… the HR Minion. Because even minions have opinions. And giggles.

Note to Candidates: Seven Tips

For the Carnival of HR this week, host Judy Lindenberger tasked everyone to submit a post with seven tips about HR. Now, I’m not one to offer advice on this blog… *ahem*… ok, I do it all the time, so really, how could I turn this down? Since I am doing a lot of recruiting right now and because even things that seem obvious sometimes aren’t, here are my seven tips for job seekers:

1. Do provide a working phone number/email, answer the phone politely, and someplace quiet. I’m amazed by how many people who are actively looking for work don’t do this.
2. Do not leave messages for the recruiter that start out “Hey Beautiful”. This is creepy. Very, very creepy.
3. Do not treat the recruiter like your personal whipping boy. I’ve had candidates send me nasty emails, even while in the process of finalizing their job offer. We may not be the hiring manager but like hell the hiring manager is not going to hear about it. Be professional at all times.
4. Do not give me a resume with your weekly sales figures at your current job, along with the sales figures of all your co-workers there. Seriously, how is it ok for you to be sending that out to other companies, some of whom are likely competitors? What would you do with our private company information?
5. Do call the recruiter back if they leave you a message. Do not take that as an invitation to just show up at the office the next day and expect an interview on the spot.
6. Do take care of all requests for paperwork/testing/documentation promptly, get clarification if needed, and follow up if necessary. Don’t assume things are fine. Managers and HR can get overloaded and miss things so help us by taking an active role in your hiring process.
7. Be positive and enthusiastic. I’m not saying be fake, a cheerleader, or that you have to have a bubbly personality. But if you have a bad attitude from the start, find fault with everything, and don’t seem to care that we are interested in you, we will doubt you even want to be here and will find someone else.

There you go job seekers, but honestly, I hope you didn’t need me to tell you any of that. Looking for work right now is tough enough, try to be mindful of your behavior so you don’t get in your own way. Good luck!

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September 12th, 2011 Shauna Posted in HR

2 Responses | Add your Own

  • 1 Judy Lindenberger :
    September 12th, 2011 saat: 3:34 pm

    Hi Shauna, tip number three reminded me that when I was Staffing Manager for a Fortune 500 company, I sometimes felt that job seekers were so demanding that we would be wise to rescind the job offer. And I would say so if that is what I thought was best for the company in the long run. Job seekers need to be aware that they are being evaluated every step of the way.

  • 2 The Carnival of HR | HR Locksmith :
    September 13th, 2011 saat: 6:30 pm

    […] Moerke, HR Minion, gives advice for job seekers with Note to Candidates: Seven Tips at […]