By Dianne Stafford, The
From : http://msn.careerbuilder.com/
Applicants, listen up for advice!
Tim Moran, corporate staffing director at Hallmark Cards Inc., was candid:
"There are a lot of crummy companies and nonresponsive people in HR and line management. Some are born that way, some are self-made, and some have been developed by the pressure of the economy."
Truer words never spoken. One has only to listen to job hunters tell their stories to know that many human resource departments and practitioners aren't doing the kinds of things that would cause them to be featured in "best practice" training manuals for the profession.
Hallmark may be a throwback to fast-fading era, Moran said, but the Kansas City-based company continues to try to respond to all job candidates about their status. The company - which has done more downsizing than hiring lately - nonethless maintains an updated "talent bank" of candidates it doesn't have a job for immediately but whom they might be able to hire some day.
While Moran championed the Hallmark way, his prime reason for speaking recently to a group of area career counselors was to tell them what he and other good corporate recruiters want their job-hunting clients to know. His wish list:
- Candidates should "know themselves." Candidates who don't know where their talents and interests lie, who can't explain their career paths, who can't effectively summarize their accomplishments will not get past the interviewer's door.
- Applicants should know exactly what they want to do. There are no brownie points for telling an interviewer, "I just heard this was a good place to work and will do whatever's open." Candidates should apply only for jobs that mesh with their skills or experience and should be able to explain what position they want and why.
- Interviewees should have done basic research into the organization, being careful to get updated and accurate information. "Beware of the Internet. Don't trust everything you see there," Moran said. And don't try to trump the interviewer with arcane details about the company.
- Candidates should be aware that everyone at the hiring organization may be giving feedback about their behavior when they come for interviews. Hallmark has even checked with the parking lot attendant to see if candidates were polite. Finding personality "fits" with organizational cultures is vital, Moran said.
- Candidates must "create the click." Their resumes may show that they have the background to handle the job, but the personality and attitudes they convey to the interviewer will answer an equally important question: Is the candidate motivated to do the job?
- Unsuccessful candidates shouldn't burn bridges. They may be a close second choice and in line for the next opening. "Don't ask, `Why didn't I get the job?' but `What could I have done better?' " Moran recommended.
Finally, he recommended that job hunters keep in mind something that might at first sound illogical: "Each `no' gets you closer to `yes' - provided you don't give up."