Recruiters and HR professionals far and wide have a bit of extra time on their hands, and many have taken to writing blogs. I’m no different to them, however I decided that instead of cutting and pasting the tips and tricks on how to get a job, or how to write a killer CV, I thought I’d lighten the mood and tell you five ways of how NOT to get a job.
After a few decades of looking at other people’s CV’s I’ve seen some real doozies. Nothing much surprises me any more to be honest, but I still continually find myself thinking about how these people would’ve had so much more luck if only they had a helping hand from a friend in the know.
Email Address
If you want to turn a future employer off quickly then don’t update your email address from the one you had when you were 15. Check your email address, what does it say about you? A few good ones I remember are ‘goodtimegirl@xtra.co.nz’ and ‘ivabigone@hotmail.com’.
Photos on CV’s
Some like them, some don’t. To be honest I’m OK with a photo, but I’ve seen so few suitable photos that I err on the side of advising job seekers to keep photos off CV’s. Unless your photo is a corporate head shot, which is genuinely selling you, then keep it off. One of the best I can remember is a lady I was interviewing and I asked her if she was eating a mince savoury in her photo, to which she proudly replied she was. Now, there’s one thing in having a photo of yourself eating a savoury on your CV, but the magic bit came when I realised the photo was taken at the exact moment a blob of mince was falling out!
Google yourself
Now days your future boss will probably do a google search of you before offering you a role. What will they find? A few years back I was recruiting for an organisation who have some very strong views and values on a particular social responsibility. After two interviews and reference checking the hiring manager completed a search just prior to offering the role. The candidate had previously posted some really contradicting views in an online forum, now the candidate’s views had changed over time, however no matter how hard this candidate tried to convince the employer they had changed their opinions the employer felt they couldn’t take the risk. On this point too, what does your Facebook profile pic say?
Telling lies
You might think over exaggerating your skills and experience will get you the role, and it might, but there’s a good chance you won’t keep the job. Recently whilst working with one of our HR clients I was coaching an underperformer, he had been in his role for about 8 months, a role which required a certain level of skill and experience to be successful. During the coaching I pulled out his CV to see what he had done previously, his CV had some awesome experience, there should be no reason why he couldn’t complete the tasks. However, as discussions unfolded it turns out he had fabricated his experience. He may or may not continue in his role, but one thing is for sure – things just got a lot tougher for him. Now this isn’t ALL his fault, clearly the hiring manager didn’t conduct some robust reference checks!
Dating app mishaps
Last but not least this is my favourite. Don’t let your urge for a hot date get in the way of nailing an interview. Not that long ago I had a candidate sitting in her car outside the site of her job interview. Not wanting to go in to the interview too early (FYI 5 minutes is early enough!) she filled in some time checking out the guys within a 5km distance of her interview, swiping right on a couple she fancied. Just as the hiring manager was about to walk into the interview his phone pinged with a potential Tinder connection…I think you can work out the rest. Unfortunately, my candidate missed out on both the job and the date.
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