21 Things Hiring Managers Wish You Knew (day 2)

We pay attention to the small stuff.

Frequently, I see candidates act as if only “official” contacts—like interviews and formal writing samples—count during the hiring process. They’ll send flawless cover letters and then check up on their applications with sloppily written E-mails with spelling errors. Or they’ll be charming and polite to me but rude to an assistant. I pay attention to how quickly a candidate responds to requests for writing samples and references, and even how fast he or she returns phone calls.

21 Things Hiring Managers Wish You Knew (day 1)

We actually want you to be honest.

I see too many job applicants who approach the interview as if their only goal is to win a job offer, losing sight of the fact that this can land them in the wrong job. Think of it like dating. This means being honest about your strengths and weaknesses and giving the hiring manager a glimpse of the real you, so he or she can make an informed decision about how well you’d do in the job.
Alison Green writes the popular Ask a Manager blog, where she dispenses advice on career, job search, and management issues. She's also the author of Managing to Change the World: The Nonprofit Leader's Guide to Getting Results.

NetworkedBlogs on Facebook

If you wouldn't mind please confirm me as the author of the following blogs on NetworkedBlogs: Blogger http://ning.it/9EL6C0, Xanga http://ning.it/9kcXOp, LiveJournal http://ning.it/cA1MGt, and 20SB http://ning.it/anj6DJ.

-Rockin Rita-
Please check out all my blogs, my youtube channel, and my twitter. If you like what read please comment and follow!

Assorted Randomness: http://rockinrita.xanga.com
I Heart Randomness: http://20sb.net/profile/rockinrita03
Proud 2 B Random: http://rockinrita03.livejournal.com
Randomness Rocks!: http://rockinrita03.blogspot.com
Rockin Rita's Random YouTube: http://youtube.com/RockinRita03
Rockin Rita's Twitter O' Randomness: http://twitter.com/RockinRita03

5 Reasons Employers Don't Tell Why They Didn't Hire You

I'm currently unemployed. Have been since just before Christmas. As of today I will start posting a series of entries that are career/job related. Hopefully, if any of you my followers/ readers are unemployed these blog entries will help in some way with your search.

5 Reasons Employers Don't Tell Why They Didn't Hire You

By Alison Green

Posted: May 24, 2010

No one likes the form letters that employers use to deliver the news that you didn't get the job: They're impersonal, they don't have any real information about why you lost out, they say you were impressive when obviously you weren't impressive enough, and so forth. How are job-seekers supposed to become better candidates when these canned letters don't give them any useful feedback?

[See 15 essentials for getting hired.]

Here are five common reasons companies use these maddeningly vague rejection letters:

1. They're afraid of being sued. Many companies are under orders from their lawyers not to get into the reasons for job rejections, in case a candidate doesn't like the explanation and decides the "real" reason must be discriminatory.

[See why job seekers should volunteer.]

2. They don't want to deal with candidates who get angry and try to debate the decision. Everyone who does hiring has stories about rejected candidates who wouldn't stop arguing the decision, and some who got so angry that they were scary.

3. The reason you were rejected is an awkward one. It's one thing to explain that you needed stronger writing skills or more bookkeeping experience. But most people don't want to have to explain that you seemed like a jerk, or crazy, or not very bright.

[See 5 lame but common interview answers.]

4. They don't have time. Offering up thoughtful feedback to every rejected candidate could be a job unto itself, and ultimately that's not what hiring staffers are there for.

5. They did tell you the reason and you don't believe them. A lot of times "you were really great, but someone else was a better fit," is just the truth.

All that said, you have nothing to lose by writing back and asking for feedback after you get that vague rejection E-mail. If you do it well (politely, non-defensively) and you have an interviewer who wants to help, you just may get some helpful advice.

poem

This poem is from August 2005. It describes my favorite thing to do- write and let loose.

A Place to Let Loose

Notebook
bright, medium(-sized)

writing, reading, revising

where I’m always free to be- me

notebook