I hate Robert Scoble! (and you should too...)

Posted Dec 17 2008 7:50 AM by the JobsBloggers
Jim Did the title of this blog post capture your attention? Good! It was supposed to, but I must advise you against such shock tactics. Why? I receive quite a few requests for assistance in my e-box everyday, and you would be surprised at the different ways applicants communicate with recruiters.  For example, titling your email with a totally irrelevant subject headline, such as the way I titled this blog post, shocks me into opening the message, but then I am (most likely) not going to read any email you send me in the future.  (And for the record, I know Robert Scoble and guess what? I don’t hate him and you should not either.) 

Another recruiter pet peeve is the ambivalence of some of the requesters. For example, I may get an email that says (in so many words), “Will you help me get into Microsoft (or anywhere else for that matter)?” or at least, that’s what they mean to say. What I actually receive is a blank email with a resume attached and nothing in the subject line. I suppose I am to fill in the blanks - sigh. Another type of email I get a lot of is an email that is part of a long chain of recruiters in the CC or BCC field, with the subject line of “resume.”  My presumption is the word “resume” is meant to grab my attention and entice me to open the email in a hurry - double sigh…

The average recruiter gets a LOT of email from more than just jobseekers. So should you feel defeated before you even email a recruiter? Not at all… If you will permit me, let me share a couple of strategies that will increase your chances of your email being read (quickly) and resolved to your potential satisfaction.

1.  Make your recipient feel special.  Do not add me to a spam list whereby you send me your resume along with countless other recruiters. This does not come across as your being genuinely interested in Microsoft. It says instead, that you are shooting your resume everywhere with the hope that it will stick somewhere soon. Every company wants to feel that you are enthusiastic about working for them and not that they are an employer of convenience. Likewise, you wouldn’t want an employer putting you on the “to” line with hundreds of other applicants.  You want to feel special.

2.  Get my attention.  Instead of the email subject line shock tactic I discussed earlier, I would suggest that you make the subject of your email enticing and accurate. So what would be an enticing headline for a recruiter? Glad you asked! Howzabout squeezing the purpose of your email and the gist of your resume, into 15 words or less? Sound hard? It’s not really, let me share a few examples…

  • Introduction: John Doe-Software Engineer. 5 yrs exp. C++ Guru seeking manager role
  • Intro: Sales – 3 years selling enterprise products, ex-IBM, ex-Oracle
  • Chat? Brand Marketer, working but curious about Microsoft. 4 years with Intel
  • Jobcode 123456 – I’ve been fixing broken software at Apple for 9 years. QA geek 

Subject lines like these help a recruiter to immediately grasp an idea about your work history and plot out an immediate course of action. Very sexy…

3.  Help me, help you…I get a lot of email, but you know that already. When following-up on the status of our conversation, ALWAYS reply with the original email in the body of the text. Simply hit “reply” on the last email we exchanged and that will help me to remember where we left off. Although I may have a decent memory, I am not an elephant, so I may not remember the status of each person in the interview process. (Please do not be offended by that.) If you remind me (or your recruiter) of your last communique, it will save them the trouble of tracking you in their Outlook and thereby speed up the response time of them getting back to you.

4.  Be assertive, but not too pushy.  If you have attempted to contact a particular recruiter and your emails have gone unanswered, then I feel your pain. You want to be persistent, yet you also do not want to come across as a pest. This is what I suggest: return to the headline of your email and gently remind the recruiter of your previous attempts. For example, here are some suggested subject lines…

  • 3rd Attempt: Game Designer, 2 years with Atari. Seeking relocation to Redmond
  • Seeking Follow-up: Discussed Job 123456 on 9.1.06.
  • Last try: Product Manager – 2 emails, one voice. 1st email on 8.26.06 

I’m certain these suggestions will increase your “thanks for calling me back” to “my resume is in a blackhole” ratio for the better. (Smile)

Good luck!

-Jim 

16 Comments

  • dukz said:

    Thanks for these tips, Jim. I think it's helpful to know how a recruiter feels. I also hate that out-of-this-world subject email.

  • Toby Getsch said:

    Jim, your comments go without saying.  Seriously.  If a job seaker is valuable, they will already know this stuff, and those are the only emails you'll read anyway.  Right?!





    Well, I think that's wrong.  We all know that "you guys" get tons of email.  That's *your* problem and a problem with the way the system is setup, not the problem of the potential employee or other great candidate that's out there, and may have 'done it wrong' for your tastes.





    I previously worked with an employment agency.  It was not the size or scope of what Microsoft deals with.  I understand that.  However, there were many times when a candidate was not clicking with one recuriter and ended up working with another recuriter and doing awesome in the new job.





    I think the onus is on you!  You should have ways to read through more resumes and more emails and you should also be able to find those valuable candidates who happen to forget a subject line, or happen to forget to attach a resume.  We all make those mistakes.  We all have tried to impress and maybe gone overboard with an overpowering subject or have included too many people in the To: line.





    I think that you should be begging for better tools to do your job, not begging candidates to fit your ways.  I've heard that too much, and it ain't right.  Candidates are extrememly valuable, and deserve to be heard and given your attention - even if you get 300 or 1,000 emails a day.





    Now you have $.02 more, and I'm down the same.





    Respectfully,


    ~Toby Getsch





    <a rel="nofollow" target="_new" href="http://www.tweblog.com">http://www.tweblog.com</a>

  • Cheong said:

    So do I.





    Talking about what applicant should do with application letters, may I add that it'll be helpful to name your resume file with "<your name> - resume.doc" or something like that.





    It nearly drive me crazy to receive 20+ resume a day with filename simply "resume.doc". It's rather painful if I have to rename 100+ files with the same filename to save for record. :P





    Of course not everyone will extract the files out and save them in a folder, but it helps when in case they're doing this.

