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So to all the university/college kids who are looking for summer work: unless you are applying for a job as a group, GO BY YOURSELF—don’t take a friend, or a boyfriend, to help hand out resumes. Geeeezze. —Couldahiredya
This article appears in Mar 11-17, 2010.
22 Comments
agreed.
Unless you are a group of guys looking for a “job” with me.
They are just handing in a resume? Why can’t they have a person with them if they are just handing in a resume? It’s not like they are bringing their friends into the interview, they are just passing a sheet of paper to you. Am I missing something? This doesn’t seem like a big deal at all.
fizz, it’s not uncommon that the recipient of a resume may have cursory or screening questions for the person submitting said resume. Having others standing around snapping gum, gabbing on their cell, or staring vapidly into space can create a barrier to the process.
It also kills the likelihood that the seeker may spontaneously asked to sit down for a more formal, on-the-spot interview if one or more of their answers to the questions catches the ear of the recipient.
Having been an employee accepting resumes for the boss and an employer this is my take on the situation.
I agree, if you are serious about wanting a job, go alone. When I handed in my resume at the grocery store, she looked it over right then and there and then gave me a date to come back in for an interview.
I agree with Three. Not to mention, I never just go in and hand in a resume. I always ask for the manager or something, and I always dress like I am going to an interview.
Yup—trust me on this one. It IS a big deal. I know it seems like it shouldn’t be, but it IS.
ALWAYS dress appropriately for the job or the environment, and ALWAYS go alone.
Believe me, showing up with parents or friends or pets CAN get your resumé sent straight to the trash. It happens.
The “showing up alone” thing conveys independence, professionalism, and an attitude that you *could* start right away, even though of course, practically speaking, you are not actually going to start that very minute.
It’s about the “social customs” of the workplace, which you have to know about if you want to get in to certain “societies.”
Even if it seems dumb, just know that this unwritten rule exists, and that it’s one more thing that has to be done to be considered in the running for certain kinds of jobs.
and wait til the people that have families and kids start going on about no work again. seems like some people can never win in this town. the students won’t really take call center jobs, and adults find it to demanding. who the hell wins here?
i really don’t mind if you bring your whole family but make sure you know what type of business you have entered. it also helps if you can read and write and keep the resume short…don’t care about hobbies.
if you are looking for a job at a restaurant don’t show up between 12 and 3
I thought it was known you hand your resume in alone…
what the hell are they teaching kids in school these days?
unless of course you’re going via referral….
in that case, you don’t have to hand it in at all.
just make sure you use spellcheck.
That’s another point though paingirl:
The earlier you go, the more serious the people you are handing the resume into are going to take you.
PG — you’re right about the hobbies! It’s amazing how bad some resumes are, and it’s just sad that the functional resume is so under utilized.
I’ve worked jobs where I’ve accepted a lot of resumes for temporary summer employment for young people specifically. And we never had enough time on our hands to be able to question the applicant as they hand in the resume let alone interrupt the days schedule with a spontaneous interview.
My boss couldn’t stand it when people asked to see him while handing in their resume because (while I agree it shows ambition and confidence) it interrupted his schedule when there was already a clearly defined process of hiring for the summer: Gather resumes, make time to look through them, call back those who were qualified, schedule interviews, and hire people based on those interviews. Around May and April we’d get several applications a day for student summer work, looking through that many resumes and going through that many interviews takes time and was carefully planned. Knowing the managers work schedule, seeing every one of them at the time they handed in the application would have set him way behind.
Sure coming in well dressed and alone is always a good thing, but in my experience the people who initially receive the resume have no input on who gets hired, do not have the right to throw someones resume in the trash, and the employer wouldn’t actually meet the applicant in person until the weeks of the interviews. Basically it’s never had any effect on whether or not someone got hired for temporary summer employment where I’ve worked. That’s why I don’t understand this bitch.
Maybe they do it differently for different types of jobs and based on the size of the business but the hiring process for student summer employment has never in my experience been so uptight as to have people completely disregarded for entering the building with another person in their company. I can understand the annoyance if the other person is causing a disturbance but that doesn’t seem to be what this bitch is about.
I don’t really understand what the OP means by the other person helping to hand out the resumes though, that seems a little weird. I can’t even picture how this encounter took place, they went in together but the other person was helping them hand the resume? How? Did they both pass the receptionist the resume together? Or did they just wait for their friend? Personally I never cared if they came with a friend/boyfriend or whatever, it didn’t matter at all and it never annoyed me.
Go West!
It definitely depends on the type of job. For some situations, it really is just a matter of dropping off the resume, and your dress, etc., doesn’t make a difference.
For other kinds of jobs, it DEFINITELY makes a difference. I have seen many situations where the receptionist mentions the percieved attitude, etc. of the applicant to their boss—(ie “Hey, that kid seemed really bright and friendly. He was very polite and seems like a great person to work with.” etc.)
