Tag Archive for web 2.0

Yesterday's cover letters can't help you today

November 25, 2009 / Justin Hillier / 10 comments

Recently on Twitter the debate has raged on over the perceived added value that a cover letter can add to a candidates prospects when attempting to secure a new job. This all started when @ExpertResumeMan suggested “cover Letters ensure resume gets read”. No doubt that the old school cover letter has the best intentions, but is it really relevant to the current internet Web 2.0 world that we live in today?

Probably not. With IM, video chat, google wave and every other new communication tool jumping into the market, is writing a traditional cover letter really going to make you stand out from the crowd. Is it the most appropriate use of what is available?

Cover letters are a disappearing art, we rarely see anymore. However, when they are well written they can provide an concisely crafted snapshot of you and tell a story that can’t possibly be told in your resume.

Through a cover letter you can explain why you are applying to a job from out of state, why you are interested in a position that doesn’t align with your past work experience, gaps in employment and additional accomplishments that would make you a top candidate. You can also give examples of your strong work ethic, write why you would like to work for the company and provide many other pieces of critical information about you that will entice the Recruiter to put your resume on top of the stack and not in the circular file.

Read the Full article here

The above text are all reasons that Karla Porter says are reasons to write a traditional cover letter. Whilst I can’t argue with any of her points, she knows her stuff, what I will say is that time and methods have moved on. Ok, so I might be a touch biased (yes I’ve said this before and I’m not shy about it) but I honestly do believe that candidates have a far better option in video available to them.

Karla pointed out that:

Cover letters are a disappearing art - Does this not tell us that candidates see little value, Employers see little value and that there are better tools that need to be explored?
They can provide an concisely crafted snapshot of you and tell a story that can’t possibly be told in your resume - Can you not do this easier with a video and actually show your personality at the same time, we are hiring people after all aren’t we?

There are many other reasons I can outline from Karla’s post that show that video is a better, more current and appropriate tool to use. But to me it comes down to 2 key points.

1. Use a tool that is current and in line with today’s technology. This show’s your ability to adapt to the changing technology landscape and that you are adept with their usage.
2. Tools such as video “show” who you are and are far more “personal” then the traditional cover letter format. What can be more personal then a video of someone then meeting them face to face, why not speed up the process.

The key to the traditional cover letters is personalisation, what could be better then an introduction via video?

P.S This wasn’t an attack on Karla, she just posted her article on this topic during the debate.

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The Humble Resume – Has is lost that personal feeling?

November 16, 2009 / Justin Hillier / 8 comments

Recruitment is an interesting beast. We are all after the same thing initially, exposure. Exposure in order to attract the best talent, exposure in order to promote our company, and exposure to portray the right perception of our company as an Employer. We are all in the business of attracting and hiring PEOPLE.

There are multitudes of methods used, and we try to be as personal as we can. We are after talent, people, the greatest asset to our business and the personal touch counts for most of this relationship. We want to talk to them, schmooze them, and convince them that we are right for them and vice versa.

Why then, is it the most simplest piece of this puzzle and process, the least personal of it all. What am I talking about? The humble Resume. Sure we get a name and phone number, but why is that the only thing we get to learn about someone initially? We are to afraid (and more so the candidate) of displaying a DOB, and god forbid a photo should be attached. What benefit could there be in seeing how a person presents themselves? We just want to know that they are degree educated, have done the same job for the last 5 years, and will work for the money that is being offered.

It was pointed out to me this morning, by someone that has never put any thought into this before, that the humble resume is the least personal part of the recruitment cycle, a candidate, an every day person, someone who wants to feel that he is a little more then skills and degrees.

Has the resume got to a point where all we want is skills and education, and the a candidates personality, goals and desires and what makes them tick is left to chance? I may be biased (wait I am a little) but adding a video profile (with the right expectations – read my previous article for more on this) to the mix would at least, from the candidates viewpoint, let them feel as if they are offering more then the skills, responsibilities and academic qualifications that we all put so much weight behind.

Lateral thinking and flexibility seems to have gone out the door. The resume has become black and white (another type of black and white) and the personal touch and feeling has been totally removed. We are hiring people, people with personalities, opinions and style, why don’t we “let them speak for themselves”.

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