Big Blunders Job Hunters Make

Wall Street Journal ^ | 6-27-10 | SARAH E. NEEDLEMAN

[STONEWALLS]

Daphne Batts sometimes wonders if practical jokers with hidden cameras are spying on her as she interviews people for jobs at Bankrate Inc., an online publisher of financial information in North Palm Beach, Fla.

That's because job candidates—including experienced professionals—behave so inappropriately that Ms. Batts, vice president of human resources, suspects she's the target of a prank.

"I find myself peering out my blinds to see if Ashton Kutcher is on my office balcony with a camera crew," she says, referring to the host of the former MTV show "Punk'd," which featured pranks being played on celebrities.

Of course, there's nothing funny about a bad job interview, especially for the long-term unemployed. Yet hiring managers say many job hunters don't take their search efforts seriously enough and make the kind of mistakes that they should know better to avoid. In fact, many say they are frequently amazed by some of the colossal blunders they witness at a time when there are five job seekers for every job opening, according to the Labor Department.

Here's a look at eight bone-headed moves job hunters commonly make.

[mad_as_he$$]

lol..sweet!

[sig226]

I drank a beer on a job interview. According to Jeff Foxworthy, I might be a redneck. I got the job, too.

[Richard Kimball]

This is a generic article that's been written at least 9,000 times in the last ten years. You can find a version of it on every career advice web site in the universe, along with top ten mistakes on resumes, top ten mistakes applicants make on applications and top ten ways to ace that interview.

I'm making a generic newspaper. I think I'll add this article, along with "Pope Denounces Violence," "Lindsay Lohan Behaving Strangely" and "Flaw Found in Microsoft Operating System."

[Logic n' Reason]

Ahhhhhh....the author missed the key reason why an applicant does not get a job due to the interview. And I'm surprised the author missed it, for it is the NUMBER ONE REASON by far that a potential applicant does not get a job offer.

Of course, it may be that the jobseeker really can do little about it....and the more time that passes, the less the applicant can do at all.

Yep, too bad the author missed it.

It's called AGING!

[Larry Lucido]

And DON’T wear a short skirt and low cut blouse. I almost didn’t hire the last chick who did that.

And if she doesn’t stop, I may have to let her go.

Someday.

[SamAdams76]

Exactly, that's why I keep seeing the same fluff recycled over and over again.

It's what they call in the trade a "standing headline."

As in:

CHILD MAIMED IN PIT-BULL ATTACK

MOTHER PLAYS IN CASINO, LEAVES BABY IN CAR IN 90 DEGREE HEAT

LOCAL POLITICIAN MIRED IN SEX SCANDAL

RETURN OF SPRING LINKED TO GLOBAL WARMING

[Salgak]

I just interviewed a candidate on Thursday, whose resume pretty much overstated every skill he actually had. He described his masters program, and made it look as if he had completed it, when in fact, he had only done two classes of graduate level work. He listed skills on which he had shadowed an actual engineer for a few days. Basically, his resume showed the Goodyear Blimp, but his experience was a single party balloon. . .

[raybbr]

Miss Manners, (Washington Post columnist Judith Martin) said that job interviewees should dress for the job they want. A flight attendant wannabee would wear a navy suit, for example.

Sorry, no way am I going to show up in dungarees, safety shoes and a workshirt for an interview.

[BoringGuy]

Basically, his resume showed the Goodyear Blimp, but his experience was a single party balloon.

I have seen that quite a bit. I have found that it normally leads back to one of three root causes

1. Someone early on in their career who actually believes that watching someone else perform the task qualifies them as an expert.

2. An employment agency has them "punch up" their resume to get past the HR screen.

3. They have been unemployed for some time and are getting somewhat desperate.

Makes for interesting interviews.

[Cindy]

Are You Looking For A Job?

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