Another JobsBlog hire tells you what it takes
I get hundreds of resumes a week; some are thoughtful and intelligent, but many are a notch above SPAM. What makes the difference junk and jewels? I asked one recently hired JobsBlog reader -Troy Schauls - how he went about contacting someone he did not know (me) about a job in my division. I’ll give you a big hint: it is all about his customized and well thought out email to me which guided his resume through the labyrinth of my inbox and into the hands of my interviewing team.
The rest of Troy’s advice (in his own words) is here:
Key Lessons:
1) Despite the rumors to the contrary, cover letters matter. Make it concise and make sure it contains something "remarkable." Be bold and don't be afraid to show what it is that gets you out of bed in the morning or keeps you from it at night.
2) Do your homework, then turn it in. Spend some time figuring out who exactly you need to contact and give it a try. I mean find a specific name if you can. Then be respectful of the recruiter's attention. I'm not sure where I read it but one of you guys (you, Gretchen, Zoe or maybe) said somewhere that if you send a resume, take the time to register on the careers site before you send it. I was aware that I was walking in off the street, so to speak, so I better make it as easy as possible for you to "process" me if you liked what I had to say.
3) Keep an open mind. Even though I was not a great fit with the first team I talked to, there were great opportunities that I didn't originally anticipate.
4) It is a pretty hard climb, but worth it at the top. This was one of the more rigorous interview processes I've been through. But my advice is to try to have fun with it. Hang in there. Keep "fighting" if you like what you hear during the process. Make sure you ask at a couple of open ended questions to each of your interviewers so you can get an impression of the job, team, culture and who your interviewers are as people.
Welcome Aboard, Troy!
--Jenna
8 Comments
Steve said:
Hi Jenna,
I recently went to a career event for Microsoft (3 weeks ago) and a manager and I struck up a conversation. I didn't have my resume at that time (I was there to look at the products and looking for a job was not my main goal), but he seemed interested enough that he asked what I wanted to work on and what my phone number was. He gave me the card of a staffing consultant and he also said that he would see what was available. Well, fast forward two days, I started to think about working for Microsoft and the wonderful toys I would get to play with everyday. I then thought, who am I to have Microsoft call me? I'm not special. So, I took the initiative and e-mailed the staffing consultant and asked her if I should apply via the site. She told told me not to and to send the resume directly to her. So I updated my resume and sent it to her that night.
I didn't hear back from her for 5 days so I e-mailed her to ask if there was anything else she needed. She said she had been traveling and that she got my resume and would get back to me shortly.
It's been a week already. I am just wondering if it's true that it may take months to get back to me (Microsoft's version of a "short time" since they have a such a large infrastructure and hundreds of thousands of applicants).
Should I even bother her again after a month?
Thanks.
--Steve
Jenna said:
Ok Steve, I'm going to tell you the truth: meeting at career fairs are tough. It is our job to stay in the booth and be engaged and interested in your background. The conversations are genuine, but no one is going to ask tough questions or look critically at your background: that happens later.
Now that the staffing consultant has your resume he/she is likely passing it around to see if there is any interest and here is where the critical eye is applied. If you have not heard anything yet there is likely no interest BUT- you should ALWAYS follow back up with the recruiter. Tenacity counts and it never hurts to try again.
Good Luck- Jenna
Donald said:
"Tenacity counts"
Aaahhh, but when do you cross the line from tenacious to annoying?
How often should I ask my staffing consultant for updates on a pending decision? Is weekly too often? Is monthly not often enough? Or, should I just sit by the phone and wait to hear from him/her?
Jason Haley said:
Jason Haley said:
Mark Heed said:
Hi Jenna,
Most of the other recruiters who blog here, seem to be related to college recruiting. It would be really great if some one who recruits verticals in C# and windows apps also blogs at this site.
For windows programmers, Vista and WinFX (.net 3) are as exciting as MSN is for web/ search programmers :) If recruiters for these categories can blog here, it would be great.
thanks
Mark
scottya said:
Question:
I recently interviewed for a position at MSN outside Seattle. I went through the whole interview loop-met with five people etc... I was told by the recruiter it was a close call, but they decided to go with other candidates. In addition, the recruiter mentioned that they would keep my info for any future jobs, and will contact me immediately if something matches. Is this a standard reply to candidates who are not offered jobs at Microsoft. Should I check in with the same recruiter periodically, even if I want to work at Microsoft headquarters in Seattle?
russedl said:
Jenna,
In your post, you mentioned that Troy had written a well thought out email to you that caught your eye enough to get it passed on to the interviewing team. How does one go about finding out who to send their resume to? I recognize and understand that there is the 'general pool' of resumes that probably come in by the thousands, but what's the best way to get your resume in the hands of a hiring manager, for instance?
I have submitted my resume through the career site, and have even emailed it to the national college recruiting team (as I am a soon-to-be college graduate). Would it be best to find a particular job posting and submit a resume for that particular job? Or is it best to find out who the manager is for that job and email him/her? Thanks for the input.