Top Ten Reasons Why Large Companies Fail To Keep Their Best Talent. Why You Didn’t Get An Interview. Crying in your beer This is a bummer of a job market for librarians, and if you’re fresh out of library school you are probably crying in your beer, wondering why you didn’t get a degree in something practical and career-oriented, like medieval cookery. But a few months back a newish librarian asked me in frustration why she was having a hard time getting interviews — let alone job offers — and we chatted back and forth on Facebook. Let me attempt to sum up what I shared.
The job market sucks. Did I mention the job market sucks? This will sound crass, but TJMS creates a buyers’ market for employers, including organizations that normally wouldn’t have access to seasoned candidates. Employers seek a known quantity. Your c.v. and cover letter need work. This question is important not only for what you say, but how you say it. Take your c.v. and cover letter to a mentor or friend and make sure they really sing to the position you are applying for–and that they are typo-free.
This One Leadership Quality Will Make or Break You. 10 Things Employers & Recruiters Want from You. Every job hunter has the same question: What do employers look for, and how can I best show I’ve got “it?” A few days ago, I attended a panel discussion for career coaches led by three of the leading recruiters in Greater Boston. Each recruiter had the assignment of explaining their view of today’s hiring environment, what employers are looking for, and then to give a few tips for candidates. The recruiters deal with different specialties, including: Human Resources, Medical Devices, Information Technologies (IT), and Marketing.
Nonetheless they agreed on one thing: Five years ago, if an employer listed a job with 8-10 bullet points of “requirements,” a candidate might have been hired if he/she only had 3-4 of them. But today, virtually every client of theirs wants “12 out of 10 requirements to be evidenced – just to get the initial phone interview.” What Employers Want To Hear: Candidates are expected to clearly articulate their accomplishments as part of their personal brand. How not to get hired: Bring your cockatoo to the interview. You might have heard an urban legend about a job seeker who goes on a lunch interview with his potential boss. When the meal arrives, the job seeker sprinkles salt on his food before tasting it. Immediately the employer knows she has no interest in hiring this man. The job seeker isn’t flexible but he is presumptuous. No one wants to hire a rigid worker. If you think about the persnickety habits of employers who don’t have time to waste on unqualified candidates, the story doesn’t seem too outrageous.
After all, employers often spend less than a minute reading a résumé and they’ll toss your application in the wastebasket if you have a typo or don’t include a cover letter. Even a handshake can ruin your chances of landing the job. Apparently not all job seekers know this. Staffing firm Robert Half asked hiring managers to recount some of the most outstanding interview mistakes they’ve experienced or heard of, and the answers are almost unbelievable.
Some mistakes were peculiar: