Comments on: 7 ways to not get a job

By: Matt Wind

Matt Wind — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 03:28:38 +0000

I had to read your post twice to get the full impact of it. I enjoy reading what you have to say. It’s too bad that more people do not understand the benefits of coaching. Keep up the good work.

By: Gert Bichler

Gert Bichler — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:28:43 +0000

And there were still so many issues that have not been blogged, yet.

By: N97 ohne Vertrag

N97 ohne Vertrag — Mon, 04 May 2009 14:20:33 +0000

Hey! have you already noticed: Already available for Pre-Order in Spain -> Nokia N97 for 450?

By: John Taylor

John Taylor — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 23:33:54 +0000

Great blog. Do you know of any relevant marketing forums or discussion groups?

By: Peepers

Peepers — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 17:09:19 +0000

You guys are whack.
You just need to be talented, if you can make a company millions of dollars.
You email address could be assfuck@fuckme.com.. they dont give a fuck.
Honestly anyone who has to put on this big show to get a job – is just a hoser.

If you work for a real design studio, they could careless. Its only the up tight and stupid design agency’s that care about that stuff. But graphic design for cheese balls anyways.
90% of the industry is just jock and weirdo’s.

So if your not talents, just give up because your going to be producing shitty work that no one will ever care about.

Pickle Twist

By: Anna

Anna — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 23:34:46 +0000

Hilarious post Verne. I’m going to add one more item to your list.
Send a resume that is 6 pages long.
Lesson: If we can’t scan your resume in 10 seconds, its not worth our time.

By: Garry

Garry — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 07:59:42 +0000

As the President of one of our school’s clubs, I had to assess the resumes of people applying to positions on our council. I agree your list covers some of the common ones in a web company setting. However, I would like to share a couple of pet peeves when it comes to reviewing applications:

1) Not changing the name of the company they had applied for prior to the current application in their template cover letter.
- It indicates a lack of professionalism and attention to detail.

2) Run-on cover letters that don’t discuss the skill set required as stated in the job description
- The purpose of writing covers letters is to present yourself in a manner relevant to the job to which you’re applying. By rambling on about irrelevant activities or experiences wastes the reader’s time and leads the reader away from the qualifications of why you should be the candidate for the job. The skills/attributes should be presented in a clear and concise way.

3) Poorly formatted resumes
- Again, this belongs under the professionalism category and, perhaps, competency in formatting in Word or coding, the latter being a more graver blunder, given the nature of a web media business.

However , I take different perspective on those who lack the proper job qualification. One term, we required a person who was adept at coding and updating the website. Coming from a smaller organization, we had a limited pool of marginally qualified candidates. In the end, our incumbent web manager was able to train the person up to competency and they fulfilled their duties very well. In this situation, it would lead me to believe that if you’re close to being qualified, just apply; at the very least, you’ve completed your duty as an applicant. Whatever happens after will happen. :)

Verne is right; spellcheck is a useful tool! Please take a minute to use it.

By: Verne

Verne — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 03:36:55 +0000

Care to share some lessons or anecdotes Gizelle? :)

By: giz lau

giz lau — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 03:31:37 +0000

haha, funny enough – last year, i worked at an employment agency as an employment counsellor. i did one workshop a week on “how to get a job” – resume and interview skill building.

you’d be surprised at some of the stuff i saw – some of the resumes i had to fix up or even start from scratch – some of the responeses that we got from employers — and etc :)

By: Verne

Verne — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 18:33:30 +0000

I couldn’t agree more with your example of dresscodes, and I’d likely follow the exact same pattern. On that same note, I’d also wear a suit to my interview with a new company, and leave the jeans and tshirt at home.

It’s just about first impressions. I share this lesson with everyone because I can attest to it being used in the workforce. It is what it is. And it’s those who adapt to our world’s silly rules that make it, and it’s those that don’t.. who don’t.

I think it’s great to consider all applicants generally – but when you’re sifting through hundreds of them, you tend to need some kind of a filter. You can keep the unprofessional email address, and hope that the recruiting company doesn’t care. But why take the risk?

Thanks for the follow-up, I appreciate you adding in your 2 cents. ;D