I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: if you are sincerely looking for a job, you want to portray yourself as a match for a given position (matching your experience to the job description), and making it as easy as possible for the recruiter to contact you.
Today I received an email with two attachments. It was an employee referral for a specific position I have open. I opened the first version of the candidate’s resume. At the top was her name. Then her professional history (which is fine). But I sent an email to the sender: "where is her contact information?!" Turns out it was at the bottom, as part of the footer. Which meant that I had to go to the bottom, hit the "edit footer" option, then highlight her email address. OK folks, that is a PITA for me. The only reason I actually opened it was because it was a referral from one of my managers. If I got that sort of resume from a random document, I wouldn’t even bother.
Then of course I read the resume. She was interested in a specific position, but she hadn’t read the job description. Obviously. She had none of the *absolutely required* skills that this position called for.
Then I was looking at applicants to my jobs in our applicant tracking database today. And I saw something *so bizarre* that I made it my "joke of the day" resume to my team.
Keeping in mind that applying for a job via our website is a *legal application*. This particular candidate had given her name as "Lady Jane". First name Lady. Last name Jane. (Actually it was not Jane but it was a common female English name.) Now, she had applied for a position as a software tester. But almost her entire resume was filled up with a list of artistic projects. And the website links she included as her "portfolio" were broken. Her objective was quite esoteric and totally unrelated to the job she applied for (it was about using art to make the universe a better place). The kicker was that she claimed to be a Knight of Malta. Which, while interesting, has no real place on a resume unless you are applying for a humanitarian or positions with a religious institution. *From the Order’s FAQ:
"10) How does one become a member of the Order?
One can become a member of the Order of Malta only by invitation. Only persons of undoubted Catholic morality and practice, who have acquired merit with regard to the Sovereign Order, its institutions and its works are eligible for admission.
To be fair, in scrutinizing her work history, she did mention working in software testing. But they were just that: mentions, with no supporting information such as tools, products, or methodologies.
The conclusion I (and my co-workers reached) is that she is just applying to jobs for her unemployment claim. And other than the amusement factor, it’s a waste of my *valuable* time.
So make sure that when you are crafting your resume for specific jobs that you are doing your best to actually look right for a position.