Job Search Universe

Giving Notice

No one enjoys making a mistake in his or her job hunt at the cost of the job which he or she has applied for. Yet mistakes do happen either because of misconceptions, faulty guidance or advice, or by failing to develop an effective strategy. Furthermore, these mistakes are not just limited to either resume writing or poor interviewing, but a lack of holistic thinking.

The following list is not made in the order of the severity of the mistake, as you never know what mistake may be severe enough to cause you to lose an opportunity. The list is compiled by the different spheres where you can possibly make mistakes. And also there are going to be more than just 10 mistakes in the lists, for they all have enough potential to mar your job prospects.

Top 10 Mistakes In The Job Search

Making Mistakes In The Resume And On Applications

1. Not organizing your resume as the recruiters would like it to be.

2. Not highlighting your skills against must-have requirements, boring self-promotion

3. A simply boring or undeveloped cover letter

4. Sending multiple copies of the same resume

5. Badly formatted resumes and cover letters, with spelling and grammar errors

6. Unprofessional email addresses, font/color selection and unspecific subject lines, such as “resume.doc”

7. Failing to follow directions, either by carelessness or by over-confidence

All these are enough to either disinterest or annoy the recruiter. Just put yourself in his shoes and imagine what you would like in a resume that you would short-list.

Attitudinal Mistakes

1. Presuming entitlement to the job, which reflects badly in interviews and on tests

2. Assuming that you don't have the proper experience and feeling inferior

3. Trying to play out of your league, presenting false information, inflating titles, etc.

4. Insulting the interviewer or showing either pessimism or career stagnation

5. Applying to jobs you don't qualify for in hopes of playing the numbers game; wrongly assuming x out of y number of applications must result in interview calls

6. Appearing at interviews at your worst, i.e., uncut nails & hair, un-pressed dress or suit

7. Applying where you don't want to work or would reject the job if offered, for reasons such as higher salary expectations, etc. This is the result of not researching the position thoroughly

These attitudinal mistakes are much more serious than the mistakes in your resume and it could seriously damage your chances. You attitude is the result of crystallized characteristics which hardly change. At least this is how the interviewers see it.

At The Recruiters' Office

1. Just showing up for the sake of gaining experience. Interview-attending experiments don't bolster your skills but wastes recruiters' time

2. Not trying hard enough to be your best. Not asking clarification on a question if you are unclear about it the first time

3. Bringing up salary issues first (before the recruiter does) or accepting a low salary without discussion

4. Being unable to justify the claims that your resume makes

The biggest of all mistakes is just wondering why recruiters are not responding to your resume. If this is happening to you, don't just send out more resumes. Get your resume professionally evaluated. If you can correct this one mistake, you will have a lot more opportunities and many more doors will be open to you.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst f After days, weeks, months or longer of interviewing, you have received a job offer that meets your needs and have decided to give notice to your employer and resign your current job.

1. Get your job offer in writing. Having the offer in writing is both your legal protection against an employer should they make an attempt to deceive you with the terms of the offer AND your protection against you having made a mistake in hearing the offer. The letter should include both your new salary and position title within it. Some will provide a benefits summary; most large firms will not provide that until employee orientation during your initial phase of employment with their firm.

2. Meet with your boss for a few minutes and tell them personally and provide a written letter of resignation. “May I get a minute with you uttered on a Friday,” has started more discussions about resignation and sent many employers into unhappy weekends and managers into anxiety attacks about how to replace someone than almost any other question.

3. Give two weeks notice. Sometimes three weeks is the right thing to do, but remember, your new job is waiting for you and if you've told them you'll be there in two weeks, do not adjust your start date to accommodate the job you're leaving. After all, if you died tomorrow, they would still survive without you.

4. Your letter of resignation should be simple.

Dear ____________,

I have decided to resign my position with Mega Company effective today. My last day of employment will be _____________.

Thank you for the opportunity to have worked with you and to have learned from you. (OPTIONAL SENTENCE TO FOLLOW). Pleas respect me and my decision by not attempting to make a counter offer.

Sincerely,

Your name

5. If you are asked for reason you are leaving, do not be hypercritical and answer simply. “I believe that this opportunity will further my career goals,” is acceptable. If you want to go into details, do not discuss any slights that you received. Focus on objective things, rather than on your (emotional) reactions to decisions. You do not need to disclose the name of the firm you are going to work for although there is nothing wrong about doing so.

6 For most people, do not consider accepting a counteroffer. How did you “suddenly” become worth more money? Because your departure inconveniences your employer. As a result, they will have to delay plans or have work assigned to others less capable and will be adversely impacted. For most people, a counteroffer only addresses and corrects the financial failings of their job and does nothing to improve their job.

Resigning well will allow you to complete your final week(s) of employment well and head to your new job with confidence and certainty.

Jeff Altman
Concepts in Staffing
thebiggamehunter@cisny.com

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