Nice Resume...But Are You Experienced, Mr Hendrix??

I've been in this interesting process of finding a new Marketing Director for my hospital.  I went through the typical channels of contacting colleagues, posting the position in the local paper, and posting the position on-line at CareerBuilder, Craigslist, and the American College of Healthcare Executives. And even after 30 years in healthcare administration and hundreds of management hires, what happened next surprised even me...

I received over 250 resumes.  In searching through all of those to find just the right person for the job, I made some discoveries about the job search process in America today and formulated some recommendations I'd like to share:

• "But Are You Experienced, Mr. Hendrix?"  I was absolutely amazed by the people who submitted resumes and were completely, totally, utterly unqualified.  This is a hospital Marketing Director position, requiring a background and degree in marketing or closely related field and 3-5 years of marketing experience, preferably in healthcare.  You know what I got?  I received resumes from a "Carnival Worker", a church deacon, a couple of used car salesmen, teachers, musicians, and an exotic dancer...I'm not kidding, an exotic dancer.  I'm not sure what these folks intended on selling, but it wasn't hospital services.  So please, please make sure you actually meet the minimum criteria for the job before you apply.

 

• I Don't Have Telepathic Powers.  Submit a resume, dummy.  OK, seems like a stupid recommendation, but you'd be surprised at the number of applicants I got that didn't attach a resume.  How am I supposed to evaluate your goodness-of-fit if I don't have a record of what you've done? "Gosh, nice name, I think I'll interview her"? No resume?  Trash file.
• Introduce Yourself.  Likewise, I'd like to know WHY you're interested in the position, WHAT makes you think you'd be a good fit?  Submit a cover letter that introduces yourself and tells me why I should expend any effort to talk to you.  While no cover letter doesn't automatically lead to the trash file, the candidates I ended up interviewing ALL included cover letters with their applications.
• SugarDaddy69@yahoo.com.  For cryin' out loud, there is no excuse for using your cute or provocative email address to apply for a job.  With free services like gmail, yahoo, and aol, you should have a "professional" email address you use for professional correspondence. My personal email is DrPsych@aol.com, but for professional communication, I have a separate email account that is RobertPrehn@aol.com.  It was entertaining to read all the email addresses of the submissions, but some were downright scary (and none of them got contacted)
• Put Alittle Effort Into It.  I got one submission from Career Builder that said "I wanna job."  That's it...no cover letter, no resume, no contact information, nothing...just "I wanna job."  Well, I wanna job, too, so I'm not going to hire someone who puts so little effort into the application process...tells me alot about how you'd approach the job itself.
• Let Me Know You're Out There.  I was most impressed with the folks that made an effort to follow up.  Sent me an email and asked if I got their application...any questions about my resume?..."I want you to know I'm excited about this opportunity and would like to speak to you."  After all, my email AND phone number were listed on the job posting...all you had to do was drop me a line or pick up the phone.  Again, only about 15 of the 250 folks made the effort...and most of them landed an interview.
• Let THEM Know You're Out There.  By the same token, I responded to each & every submission...even the carnival worker and the exotic dancer...to let them know I got their submission and what the process would be from this point.  When we finally hired a Director, I contacted each of those 250 folks, thanked them for their submission, and told them we had hired someone who "more closely met our needs and the job responsibilities."  You know, out of 250, I got 8 replies thanking me for letting them know and asking to be considered for future openings.  You know what?  I kept all 8 of those emails in a separate folder called "Future Prospects."  I appreciated their follow-through.
• The Speed of Light.  I've heard the same thing you've heard:  The average resume gets less than 10 seconds of review before they go in the "consider" vs "reject" pile.  What I found was that 10 seconds might be overstating it a bit...6 seconds is more like it.  Your resume MUST speak to the job at hand, MUST summarize your assets quickly & clearly, MUST give me a reason WHY I want to talk to you.  Personally, I also like resumes that have a little picture of the applicant next to the contact info...it helps me put a face with the experience...you put your picture on Facebook and LinkedIn, shouldn't it be on your resume??

• Stalking As A Job Strategy.  Years ago, I applied for a job in Texas.  The regional director was hard to reach, distant, maybe busy with other stuff.  I sent emails outlining how I best fit the job description, I left voicemails telling her how excited I was about the opportunity, I sent snail-mail with a clean, color copy of my resume, I had mutual contacts call her and put in a good word for me.  Long story short, I got the job.  She told me years later that she had actually selected another candidate but I had pursued the job so hard that she came to believe I was the stronger choice.  Persistence works, stalking is not necessarily a bad thing.  

So, folks, take it from me, there are a few simple, obvious tactics that you can use to land that interview.  I can help you get in the door, but from that point on, it's all YOUR show.  Even if you're an exotic dancer...