Job hunting tip #1

[poadeleted21]

It's ok to search out advertised positions and to apply to them, but in general that is the worst and most frustrating method.

I hate having to advertise for an open position. Almost all of my best employees have been those that applied randomly because they either had experience, talent or strong desire to work in my industry. I have learned to hire the really good ones whether I need them or not.

But I recently had an unexpected position open up due to an employee leaving, so I advertised.
Wow. The crazy, unqualified responses I get. I shouldn't be surprised because this always happens. So I spend about a minute with each resume. Some times less. Like the one I got today from Bangladesh. (I didn't even know that BGD was the country code for there). And he indicated he was NOT willing to relocate. --> reject!

Another 20 or 30 resumes went straight to the reject because I saw no hint of any of the requirements I specified.
Another dozen went straight to "reject" because I didn't like their writing style.
A bunch more went straight to reject because of a few typos.
Resume too long --> reject!

I took in almost 50 resume's today and I have ONE that I might respond to. If almost any of them contacted me a few weeks ago, I might have given them a closer look.

So, if you are looking for work, identify what you can do and where you want to work. Then identify employers that fit you profile, and apply there. Whether they are hiring or not. Better yet, try to find someway to network yourself into one of the hiring managers. But however you do it, show some initiative and desire. There are lots of jobs available, but most of the good ones are not advertised. And there is a good reason for that.

Just my rant for today.
But if anyone can give me a good template for responding to one of these rejects in a concise, polite and definite way, I would be happy to listen.

I'd be on the street holding up a sign with this advice.

With one exception, I've gotten and offer for every online job I've ever applied for. And I've only ever applied online.

 

[overdrive148]

Tried visiting in person dressed professionally?

Honestly, not more than twice. And those visits were incidental to another place I was heading. I thought that'd be a bit too overbearing having some guy just walk in. The one I got a contact from and a résumé sent to (for future use apoarently) and the 2nd (an FBO) a rough and tough asked me if I had an A&P and after I said no, he just turned and walked off without saying anything.

During the depths of the recession, I did get a lot of cold calls. And it was annoying, but the reason it was annoying was that even though there were many qualified people, I just couldn't justify hiring them. And I felt bad for them. I was having a very difficult time just keeping my current employees busy and paid. If someone had cold-called me a month ago, I would probably have hired them because business has been picking up. But when I had someone leave, it became more urgent to find someone quickly. So I was forced to advertise.

Hmm. Good to know. The pure act of cold calling in that situation would have (given relevant experience etc) resulted in a hire even without looking for others that would maybe be more qualified? If that's the case I might just pick it up again. I suppose the initiative in calling a place and being qualified for relevant work would be attractive. With none I would think it'd get on people's nerves fast.

While we're on the topic of hiring, what do you guys think of calling back after a résumé has been submitted and has had a little time to digest? Positive of negative? And what about the adage of bother them
until you are hired? I personally don't feel comfortable calling people every day or week until they want to hire me because I'd hate it if I was the employer/hiring manager.

And any pushback on the résumé would also be awesome since you are actually people who look at resumes and not most college professors who just say do x y z because reasons. I made that one on my own so I'm not sure. If you would kill a man or break his thumbs off if you saw another résumé on the other hand, don't do it

 

[JOhnH]

Honestly, not more than twice. And those visits were incidental to another place I was heading. I thought that'd be a bit too overbearing having some guy just walk in. The one I got a contact from and a résumé sent to (for future use apoarently) and the 2nd (an FBO) a rough and tough asked me if I had an A&P and after I said no, he just turned and walked off without saying anything.



Hmm. Good to know. The pure act of cold calling in that situation would have (given relevant experience etc) resulted in a hire even without looking for others that would maybe be more qualified? If that's the case I might just pick it up again. I suppose the initiative in calling a place and being qualified for relevant work would be attractive. With none I would think it'd get on people's nerves fast.

While we're on the topic of hiring, what do you guys think of calling back after a résumé has been submitted and has had a little time to digest? Positive of negative? And what about the adage of bother them
until you are hired? I personally don't feel comfortable calling people every day or week until they want to hire me because I'd hate it if I was the employer/hiring manager.

And any pushback on the résumé would also be awesome since you are actually people who look at resumes and not most college professors who just say do x y z because reasons. I made that one on my own so I'm not sure. If you would kill a man or break his thumbs off if you saw another résumé on the other hand, don't do it

I think calling back a couple of days later to let them know you really are interested can be a good thing. Uncertainty about the other persons reaction goes both ways.
"Was the employER Interested in ME? Or was he just being polite"
is just as common as
"Was the prospective employee interested in US? Or was he just pretending".
It never hurts to show your enthusiasm. Just don;t push it into the pesty region.

 

[JOhnH]

I'd be on the street holding up a sign with this advice.

With one exception, I've gotten and offer for every online job I've ever applied for. And I've only ever applied online.

No piece of advice is 100%. Do what works, until it doesn't Then be willing to try something else.

 

[JOhnH]

Well, if you're not feeling completely drained from reading resumes, how's this one look?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B521cNi_Ahl9dDZuTlc4VThWRDg/view?usp=sharing

From the POV of a young aviation industry job-seeker

I really like that resume. If you had a DVM degree and belonged to the American Association of Feline Practitioners, you would get an interview. But being in the Daytona Beach area, I would have liked to know which Embry Riddle campus you attended.

But the resume is only about a quarter of the battle.

Identify companies that do what you want to do and that are located where you want to be.

Then write a personalized cover letter telling them why you think they would be as good for you as you think you would be for them. Tell them where and how you heard about them and tell them if you know anyone that currently works for them.

Good luck. Embry Riddle gets a lot of criticism on this board for various reasons, but it is a great school and most employers are favorable to their grads.

