Despite this crazy year, Stearns Johnson is growing and hiring. As you can imagine, for every ad we’ve run, we’ve been drowned in a tsunami of resumes – some great and some, well, not so much. I’ve really enjoyed reading some resumes of people who have had interesting jobs and experiences, and winced at others with obvious errors. But rather than whine about these, I thought a few tips might be in order.
Here are some tips for effectively applying for a position. Keep in mind this is just one person’s point of view.
Put yourself in my position. You know if you’re applying for a position with Stearns Johnson, so are lots of others. Tell me your story clearly and concisely, don’t leave big gaps in your work and/or education history and don’t include multi-megabyte attachments. Make it easy for me to learn about you.
Your cover letter and resume should tell your story. The cover letter should highlight a few specifics you think we’d be interested in, make it clear you’ve reviewed our Website and know who our clients are, explain to me why you’re a fit for the position, and let us know the salary you’d like, if we’ve asked that in the ad. And that’s it!
Use your email as the cover letter and flow your resume in the email as well as attaching it. This makes it easy to review and share.
Some people have submitted their resumes through a Website that help you create a page for yourself that functions as a resume. This includes photos, video and text. This is cool. Others have simply attached a link to a Google doc that often doesn’t open easily. Others just attach their resumes with no email, no letter, no hello. This isn’t cool.
If your experience doesn’t fit the position (like people with 10 years experience applying for an entry level position), then don’t apply. You’re wasting your time and mine. If you’d like to apply for another position that may be available in the future, then make that clear. We keep a resume database of people whose experience is impressive and are in touch with them on a regular basis.
And after you send us your resume, do follow up. Squeaky wheels do get grease. But figure out creative ways to do it. Email is best, calls are OK, dropping in unannounced isn’t.
More later …
