I’m a recruiter AMA
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Anonymous
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How important is university brand name?
I know it’s very important in some areas of finance. |
Anonymous
| How am I supposed to tailor the resume to the job (no errors!) and get it in within 48 hours of posting?! Seems near impossible, especially with a FT job. |
Anonymous
For Finance IB&PE the school matters a lot. I don’t work in that space but I know recent grads who have landed roles because of the pedigree of their school. For corporate roles in F500 honestly it doesn’t matter. I don’t care if it’s University of Phoenix, the experience matters a lot more. There are schools that we like though - for us Mich GA Tech and Duke work out well so those candidates get a little boost. But every company is different about that kind of stuff. |
Anonymous
Here’s where AI is your friend. Remember it’s YOUR resume that we are starting with not some bot generated generic. Copy paste the job into the AI prompt. Copy paste or load your resume. Ask what 5 changes could I make to my resume to better match this job posting and make me a stronger candidate. View the results. Implementing with your judgment. |
Anonymous
Thank you! |
Anonymous
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When a recruiter closes with "if anyone comes to mind that you think would be a fit...."
Are they really looking for me to apply and don't want to appear to be directly saying that? TIA |
Anonymous
I'm not the OP but as an HR leader who has done a LOT of recruiting, I'd like to chime in on this one too.... I don't care about reasonable gaps on your resume as long as you've had jobs for a long enough duration (IMO, 3 yrs minimum) to show that you learned the role, settled in, contributed in meaningful/relevant ways, and have results to show for it (no fluff bullets under those company/job title headings, please). If you have few jobs and short tenure in jobs, and have gaps...I won't look very carefully at your resume. If you have a gap, and somebody asks you about it, explain it. The best explanation will be honest and also include something about what you did during that time to keep your skills fresh and keep an eye on what's happening in your industry. Did you attend a conference, networking events, read industry publications, get a certification, etc.? Depending on the reason for your gap these things may not have been possible, but everyone can read what's online and read industry publications, so at a minimum, say that. Show that you cared about keeping up with those who were working during that time. Then also assure the interviewer that the reason for your gap is resolved so they won't be concerned you'll have to leave the job after only a short time because you need another break in your work. Life is unpredictable so it might happen again (cared for aging parent and now the other parent is aging and needs help), but they need a job done so you have to show how you can be a solution for their problem. |
Anonymous
Another HR/Recruiter here.... I mostly agree but we won't look at resumes of University of Phoenix (privately held, professional services/technology firm). But we are happy to look at candidates from state schools and we realize that not every family can afford Ivys and not every student gets tons of merit to make school affordable. And predatory loans suck so we applaud students who avoid that route. I just had this conversation with our General Counsel yesterday about hiring an attorney. He wants someone with 5-ish years of experience and wants to target top schools. I told him to go for any legit school and look more at what they've done with their 5 working years. That's how he'll get better talent. |
Anonymous
| I’m not asking this in a snarky way, but why would anyone want to be a recruiter? I feel like the majority of ‘I’ve been unemployed for months’ posts on my LinkedIn feed come from recruiters. And people generally aren’t very sympathetic due to being ghosted and poorly treated by said recruiters. |
Anonymous
Another HR/Recruiter chime-in... I agree on this...mostly. I hate cover letters with a fiery passion and I never read them. My hiring managers don't care, either. If there is something important about you that you want us to know, put it in your RESUME. An executive statement (brief) is a great place to say your thing. Where I differ from the OP is about thank you notes following interviews. Send them. Do you want the job? If so, do everything in your power to stand out among other candidates. I've never had a hiring manager say "all these thank you notes are so annoying". Never. Managers like them and for our company (professional services) it shows good communication and professional polish to follow up in this proactive and positive way. It won't get you the job if other things in your interview process didn't go well, but when we get to the short-list of 2 - 3 very well qualified finalists, why not have that one extra point working in your favor. If you want to send a thank you, here are my further suggestions: 1. Send it before your head hits the pillow on the day of your interview. It's okay to send after 5pm, but the next day is less impressive. Hiring decisions can happen quickly so don't miss your window. 2. Say something as a follow up to your conversation. "I've been reflecting on our conversation and appreciated your point on XYZ." Then say something more that YOU think about it, so you aren't just replaying to the manager something THEY said. Try to further the conversation so that if they want to talk to you more... the way to do that is to hire you. 2.5. Say something to confirm you want the job. Think like a closer. What last thing about you do you want them to remember. Say it. Do you want to convey your enthusiasm about this role being a perfect fit for you? Say that, too. Don't leave them guessing. Close! 3. Don't be funny or cute. Tone is a difficult thing to read in email, and you and the interviewer don't know each other well enough to trust your funny comment will land as intended. They might think you are flip or not taking them or the interview process seriously. Just don't do this....too much risk. 4. No hand-written thank you notes. It's a nice idea, but snail mail is too slow and if it arrives after a hiring decision is made, it's just sad. This fits with Times New Roman and AOL email addresses. Days gone by. Take a more modern approach. |
Anonymous
| OP, are you annoyed that your particular AMA has been hijacked by other all-knowing HR experts? |
Anonymous
Does your company send out thank-you letters to candidates? Do you want those candidates to work for you? If so, then you should do everything to stand out among other companies. |
Anonymous
That sounds like the end of an external recruiter convo - but regardless - yeah, not a good sign. |
Anonymous
Lol not at all. The more the merrier if it helps DCUM land their next job! |
Anonymous
I'm not the OP, and I'm a recruiter about 30% of the time in my HR role, but I really love it. Helping an organization find talent that is a great fit in terms of skills, experience, and personality, is dynamic, complex, and just so much fun. Like the OP, I have an undergrad degree in Psychology, and that serves me well (then I got an MBA). I really like coaching our leaders on how to effectively run high-performing teams, and one of the ways is to bring in the right people when it's time to add someone. I realize this work is not for everyone, and yes, it's really hard to have to disappoint candidates who don't progress in the process or get the offer, but we really try to treat people respectfully (NO ghosting, say it nicely, offer some feedback to help in the future) and to some extent, it is what it is. My company is a great place, but we are NOT a perfect place, and not the right place for everyone. Someone not right for us will find a great place right for them. We can't hire all applicants so we have to make the best process we can for all involved. There are a LOT of good recruiters out in the market right now; I see their posts, too. It's not an easy job and I think most people do not understand or appreciate the ways it can be hard. Sometimes great recruiters work with crummy hiring managers or leaders. Some candidates are entitled and clueless. It's really hard to make everyone happy and most of them are truly doing the best they can. But all that said, I do really love it. |