Reviewing resumes…
February 5th, 2008 by JeremyJust wanted to write a quick post for everyone who submitted their resumes for the marketing associate and intern positions. Thanks very much, we got a little bit deluged. Apparently Stage Two seems like a fun place to work, don’t worry – we’ll fix up that impression soon.
So we are reviewing resumes right now and will begin setting up interviews for next week. Due to the volume we received, we won’t be able to respond to everyone (sorry!), but will keep everyone on file for potential future positions.
I did want to take a moment and explain some of the criteria we are using:
- Any typos, and I mean *any* typos were instant rejects. I don’t care how good you might be and how otherwise a perfect fit you might be, a typo is a reject, every time. Well, unless we don’t happen to notice it…
- Any missing information was a reject.
- Anyone who didn’t specify some kind of salary range was a reject. If you felt “negotiable” is a good enough answer, it’s not. Everyone’s negotiable, it’s implied in the job hunting process. No number, no interview, no job. I highly recommend for the future that you get more comfortable answering this question, even if you need to give a wide range. A good employer won’t give you less than you are worth, so it’s up to you to learn and know what you are worth.
- Anyone who sent in a “generic” response was a reject. We spent effort on writing up the job description, and gave a lot of “easy ammo” in there to get a decent response. Sending in the same answer you sent to 10 other jobs shows us you aren’t ready for the type of work we do, which is in complete defiance of this approach.
- Forgot this one – anyone who sent in a response TO ANOTHER COMPANY was a reject. Time to learn how to cut and paste!
- Two (or more!) page resumes for people who graduated in the past 5 years are a no-no. It’s not a reject, but it’s not a point in your favor either. You should be able to tell your story in one page. Also, even if you have an online resume, you should include an attached version – some of us work on planes…
- “Microsoft Word” is not (nor has it ever been, nor shall it likely become) a skill. Again, not an instant reject, but, please take if off your resume! And if you do choose to list Excel and PowerPoint, you’d better be “more than competent” at them and dazzle me with your “skills” if you want to claim them.
- Anyone who showed they had read through the Stage Two website, and researched our clients, got extra consideration. This is the attention to detail we care about.
- Anyone who sent off a Facebook message or other small “extra” effort got extra consideration. That said, information overdose or borderline harassment was not looked upon very favorably.
- Anyone who correctly identified “her?” as an Arrested Development quote got extra consideration. Come on!
Looking forward to meeting some of you soon!
February 7th, 2008 at 12:14 am
I don’t want the mistake I made (“negotiable” salary) to hold me back from a chance at joining the Stage Two team. I have sent all relevant information again and would love to be reconsidered. Thanks!
July 8th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
After reading this page and taking careful note of what was said I began working on an email containing my resume and cover letter when all of a sudden my Yahoo! mail sent my email mid draft.
As you can imagine I was aghast and shot off a quick email asking the recipient to please disregard my incomplete email.
Lets hope I wasn’t marked as spam.
December 1st, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Wow, this was awesome. I owe you guys a drink when I get my next job. Even if it’s not with you.
December 1st, 2008 at 10:20 pm
I just ran into your posting on Craigslist and was intrigued so I clicked on the link. I’m just casually looking but love the feedback on submitting resumes. If only all companies made the effort to give constructive feedback but I suppose that would make it too easy. Thanks for the perspective of the Craigslist posting response. I’ve unfortunately have made a couple of the above mistakes and for someone just starting their journey for their perfect job, this should be their bible.
December 2nd, 2008 at 12:07 pm
I believe the “no mistakes” requirement for accepting resumes is gaining popularity but missing the mark in qualifying proper candidates. There is not one person in the world who is error-free, so asking for perfection is hypercritical. Also, I see a number of grammatical and writing errors on this blog, so why ask for perfection when you cannot achieve it yourself? And, if your argument is that a blog doesn’t have to be well written, then you are in the wrong business.
No matter how attractive the job might be, I avoid companies that demand perfection in a resume, usually executives at these organizations are never satisfied and a pain with which to work. That said, I do not know your company, only the message “between the lines” that you probably are a difficult boss.
December 2nd, 2008 at 12:42 pm
@Chris – The difference between this blog content and a resume/cover letter is that the person looking for a job needs to be putting their best foot forward, always. Also, I’m sure you can find some grammar issues here, but I said “typos” – implying misspelled words. I wouldn’t freak out upon receiving a cover letter with some grammatical flaws, but typos in a job application are, in my opinion, a sign of people who don’t pay attention to detail.
Regarding being a difficult boss, well, you can ask my employees their opinion, I’m pretty sure they’ll be quite accurate about the work environment here. What I read “between the lines” is you are probably not a great employee.
December 3rd, 2008 at 1:49 am
Jeremy,
Thank you for taking the time to put together these excellent tips. Resume Submitted.
Alex Porter
December 3rd, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Great suggestions. I read your tweet about how you are impressed by the resumes you have already received. I’m writing my resume as we speak and will submit it tomorrow. In the meantime, after reading David’s blog post on the twelve second video pitch I decided to try my own aimed at getting an interview with Stage Two. This definitely plays to my strengths considering my background in video production. You can find it here http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7378275554029349559