Views On The Interview By Anil Mahajan, MBA PGDIT (IIFT)

Views On The Interview

By Anil Mahajan, MBA PGDIT (IIFT)

“Hello CVsurgeon! You have been talking about the resume in every issue. I have no resume problem. Every week I am being called for some interview. This week I’m gonna hit half a century of unsuccessful interviews. Why does nobody select me?”  This SOS call from one of our readers ( I will call him Mr. Disaster for obvious reasons) makes me write on interviews in this issue.

Having worked as a placement consultant for the last 9 years has given me valuable insights into this sector of interviews. Your selection in any company is not necessarily dependent upon your talent alone. Sometimes, exhibiting talent becomes a liability. It generates the BEWARE factor in the interviewer & he cannot afford to select you. RELATING is the most important factor that positively determines your success. If you are able to relate well with the interviewer, all other skills & possibly talent or the lack of both become secondary & you get the job because your relating creates the COMFORT factor in the interviewer.

The Minus Factor

I sent two gentlemen for an interview in an Autopart company in Noida. One of the persons short-listed, a Malayali, was extremely intelligent and, he also had the gift of gab. He was very impressive. At 5 pm, I got a Thank you call from the other candidate that he has collected the offer letter.

I was surprised. He was just an ordinary guy. How could he succeed? Maybe the Malayali fellow didn’t go. I checked up on the mobile of malayali. He told me that he has been rejected. Incidentally, the interviewer in this case, a materials manager, was in regular touch with me & had registered his resume with me as he was looking for a better opportunity elsewhere.

I spoke to him that night. “Gupte, You have selected the wrong man. Malayali was a much more suitable boy” I said. “You are right, Mr. Mahajan, Malayali is so intelligent & conversant with inventory management that I will lose my job in 3 months flat.” This is the BEWARE factor. The hiring manager is not interested in suicide.

Another recent incident is of a candidate sitting idle for 17 months. Everytime he was attending an interview he was very positive. But — no offer letters.  Last interviewed in the final round by a MD of a 200 crore company. Rejected as Usual! I took the verbatim details.

Interviewer: “How much sales you were handling in your last company?”

Interviewee: ” xxx Lakhs (gives a figure).”

Interviewer: “Well, I don’t think this company imports & sells so much of this item.

Interviewer: “Sir! this is all number 2.”

Sir is shocked. He asks & gets the entire details as to how this entire importing & selling all in number 2 operation is carried out.

Result?

This boy is not dependable at all. He is spilling the company beans everywhere. This is another BEWARE factor. I hire him & probably next month I will have enforcement raids.

The Plus Factor

His resume was converted into a world class level with a GM level skills despite his having worked as ASM (The person definitely had a few GM level skills). The resume part over.

Now his resume was blasted to all the consultants & companies. A company called him for the interview. He met the HRD head. Sufficient research has been done on the company, its mission, MD & HRD head through net & other means.

The HRD head starts talking & our man somehow steered the conversation to a friend who had done MBA from the same institute as the HRD head. He talks appreciatively about the institute. HRD fellow is happy & pleased & doesn’t disclose that he is from the same institute. Again, our man turned the discussion to spirituality & talked big about Satya Sai Baba. This is too much for the HRD head. He divulges now to our man about his bhakti icon & institute.

Now he is a friend with common interest. No more interview. It is now a friendly discussion. Mentally, the HRD head has decided to hire this newly found brother (long lost 20 years back in Kumbh ka Mela as in a Bollywood tear jerker).  Next round with the MD.

MD puts up the same old question about sales which our boy was answering wrongly everytime. Sir, I can’t tell you how this sales figure is correct & the process of operation, as I cannot divulge my company secrets even when I am no longer working there. My morals & unflinching loyalty don’t allow me to talk at all on this subject. MD is ga-ga.

Eureka! He has found a loyal trustworthy man. My boy gets the offer letter at RSM level. This is RELATING. So let’s return to Mr. Disaster. He has a resume that creates a stellar first impression. I had to conduct a mock interview to assess him & lot of reasons popped out to reject him. Polished interview skills are required to be present in abundance to secure the job offer. Lengthy & fruitless job search with a great resume means it is time to sharpen the interview skills.