This is especially crucial in small businesses, where everyone, from “just” the receptionist up to the owner will be working very closely together. (Or the supposed “receptionist” is a co-owner of the business—and has EVERY right to throw a resume in the trash if they think the candidate is someone they would not bother with.
I used to teach these workshops to people. I would always try to explain that even though this custom (or “rule”) about doing your job search on your own may not always make sense at first, do it anyway. Some people actually accused me of just making it up. God—WHY would I make something like that up? Just to LIE to a bunch of job-seekers? For fun? Because I’m evil?
I mean, hey if someone is giving you FREE advice about tiny things that make a difference regarding getting a job or not, don’t you think people would rather KNOW about little rules and customs they need to know, instead of arguing about it?
I KNOW it might seem like a crazy “rule.” But it MATTERS, so if you want to put yourself in the best possible light, and someone tells you not to show up with your friends or family, then (Sheesh!) they are HELPING YOU!
I KNOW that it is teeny tiny etiquette thing, but people appreciate it (or more to the point, notice when you’re DOING IT WRONG), so it’s really up to you to decide for yourself how much effort you want to put into getting a particular job.
For my former job in retail my manager generally told us to take resumes and write a note on it about the person that dropped it off.
I had notes reading: “She wasn’t here but her MOM says she REALLY wants to work here…I assume she can’t get her lazy ass out of bed to bring this in herself…loser”
“Came in with her friend, both dressed like they’re desperate for attention at the Palace…say no to skanks”
“Wearing sweatpants…no makeup (we sold makeup so it’s worth mentioning), chomping on gum and asked me for a tylenol…I’m not covering her shifts when she’s hungover so don’t bother interviewing”
So even though you might think you’re “just dropping off a resume” you need to be aware that your first impression counts with everyone…not just the manager.
btw…I’m not a total shrew…I wrote good comments, too.
The resume should also include a professional email address instead of hot.and.sexy@email.xxx (I always point this out and they giggle and say they have used that since grade 9. (And this makes it better somehow?)
cue Hali claiming Ruby to be crazy for using these 1 in a million scenarios….
that’s pretty close to what I had mentioned a while back… and lo and behold… TRUTH.
and Koda, where’s the line on the e-mail addy’s?
mine’s not silly or stupid, but it’s a yahoo account and the only one I have and use regularly. I suppose a case can be made for setting up a temp one while job hunting…
question is, … is it necessary?
I know
cockknocker@email.xxx is probably not appropriate but is
latrodectus@email.xxx ?
it’s not coy or campy… and sounds kinda cool… and is informative….
(BTW, that’s not my e-mail addy but it’s along the same lines so I’m curious what y’all think)
Somewhere between the ages of 20 and 40 I went from being one of those people who was “outside” the system to being “inside” it, whatever you consider “the system” to be.
I have reviewed resumés, portfolios, given people advice about how to tweak their skills to advance in the industry, have conducted interviews, and have hired/refused to hire people for jobs.
I have been YELLED AT on the phone by job seekers demanding to speak to my boss so they could come in and apply for a job—the assumption being because I am a female and have a “young-sounding” voice that I did not merit politeness.
I recieved a resumé from a girl who called herself “poopstinky @ email.com“—who was applying for a job in a very elegant and dignified kind of office.
I have taught classes and have had most students pass (thankfully) and a few who fail (well, I don’t “fail” them, they fail themselves.) I have also been on panels that reviewed scholarship applications and have played a key role in deciding WHO GETS FREE MONEY (and who does not) from the very limited pool of funds.
It continues to amaze me how people (of all ages, by the way) who *claim* to want something (a job, a skill, free money, a credential) can be so quick to ignore all the advice about workplace cultures, job preparedness, personal presentation that is so freely available. There is so much information around—including the original post here today—CLEARLY TELLING PEOPLE THINGS THEY SHOULD AND SHOULD NOT DO, and yet every day there is some person acting all mystified and confused about the process of basic human interaction, complaining that “I didn’t get the job/I flunked that class/they gave the scholarship to someone else and I dunno why.”
And it’s not just inexperienced teenagers who make mistakes—the crap I’ve seen from 40- and 50-year-old so-called “adults” would make you scream.
Trust me, they TRY to teach some of this stuff in school (I know I have) but you would not believe the arguments and flat outright refusal to believe the information—and I’m talking about the kids’ parents!!!!
Check out nothired.com if you need any more proof of this.
And good luck in your job search!
most employees i have hired came ready to work and the ATTITUDE screamed very loudly
sebastian, Pet Shop Boys song, right?
Panhandling seems to be an easy buck. No resume required.
” I was looking for a job, so I found a job and heaven knows I’m miserable now ” Heaven knows I’m miserable now The Smiths 🙂