Not all jobseekers qualify as serious

Chances are you have never met a jobseeker who told you he wasn’t serious. No one thinks of himself as not being serious when it comes to serious job hunting. As a group, jobseekers do not identify them­selves as commodities, products or merchandise, but as unique individuals.

Randomly prepare 500 or more résumés and it is hard to resist the temptation not to categorize. By the time you work for 800 jobseekers, you have encountered everything from technically challenged luddites to overachievers. As new jobseekers enter the market, repetitive patterns emerge.

From an employer’s perspective, jobseekers tend to get classified quickly into distinct scenarios: There are those who tell employers what they want to hear. (These are often get classified as C-players.) There is nothing wrong with being a C-player, but do not be disappoint to learn you’ll have stiff competition.

Another group of jobseekers rely solely on what they know and precede accord­ingly. (These qualify as B-players.) In large measure, B-players tend to be highly skilled or technically oriented. The rely heavily on their knowledge base to carry the day.

In the smallest group are those who dynamically demonstrate their potential. (This group of jobseekers gets categorized as A-players.) Naturally, they have their act together, they interview exceedingly well, and they are much sought after. Oddly, these candidates face little or no competition in the job market.

For various reasons—and there are many—everyone else gets lumped into the non-serious category. This should not imply that those jobseekers themselves aren’t serious, it’s just that from the employer's perspective, they don’t get classified as such.

When dealing with volumes of jobseekers, behavioral patterns begin to jump out at you. Whatever might escape one’s attention on a small scale quickly emerges as the volume of candidates escalates. Thus, there exists an overwhelm desire to expeditiously rate and classify candidates.

The glaring difference between being interviewed by someone preparing your résumé and a hiring decision maker amounts to their mission. The résumé writer attempts to qualify the client jobseeker, while employers make an all-out effort to disqualifying candidates through elimination.

Most jobseekers – an estimated 60% -- make the elimination process horrendously easy. Such jobseekers will apply for positions for which they are clearly unqualified or unsuited. Others resort to copying résumé material from books and others. These individuals get quickly classified as non-serious jobseekers.

As I have often indicated, each résumé sends a message, whether intentional or other­wise. For example, a jobseeker who submits a lengthy résumé may be perceived as someone who is inconsiderate or perhaps full of himself. Those who submit hard-to-read material are often perceived as disconnected, lacking withitness or perhaps careless.

Certainly, those who fail to qualify due to lack of relevant experience, skillsets and/or education are viewed by employers as time-wasters. One of the surest ways to be eliminated is attempting to market out­dated experience. Those individuals get instantly classified as past-their-prime jobseekers.

Employers who receive a short stack of résumés—let’s say around 20—it’s like shuffling a deck of cards looking for face-cards and aces. The stack can be visually scanned to eliminate the low-value cards in a few minutes.

Obviously, when employers need to shuffle many decks of cards (résumés), then using a card shuffler makes sense. In this case, the card shuffler amounts to using an Applicant Tracking System (ATS), which can scan, sort and evaluate a pile of material in nanoseconds. Those attempting to outwit ATS apps will encounter an ever-dwindling audience. In short, the AI software is becoming highly sophisticated.

The ultimate question is: How does a job candidate avoid projecting the image of someone who is not serious? The quick response is to avoid the classic mistakes. That, however, amounts to avoiding an exhaustive list of not-so-subtle no-nos.

Should you find a résumé writer good at what he or she does, pay the freight. Nine out of ten times, the writer will save you from self-inflicted folly. At minimum, you will avoid coming across as a jobseeker who isn’t serious. 

Who uses professional résumés?

Ever ask yourself who uses professional résumés? (Probably not.) Every jobseeker needs one, but not necessarily the professional-grade quality. The average worker can squeak by with a budget piece.

With upper job-market positions, a squeak-by presentation is not prudent. Starting at the mid- and upper-management levels, a low-budget résumé or vitae sends employers the message that shouts, it’s not worth my time, effort and expense!

In the olden-golden days, when you wanted to impress a would-be employer, you used fancy or gilded paper, or perhaps had a brochure designed. Moreover, the cover letter often rehashed key points you felt needed belaboring. Electronic submissions and heavier workloads instantly eradicated those options.

Today, if you want to impress the recipient, the résumé or vitae should be relevant, well focused and readable. Meander off course, belabor the obvious or regurgitate the mundane and you shoot yourself. In short, the best presentations say much in few words.

When should a professional enter into the picture? The answer to that largely depends upon your skillset. Here are five questions to ask yourself:

1.   Do I possess a solid command of written communications? You might be able to elucidate orally, but can you express yourself in writing? If you write to earn a living or majored in college English, you are on solid ground.

2.   To what degree do I excel in advertising? (Selling your used Beamer doesn’t qualify.) If you did well in this at college, again you are on solid footing. If not, advertising may not be a default skillset. Inherent in this skillset includes knowing the difference between “message sent” and “message perceived,” which are not identical.

3.   To what extent do I see myself as a commodity? This question speaks to your objectivity. To a résumé writer, you are a commodity in search of a buyer. Now ask yourself again if you are that objective. (Most jobseekers are not.)

4.   Do I possess the skillset necessary to utilize technology? For starters, we will assume you can perform basic keyboarding. What about integrating ancillary disciplines such as manipulating layouts, inserting various hypertext applications and effectively using Cloud access. (Today, such a skillset is essential.)

5.   Finally, there is the psychoanalytical aspect. Even if you have mastered all the above, there remains hidden challenges. Can I instantly spot red-flag words, antiquated terminology and subliminal messaging in my presentation?

To answer the question, we turn to Clint Eastwood who may have said it best: “A man has to know his limitations.” Should you come up short in these skillsets, then selecting a résumé writer comes down to a matter of performing due diligence. Then, partner with the one who will blow employers socks off.

Copyrighted © 2013 by Robert James