McCrabby, I just had my 17th
interview without a call-back -- HELP!!
Dear McCrabby, I need some help. Why aren't people calling me back? I seem to be getting some interviews, which is much better than a year ago, but after the interview, I'm not getting the call-back. I'm up to 17. Do these hiring managers call ANYbody back? Or, are they just interviewing for fun?
Am I such a loser that no one will even extend the courtesy of calling me to tell me I'm a loser? Do you have any tricks? How can I get to the next step? I want to work.Thank you.
Wondering in Westland
Dear Westland Wonderer,
Everyone knows how to apply for a job; But sometimes a couple of little things can tip the scales in your favor. In such a competitive time, we need to do anything we can to get an edge. Here is a list of ten common sense "little good ideas" and I'll bet there are at least three you might be missing:
- When you send ANY email, make sure your name is at the bottom; sometimes the name isn't there and McCrabby has to look at the address and try to figure our who sent it. Don't make people work to figure out who sent an email.
- You put your name there? How about your phone number? McCrabby can't count the times that an email arrives, and the thought is to pick up the phone to respond (rather than get into email tag), and the number is not there. McCrabby has choices: either have to look it up, hit REPLY, or skip it. The choice depends upon current activity and current motivation. Remember this even on a LinkedIN email, where the default is no phone number.
- Put a P.S. on your cover letter. The "P.S". is the second most read portion of a letter (after the salutation) and it can allow you to redirect someone back to a point in your letter that you want them to see. Not many people do this, so you'll be unique.
- Put your LinkedIN profile on your resume, and hyperlink it; be assured that the recruiters are checking LinkedIN profiles.
- Complete your LinkedIN profile, so that it is accurate, provides detail, and has your resume available in the profile (use BoxNet application - it's free at your profile) so that a hiring manager can download a resume at your LinkedIN site. If you aren't sure how that appears, you can look at my profile and find my resume there.
- Write a thank-you note after ANY interview to EACH person you met with; it will differentiate you from much of your competition.
- Get a professional email address; don't use bigstud4u@hotdates.com
- Get rid of your high school (unless you have no college), and absolutely eliminate your elementary school, on your LinkedIN profile (do you really care that McCrabby went to Washington Elementary School back in the
six,seven, I mean eighties?). It's amazing how many people list their schools from first grade. - If you have not updated your resume in six months, do it today; McCrabby has told people this who have come back and said "I procrastinated, but finally changed it two weeks ago, and have gotten new interest from hiring managers. And, it's improved now. I even feel better about sending it out - more confident." It's easy to procrastinate; but it's important to keep it up to date.
- Join at least 20 groups on LinkedIN; you can belong to as many as 50, for free, but if you aren't finding groups that have common interests and goals, you might be missing important information, and missing contacts. As a Michigan State University alum, that group provides McCrabby as much support and as many quality contacts as almost any other group. Don't miss opportunities.
- One extra, just for the heck of it: If you don't have more than two recommendations on LinkedIN, make it your mission to request 2-10. They're easy to get, and it says something if you don't have any. Don't accept them all at the same time, or your status page will look like you're soliciting them (which you are, but you don't want it to look that way). Get a few and spread your acceptance of them out over at least 2-4 weeks. And, if you get one that isn't quite what you want, ask your recommender to adjust it to your needs; it's easy to do.
Good luck to all job searchers.
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McCrabby can be reached by email (mccrabby@humantransitions.com)
- McCrabby's LinkedIn -- http://www.linkedin.com/in/cmacrae
- McCrabby's Support (group): http://lnkd.in/4TkF7_
- McCrabby's Twitter -- http://twitter.com/curtmacrae
- McCrabby's website -- www.humantransitions