Mr.Disaster came to my office 10 minutes late. Well, traffic problem is not my problem. Coming 30 minutes early is also not advisable. It simply shows you are desperate. Always arrive on time, but never more than ten minutes early. If you’re not sure where the company is located do a trial run so you will know exactly how to get to the office. Time the trip and if necessary, allow yourself extra of time to get there. Rushing can cause those pre-interview jitters! Don’t enter the building until 10 to 15 minutes before your interview.

I offered my hand for the shake when he came to my office. My God! He reciprocated with a limp handshake. If you are not interested in this interview, why should I be? Go to hell! I said to myself. A Limp handshake certainly speaks of disinterest. Arms pumping too is equally bad as also Shaking with just the tips of your fingers. A firm & full handshake is the in thing.

Mr.Disaster was wearing a crimson tie! Probably speaking of a trend in the hey-days of Rajesh Khanna. Who’s interested in this antique man (mis) taking the interview for a marriage party. At least, I’m not.

No matter how casual the company, dress to impress & dressing up for the interview should be contemporary & not outlandish, wild and loud. It should be neutral. Be conservative in both attire and presentation. Make sure your hair-style, tie and belts etc., enhance your appearance rather than detract from it. Avoid perfume. Briefcases, purses and shoes should all be conservative in color and in good condition.

“Kindly sit down Mr. Disaster”

The gentleman sits down & I start off the interview process.

“Can I have a copy of your resume?”

“Sir, I mailed you one.”

“Can you kindly check up if you have a spare copy?” I suggest again.

He searches his briefcase & is able to bring out the 4 page resume. When I look at the resume I find it disgusting to see all pages as bad photocopies.

How I can hire such a man?

You must arrive with a business-like portfolio which includes 5- 8 crisp & clear copies of your resume, a pad and a pen. Bring a list of at least three references including name, job title, company, phone number and email address for each reference. Have these reference ready in case the interviewer requests them.

The man was not opening up despite my continuous prodding.

“How many people report to you?” I asked.

“14″ he replies.

A better reply would be “14 people report to me & we all get along well. We all work together as a great team to market our company products more aggressively to garner a larger market share.” Too Little Leaves Interviewers annoyed.

I am shocked. The bugger is slouching. Your Posture matters. Stand and sit erect & show some energy and enthusiasm. A slouching posture looks tired and uncaring.

I start asking personal questions & lo! I feel I have pressed a never ending play button. He starts off like a rambler & mostly he is talking & I am forced to listen. I have decided again & again to reject him. Taking too long to answer direct questions. The impression: This candidate just can’t get to the point.

I succeeded in interrupting him with great difficulty & ask him about his present & past companies & bosses. He is telling me his present company is shit & his less professionally qualified boss steals all the credit for all the work done by him & he is big bullshit. The company doesn’t promote him, doesn’t listen to him & that is why this company is going to dogs. The fastest way to talk yourself out of a new job is to say negative things about your current or past employers.

Even if your last boss was Mogambo, the villain, NEVER state your ill feelings about him. No matter how reasonable your complaints, YOU will come out the loser if you show that you disrespect your boss. When faced with the challenge of talking about former employers, make sure you are prepared with a positive spin on your experiences.

Questions about some of the terminology used in this article?
Get more information from Anil Mahajan, He has made pioneering contributions in the field of Resume Writing and Resume Management.

For Professional Consultations on your resume & your corporate life guidance both Tactical & Strategic, he may be contacted on +91 83760 32607

or at CVSurgeon@Gmail.com

Article published also at:  http://jobnetonline.com/job-interviews/views-on-the-interview.htm

Republication or dissemination of the contents of this article are expressly prohibited without the written consent of the Author

The Gatekeepers By Anil Mahajan, MBA PGDIT (IIFT)

The Gatekeepers

By Anil Mahajan, MBA PGDIT (IIFT)

The head of HRD of a company, who happened to be a client of mine, read the closing lines in my article printed in Jobnet’s last issue. He was pleasantly furious. “Anil, You are antagonising HRD people by calling HRD people GateKeepers to the companies. What do you think I am  — Head- HRD or Head- GateKeeper?.” I told him that I would call him Head- HRD in my next write-up.

Headhunters and Placement consultants are GateKeepers to the companies.

“Thanx Anil.’ He was relieved.

“Man, you are Head- HRD i.e., Head- Human Rejection Department in expanded form” I quipped.

Readers, you know your days are numbered at your current job, but flooding free jobsites with resumes has yielded zilch. It may be time to take your job search in a different direction and figure out how to get around the main obstacle in your way—the GateKeeper.

