There seems to be this philosophy abound in certain groups of would-be employees: annoy the living crap out of the guy doing the hiring. I have heard job coaches give this advice like it is some sort of golden, untapped method. The only thing it accomplishes is pissing off and annoying the person doing the hiring. And guess what, that’s the last thing you want to do.
There are ways of getting yourself noticed and taken out of the stack (which I will explain in a later post). Here are a few methods to help yourself get noticed for the right reasons:
- Ask for the interview: you should first consider the recruitment process to be that of a sales process. If you must know one principle about sales, let it be that you must ask for it. For example, a good way to ask for an interview over the phone or in person would be to ask the hiring manager “I am available all of this week and early next week to tell you more about my experience. Which of those is good for you?” If that is too forward for your personality, ask for a time when you could go into more detail about your experience. Be prepared for it to be right then.
- Don’t call more than twice a week: Period. End of story. Unless you are solicited for a call, don’t do it. I would advise once a week if you haven’t been contacted about a position.
- Don’t e-mail more than twice a week: Same rule as above.
- Don’t show up to ask about it: Significantly worse than interupting my day with a phone call or e-mail is interupting my day, getting out of my chair, going to the front office and chatting with you. What I am going to tell you is “I will be getting in touch with qualified candidates by telephone or e-mail.” Don’t come by my office unless you are dropping off a resume or coming in for a requested interview.
- Be on your best behavior: Throwing a fit or giving me a facial expression that I deem “disgusted with my answer” whenever I tell you I am getting in touch with qualified candidates by telephone or e-mail is one way to never be considered for any position in our company ever.
If you do the above, you will have a decent shot at getting interviewed. If you break rules, you will likely get hired at a used car lot. If they are desperate.