Hiring in this environment, I have to say, has been quite the experience. We're one of the lucky ones who have needed to hire to keep up with our continued growth. However, a lot of the people with whom we're interacting have been the victim of others' declines and with that, for some, comes a certain degree of desperation. In many cases that desperation has put people swiftly into the "no" pile. They're not in the "no" pile simply because they were too eager or anything like that. Rather, they made critical mistakes that, I hope, only came as a result of desperation and not for some other more permanent reason.
I am going to share some of these experiences, and I hope that people aren't offended (particularly if this might have been you). What I offer here is a chance to peer into what we've experienced over the last few months and what you, if you're looking for a job, can do to avoid falling into the same pitfalls as others before you. I want you to find a job, but not just any job. I want you to find the right job where both you and the company are a fit for one another. It is out there -- or at least it will be. You just need to look in the right places and put the right foot forward into the right opportunity.
Setting the stage
We have strong values as a company and hire by them. Recently, we've had three job openings, in three different departments, available in two different offices. We had a junior position we just filled and two senior level positions still currently open. It isn't a career fair, by any stretch, but we have received hundreds of resumes, phone calls, etc., for the positions. We posted the available jobs in waves on a number of different job boards, from local to broad to industry specific, including iMedia. In the past, we have also used a recruiter, who has helped us get through this process. Here are some of the words of advice based on what we've received.
Apply for the right level
I believe that this market is not "an opportunity" to take advantage of higher-level talent willing to work below their market value. I know that if we hire someone above the level we're looking for, when things turn around, they're out the door. Additionally, there would always be a chip on that person's shoulder that said, "I took a pay cut for this."
The opposite, of course, is also correct. If you are fresh out of college, don't apply for senior-level jobs. You are wasting your time as well as the time of the folks who have to weed through resumes. The lasting impression that you'll leave with me is that you lack a certain self-awareness that would pose quite the management challenge.
Apply for the right job
There are swift ways to show that you're just looking for a job rather than a company or career. One is that you apply for every open job the company has. While that may appear like you'd be willing to do just about anything to work at a particular company, it also shows that you have little understanding about what area of that company is most appealing to you. In our case, perhaps you simply like the view of Petco Park from our San Diego office, which means that you might spend more time daydreaming than actually accomplishing anything productive.
Another way to illustrate that you're just interested in any ol' job is that you don't tailor your application or resume to the job and company for which you're applying. We post specific job descriptions for people so that they can do this; help us streamline the vetting process by clearly defining why you think you're a fit for the specific position.
If we get a resume without any explanation, we know you're firing your resume out to any "jobs@" or "careers@" email address you can find. I don't know about you, but I like a little build up before someone slaps, so don't just send a resume without saying hello. Butter us up a bit, tell us why you're a fit -- and please, make sure you are a fit if you say you are.
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