We just completed the 2012 Central Florida Employment Outlook where we found over 11,500 currently open jobs and 16,000 projected. You can download the entire report (no charge) here.
To help job seekers understand that “black hole” and why some employers may not be getting back with them, more than 162 employers responded to the survey question, “What would be your best advice you could give job seekers who are applying to a job at your company?”
We boiled down the resulting advice into the most frequent comments from employers, which show endemic problems in the way many people approach the search for a job. Job seekers need to put themselves in the position of the employer while reading these tips and it should help them understand what they may be doing wrong, and how they can be more effective in the future.
The Top 8 Employer Advice Tips for Getting Jobs
1. Read the job description thoroughly and do not apply if you do not meet the qualifications. (More than 60 companies responded with this guidance.)
2. Research the position and understand the type of company, the product or service, the way they make money and any other information important to the open position.
3. Personal Presentation. More than 30 employers mentioned the importance of good hygiene, professional appearance, including dress, and a confident attitude. Furthermore, 20 companies reported that job seekers come late to interviews, which is never professional, and often knocks them out of the running before the interview even begins.
4. Resume Issues. More than 40 companies mentioned grammatical errors (spelling), missing dates on work history, formatting errors, unexplained gaps in employment, lack of keywords that fit the position, unfocused resumes, unprofessional email addresses, unorganized resumes and unqualified resumes.
5. Cover Letters. Companies want to see cover letters that quickly tie a candidate’s experience to the open job. Many cover letters that disqualify job seekers have spelling and grammar errors and no clarity. In addition, many reported receiving cover letters addressed to the wrong company because job seekers are mass mailing and forgetting to change their addressee.
6. Fill out the application accurately and fully. Answer all questions and be honest. Employers are asking these questions for a reason that has to do with the job at hand, and if a candidate doesn’t answer a question, or evades it, then it shows an employer you are not the right fit for the job.
7. Email correspondence. Once an employer starts setting interviews with candidates, they communicate via email. More than 15 companies reported this pre/post interview email correspondence contained misspellings, incomplete sentences and very bad grammar; all of which may knock the job seekers out of the running.
8. Compensation Discussions. Job seekers should have a good understanding about compensation for each application. How job seekers relay salary expectations (high or low) in a cover letter, application or interview can be a make it or break it moment.
This is very good advice from employers. Most of these items you control when applying and interviewing for jobs. However, you can do all these things perfect but still will not get feedback if you don’t have the skill match for the job. Your job search will improve if you apply these tips to jobs that match your current background. As unemployment gets better, employers will loosen up their requirements. Until this happens, targeting your skill sets to jobs that fit is step number one!