Who are the GATEKEEPERS?

What’s a GateKeeper? It is anyone who stands between you and the person who might want to hire you. GateKeepers come in many forms, including receptionists, HR executives, and even placement consultants and Headhunters who are doubling up as resume screeners. Surprisingly, GateKeepers are hired or paid by the company to reject as many resumes as possible. They are also paid by the company to reject you in an interview. This interview issue will be discussed in the subsequent issues.

Resume & GateKeepers- the profile and connexion 

Do you know what happens to your resume after you send it to an employer/ placement consultant/ headhunters? Some resumes produce immediate results—others disappear without a trace.  Why?

Just try to put yourself in the shoes of a GateKeeper, in this case the HRD Manager.

Your company releases an ad in the newspaper for the position of a Brand Manager.

You receive around 10000 applications.

Now, nobody can interview all 100000 applicants. You check up with the profile given to you by the Hiring Department and tell your subordinate to shortlist resumes. You give him broad guidelines. Your Subordinate is a qualified professional in HRD with, say, 3 years experience in HRD. He successfully shortlists and flags 100 resumes out of 10000.

You are ga ga over his efficiency.

You work on the flagged 100 and finally shortlist 50 to be given to The marketing head for further shortlisting.

You & your subordinate have removed 9950 people from the live list. Maybe the real, capable person is one among those 9950 destined to die unceremoniously. This is bad for the right person and equally bad for the company.

But this is a cold reality

Neither you nor your subordinate or even your company’s headhunters are technically qualified to reject a person as you are an HRD man & not a Marketing man (the post is for Brand Manager). Even HR persons, nay GateKeepers admit that the job seekers who get interviews and offers of employment are not necessarily the best qualified. Often, they are simply the best prepared.

Anyone who has scanned, reviewed, and discarded tens of thousands of resumes knows that most resumes have serious defects; in fact many resumes have flaws that guarantee failure.  Intelligent, highly qualified candidates often write mediocre resumes because they are unaware of the cold realities of resume writing—realities that can prevent even the most qualified candidate from getting hired.

Bypasing the GateKeepers-Smart work vs. Hard work

No one enjoys searching for employment.  If you are like most job seekers, you spend a considerable amount of time and effort searching job ads, networking, and writing your resume and cover letter.  These simple activities can take as much effort as a full-time job. If you would like to work smarter not harder, you must work smartly to develop your resume to appeal to the psyche of the GateKeepers.

GateKeepers are paid to reject majority of resumes

The target and job profile of GateKeepers is to eliminate majority of resume. Your resume must get you past an employer’s GateKeepers ( HRD & / headhunters ) and into an interview with the Hiring Functional Head. Needless to say, if your resume cannot pass the scrutiny of these GateKeepers, you will not get many / any interviews.

GateKeepers are paid to be conservative and suspicious

If GateKeepers have any questions or concerns about a resume, they rarely try to contact the applicant for clarification; they simply discard the resume and pull up the next one. Most employers receive resumes from applicants who are obviously qualified; they do not have time to contact applicants who may be qualified.

GateKeepers go for 10 second scan

Most GateKeepers scan and discard each resume in 10 to 15 seconds unless the resume provides them with a compelling reason to flag it for an in-depth review.  GateKeepers do not enjoy reading resumes.  In order to process hundreds of printed and electronic resumes a week, busy GateKeepers look for excuses to reject most resumes quickly.  In order to survive a ten second scan, it must stand out and present a good snapshot of your skills

GateKeepers look for an excuse to remove flagged resume from consideration

After surviving 10 seconds scan, your flagged resume must survive a thorough examination by a gatekeeper looking for an excuse to remove it from consideration.  It should provide enough rich and compelling detail to sell you to the reviewer and answer important questions that arise during the in-depth review. These competing imperatives are very difficult to fathom.

In a nutshell- Strong Candidate + Weak Resume = No Interview

In resume writing, mediocrity equals failure. Many discarded resumes belong to qualified candidates who are not aware that they are doing substantial damage to their career prospects by using resumes that do not adequately sell their experience, skills, and qualifications. Resume screening is ruthless, cold, impersonal and unforgiving.

If only 10000 people apply for a desirable position, your resume must tell the GateKeeper in no uncertain terms that you are better qualified than at least 9950 of the other applicants.  If your resume cannot beat over 95% of the competition, you will not get interviews.  Your resume is much more important than your actual qualifications at this stage.

