100m turnover retail business and they are currently work in IT, what does that say about them?

Clearly if it’s marginal then I will call. Unfortunately many are not (and I appreciate that people have to apply for vacancies in order to get the dole, or whatever the government of the day want to call it), but I need to reduce the number of applications to a manageable number first.

The cover letter is therefore the first thing I look at from a deselection perspective - so a good cover letter needs to give enough information to show that you have the skills , experience, qualifications , at the very least genuine interest, in the role to make it worth my time to pick up the phone.

It also needs to show that you take the process seriously enough to put a bit of effort into it and be at least reasonably professional in your approach to finding a job, and in your dealings with my client who will ultimately judge me by the quality of the candidates I put their way!

On a CV…

Summary: I am a polite, contentious person

If you’re looking for a reason to properly read your CV rather than just relying on spell checking software this is it.

Of course I could be wrong - maybe they didn’t mean conscientious….and they argue and disagree about everything in a very polite way!

Covering letter…

“As a manager with a broad based managerial and retail background, I would like to present my CV in consideration for your Managerial position. Your companys reputation within the retail industry suggests that you only employ staff of the highest calibre. It is for this reason more than any other that I am keen to be given the chance of joining an esteemed institution such as yours where hard work is acknowledged and rewarded.”

Sadly as the advert doesn’t mention the end client in any way, this doesn’t really work as a covering letter….HOW DO YOU KNOW THE ‘COMPANYS’ (sic) REPUTATION, WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW THE COMPANY’S NAME….THEY COULD BE THE WORST SHYSTERS WITH THE WORST EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS AND WORKING CONDITIONS IN THE INDUSTRY FOR ALL YOU KNOW, WITH APPALLING CUSTOMER SERVICES, PRODUCTS NOBODY WANTS TO BUY, AND A FINANCIAL CREDIT RATING THAT WOULD PUT GREECE AND CYPRUS TO SHAME…Jeez….

Actually, it’s a great company to work for…the point is, and I’m sorry for the rant, but when you see hundreds of covering letters like this which show a complete lack of even the most basic effort then it tends to be a little frustrating after a while - the next CV I opened had a covering letter that was virtually identical - do candidates take some specialist online training course on how to put together a crap job application??

Anyway, this is what using the same covering letter without thinking will do to your reputation as a potential employee…..Don’t do it!