 

[Zeldman]

Not at all. I have a cat-only veterinary hospital. Most veterinarians prefer working on dogs. A few prefer cats.

So my requirements are
DVM or equivalent degree (a legal requirement)
A demonstrated preference for cats (eg: membership in AAFP, previous cat only experience, Feline specific continuing education etc).

I don't think that is unrealistic at all. But I still get resume's addressed to "to whom it may concern" and 25 years equine experience.

But again, the issue isn't my difficulty in finding employees. I am pointing out why so many job applicants are having so much trouble finding work. Many of them aren't putting in the effort or research to identify jobs or employers that are a good match. And they aren't being careful to prepare a high quality cover or resume. Many excellent candidates are probably rejected because of typos, misspellings, bad grammar and being overly verbose, or too cryptic.

I received a resume once from a Brain Xxxxx. He spelled his name correctly on the cover letter but it was Brain on the resume page.

Proof read, check spelling please.

 

[Clark1961]

I received a resume once from a Brain Xxxxx. He spelled his name correctly on the cover letter but it was Brain on the resume page.

Proof read, check spelling please.

Waiting for 6PC's response in 10, 9, 8,...

 

[JOhnH]

I received a resume once from a Brain Xxxxx. He spelled his name correctly on the cover letter but it was Brain on the resume page.

Proof read, check spelling please.

I would never hire anyone with the name Br*an! Especially if *=y

 

[bluerooster]

But if anyone can give me a good template for responding to one of these rejects in a concise, polite and definite way, I would be happy to listen.

Do what most companys do, simply don't respond to the rejects.

 

[bluerooster]

Sometimes I ask the candidate some questions (or to tell me about themselves) via email so I can asses their writing/email skills.

Some people interview very well, but can't do written communication effectively.

Then there are others who have a hard time with the interview, but through written communications they really shine.
So which one do you hire? Niether one, as you're looking for someone who can do both.

 

[JOhnH]

Do what most companys do, simply don't respond to the rejects.

That would sure be easier. But I just hate it when companies do that. I've had relatives waiting and waiting and jump every time the phone rings, only to never hear back. It is very depressing for someone that is already depressed about needing a job anyway.

 

[Hawker800]

I have stopped advertising opn positions. Just dread the process. Everyone I have hired cold-called me or was referred by existing staff.

Totally agree.

 

[Johann]

Well, if you're not feeling completely drained from reading resumes, how's this one look?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B521cNi_Ahl9dDZuTlc4VThWRDg/view?usp=sharing

From the POV of a young aviation industry job-seeker

Write a short intro in the beginning describing yourself. Pretty much just saying what you are good at, what you worked on, and what you want to do with your career.
Then after that comes the facts (education, experience, and all that).

 

[overdrive148]

I really like that resume. If you had a DVM degree and belonged to the American Association of Feline Practitioners, you would get an interview. But being in the Daytona Beach area, I would have liked to know which Embry Riddle campus you attended.

But the resume is only about a quarter of the battle.

Identify companies that do what you want to do and that are located where you want to be.

Then write a personalized cover letter telling them why you think they would be as good for you as you think you would be for them. Tell them where and how you heard about them and tell them if you know anyone that currently works for them.

Good luck. Embry Riddle gets a lot of criticism on this board for various reasons, but it is a great school and most employers are favorable to their grads.

Thanks for the constructive criticism and honest feedback. Good to know it's at least in the right direction - I just have to find more experience to put on there and find some more relevant jobs to throw it to.

That's also a great sounding cover letter - I was taught in both HS and college that it's basically where you kiss as much butt as possible and tell them the employer that you are the perfect candidate and that there's no one else in the universe that would do as good a job and that you'll work for free if the employer wants.

I think that everyone everywhere is going to write something along the same lines (boils down to "I want the job", which is what the application also says) but getting that across without being too cliche or completely blowing my experience and skills out of proportion is hard. So far, an honest cover letter style hasn't gotten me far, but then again a lot of people applied for those jobs too.

The resume you saw was also tailored to the FAA ATC training contract (they work with simulators for that and I have pilot experience and an aviation degree) so I wanted to bring that to the forefront. For an airport ops director position about 2-3 months ago, I had experience on top and education on the bottom to highlight the work experience that is relevant to the job. Trying to put the meat up at the top where whoever is running through resumes will recognize it as something relevant.

I've already gotten the ERAU criticism but I knew that there'd be at least some on the board. I think it's a bit expensive for what it is, but not really less relevant than other aviation colleges/degrees.

I think calling back a couple of days later to let them know you really are interested can be a good thing. Uncertainty about the other persons reaction goes both ways.
"Was the employER Interested in ME? Or was he just being polite"
is just as common as
"Was the prospective employee interested in US? Or was he just pretending".
It never hurts to show your enthusiasm. Just don;t push it into the pesty region.

Never thought about it the other way around. And again, finding that
"not too annoying but still trying to express interest and not be on hold for 4 months while you already have someone working by that date" medium is hard too.

Write a short intro in the beginning describing yourself. Pretty much just saying what you are good at, what you worked on, and what you want to do with your career.
Then after that comes the facts (education, experience, and all that).

I was actually told by multiple friends of mine in aviation that having the about me section is a bad idea and takes up space that could be used for the meat and potatoes or hard hitters that could get you hired. I didn't want to get rid of it completely so I moved it to my cover letter so that I'm not just a piece of paper with experience, but still. It was hard picking and choosing which points of the job to highlight (because there are so many) and on one or two government job applications I had a 3-4 page resume.

The reasoning behind that one was that the friend of mine (who worked in a government job) said that the government wants excruciating detail and completely addressing every facet of the job. So I did. Didn't get hired, but it did at least make it past the first cut.