If you’ve watched The Voice, the vocal talent search competition, you know the premise.
Judges assess contestants purely on the quality of their voice. But each judge has their own metric for pressing the button to bid for the talent. Certainly, every note has to be on key, but the variable is the tone, pitch, energy and yes attitude. Even more important is the song they select.
Hiring managers and internal recruiters are faced with the same challenge. How to assess talent based on their resume. Responses to a job can solicit hundreds of responses from the entire country. Job seekers are hungry and earnest in their job pursuit, so location, compensation, experience is equivocated in their minds.
Likewise, candidates who submit the same resume with the same or no cover letter might as well not even apply. We live in a world of customization. Employers and employees want things their way. So, what is the compromise?
First, employers must avoid the trap of running the “usual and customary” job descriptions. In most cases, its too broad, vague or just too much. Better to just ask for Superman or Wonder Woman to apply.
For job applicants, be earnest in your job search analytics. Remember the stories about engineers coming out of school in the 80’s? They did not want to work in the field and wanted window offices, secretaries and a BMW for a company car.
There are great careers out there in industry. But industry may not articulate the job in the way you have described your experience. Help the employer understand the way you think and how you problem solve. Remember when your math teacher in middle school told you to “show your work”?
The point is, plan and practice your pitch. It’s ok to respond to job wanted ads that you may not be serious about (sorry internal recruiters) to hone your writing skills. Unfortunately, few internal HR recruiters have the time or incentive to respond resume submissions, it’s not that they are bad people, they are overwhelmed.
A good talent sourcing organization will, however, respond to applicants because they want to make a connection. Talking with an applicant allows them to describe the job not only in terms of responsibilities, but accountability, growth and cultural fit. At aHa Talent Solution, we want candidate will have a great experience and thrive in the job.
Applicants should research how the company works. Do your homework. If and when you get a call back keep in mind that this is your one and only “blind audition”. Make sure your song, presentation and execution are on target. And if you are a hiring manger don’t get discouraged if you are not interviewing people that wow you. High performance talent is out there and career opportunities do exist.