  • gretchen said:

    Toby - What Jim discusses is not a Microsoft-specific problem.   The truth is that many applicants (as you know) routinely approach recruiters via the methods Jim has outlined.  Most recruiters - whether they work at big corporations or boutique search firms - do not find this type of behavior professional or effective.   <BR><BR>A mission of this blog has always been to educate potential applicants on the *realities* of the recruiting industry, and yes, in part, that means to teach them how to "fit" recruiters' ways.  Great candidates (especially developers) make insanely silly mistakes when applying for jobs, and this blog is meant to help them better prepare for the application and interview process so they approach their job search with the right information. <BR><BR>On a side note, I know Jim personally, and he's probably the most passionate advocate of the jobseeker you will ever meet, and to his credit, I'm sure he thoroughly reads, evaluates, and responds to every application he receives.  I can't say the same for most of the recruiting industry though, and that's who candidates really have to deal with.   More power to you if you are one of the good guys; that's rare.  But by educating jobseekers, Jim IS valuing them and showing them the respect they deserve.

  • Toby Getsch said:

    Gretchen (and Jim)~





    Thanks for your response.  I hope that any of my comments come across with respect.  I did not mean it as an attack toward Jim.  I hope it wasn't perceived that way.  I'm sorry if it was.





    What I do mean in general is that jobseekers often do not get that passionate time that Jim gives.  They often get shuffled aside because there are "so many others" to pay attention to.  And, I know that some of those that get passed over are wonderful, amazing, delightful people to work with, and they are loaded with potential and talent.  I also know that some of those candidates that do not get passed over are real losers and end up costing everyone all sorts of pain.  That happens, hopefully not very often.  But it does happen.





    So, thank you for spending the time that you do spend.  Tools that allow you to spend more of your valuable time on the right candidates are exponentially valuable.  Reading it again, I wish my comment was written more to highlight that need, rather than to criticize any great efforts that are made.





    Thank you for listening.  I value this blog, your insights, and your feedback.  (No kiss-up intended... just honest thanks.)





    Sincerely,


    ~Toby Getsch





    <a rel="nofollow" target="_new" href="http://www.tweblog.com">http://www.tweblog.com</a>

  • gretchen said:

    Hi Toby - Thanks for the clarification.  Yes, I definitely agree that recruiters should take the time to objectively evaluate every candidate they meet and resume they receive.  I'm also a big proponent of the "candidate experience" so it always bothers me when I hear stories about recruiters not responding to applicants or interviewees.  I also agree that if a recruiter feels overwhelmed by the volume of incoming resumes, it's up to the recruiter to utilize technology or effective time management to ensure each applicant is treated fairly.  It just doesn't always happen like that in a perfect world. :(

  • Partho Banerjee said:

    Hi...





    I am new to this blog...but within a few hours iam a fan of it....kind of zapping thru the pages.





    On the aweful subject line issue....I think grabbing a good attention is alright, but what s the use if the attention is all pumped up just to be thrown in the trashbin (or the recycle-bin). I dont agree with the gentleman saying its "That's *your* problem and a problem with the way the system is setup, not the problem of the potential employee ",..... An employer is bound to look for genuine interest of the candidate to work for his company. Its true that the candidate might nurture to work for other companies too....but that doesnt meen he would shooting darts at targets where Microsoft is one JUST one of the target-boards.





    lively yours,


    Partho.

  • Jim Stroud said:

    As always, I appreciate the comments. Hmmm... it still amazes me how the most innocent of quips can be received as something horribly awry, but such is par for the course. (Smile)





    Duks, Cheong and Partho - thanks for understanding what I meant and big love to Gretchen for watching my back.  





    Toby, glad we have clarity and to show that there are no hard feelings, I will do a part 2 for this post in the VERY near future. I will address why it is (sometimes) recruiters do not call you back when you are (presumably) the best person for the job.  Get your comments ready as it will be somewhat... umm... controversial. (At least I hope-wink.)





    Stay tuned...

  • darin said:

    Jim , I am a fan of your blog & I read all your postings with a lot of excitement. You give a good amount of tips for job seekers like me in all your posts. I appreciate your time & patience . Your blog is fun to read with all the experiences you share - I would love to see you writing more posts & Please help with more info for all tech job seekers - How best they can improve their resume.





    Here is another interesting SAN blog <a rel="nofollow" target="_new" href="http://storage-jobs.blogspot.com">http://storage-jobs.blogspot.com</a> which has all the details you need with step by step guide in getting a tech job offer letter. Visit read & benefit Career boost.

  • Toby Getsch said:

    I really am not that much of an antagonist.  But, in this case, it sounds like fun, and maybe others will get drawn in to the conversation because of it.  So... I guess this would be where I'd say, "Bring it!"  ;)

  • Technical Careers @ Microsoft said:

    Hmm... Is this you?


    You yesterday: &quot;Wow!&amp;nbsp; This Microsoft job is PERFECT for me!!!&amp;nbsp; I'm going...

  • Zeeshan Shakeel said:

    hi Jim ,


    I really appreciate the way you explain some of the blunders


    that we as developers make in job hunting process.


    I have just started getting involved in this blog & frankly speaking i find it really helpful.





    Thankx for everything you & others are doing to help everybody succeed in this imperfect world :(





    yours truly,


    Zeeshan Shakeel

  • Partho Banerjee said:

    Hi Jim,





    I have the read post....I think this is the one u wr referring to here....as the one coming up....great one....





    Thanks for bringing in more and more light...can I see some corners still in the shade?





    -love


    - Partho

  • Microsoft's JobsBlog said:

    Hmm... Is this you? You yesterday: "Wow! This Microsoft job is PERFECT for me!!! I'm going to apply right

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