Your resume must sell to two audiences. You must write and format your resume to appeal to two audiences: GateKeepers and Hiring Functional Head. These audiences often have different agendas. Corporate recruiters may be in no hurry to fill all open positions because open positions mean job security. GateKeepers guard their turf jealously, so you can be certain that the Hiring Functional Head will not see any resume that has not been blessed by the GateKeeping crew. You must present a resume that can satisfy GateKeepers as well as seasoned Hiring Functional Heads. If your resume makes it clear that you meet all job requirements, the GateKeeper will be compelled to forward it to the Hiring Functional Head.

There are ways and means of developing the resume keeping the pchychographic & other factors that govern the working pattern and beliefs of GateKeepers. All these factors will be discussed in the forthcoming issue.

Questions about some of the terminology used in this article? 

Get more information from Anil Mahajan, He has made pioneering contributions in the field of Resume Writing and Resume Management.

For Professional Consultations on your resume & your corporate life guidance both Tactical & Strategic, he may be contacted on +91 83760 32607

or at CVSurgeon@Gmail.com

Republication or dissemination of the contents of this article are expressly prohibited without the written consent of the Author 

Feel Good Factor- – Is your Resume Shining? By Anil Mahajan, MBA PGDIT (IIFT)

Feel Good Factor- – Is your Resume Shining?

By Anil Mahajan, MBA PGDIT (IIFT)

The country is inundated with “Feel Good Factor”, coupled with “India Shining” — (Don’t dare ignorance lest you be labeled eccentric). India is shining baby!

But why you are whining like opposition party spokesmen?

The marketing of a political party is coming of age in India. The noise is so loud that all of us who do not agree with the punch-line prefer to keep silent. To top it all, even some of the opposition members have been floored by the hype and are actually looking for ways to cross over.

This is sheer inundation of the target audience with a focused information campaign.

This is a calculated & well conceived branding strategy, with the achievements carefully worded & showcased in brocade in all the leading newspapers.

You are left with no option but to believe. The branding is all pervasive. The opposition think-tank has gone bust & has given up all hopes of winning.

And, though I have been a headhunter for so many years, I am suddenly getting calls  from journalists & correspondents all over the world to re-confirm (?) that India is shining so much that even UK & US techies have a bright future in India (in contrast to the days of ’91, when India was thought to be teeming with millions of hungry men & beggars, snakes and cows).

And they wish to be reassured in the positive. If I say the statement is false, they would write me off as an eccentric or an illiterate headhunter. I have no option but to agree.

This media hype has given me food for thought for briefing job seekers in the field of Resume writing & resume logistics.

We will start with learning from this marketing campaign in the sectors of resume writing, cover letter writing, resume logistics & move on in the next issue to Shining in the Interviews & Shining in the workplace to get very Positive performance appraisals & Faster promotions.

Is your Resume Shining?

Have you ever tried to analyse whether or not your resume is shining? Mind you, you will not get an interview call or an offer letter if your resume is not shining.

You look at your resume many times, & unfortunately every time you convince yourself that it shines well or rather very well. The stark reality could be otherwise. Maybe it is not shining. Maybe it is a damp squib. Maybe you are seeing it shine in the light emanating from your own or your close friend’s subjectivity, bias, sheer ignorance of the competition or even narcissism.

Have you ever asked yourself any pertinent question brand positioning questions? For instance, If you are a GM-Marketing in Onida. have you ever seen the resume of GM- Marketing in LG / Samsung / Sony / Philips? Frankly, you have not.  Maybe your resume looks trivial before the resume of your competitors? Ignorance is unfortunately not bliss in this case. As a GM-Marketing, you have tried successfully to know your competitors’ marketing plans but, in your private battle for a better job, you are a complete novice. No doubt, you are a professional marketing head, but you are not a professional in resume making.

Lesson no. 1: Your Resume is a Marketing Document, whether you agree or not. So, better start believing it & seeing it as a marketing document to promote your brand.

Lesson no. 2: Accomplished professionals certainly do jobs differently. Haldiram makes better gol gappas & better jalebis. Compaq makes better computers. Swami Chidananda is a better guru. So, use the skills of a professional resume writer having an expertise in preparing a mind blowing resume.

Your resume must shine & create Feel Good Factor among the GateKeepers (Placement consultants as well as HRD heads) & hiring managers. Consequently  you  will win with thumping majority.

Your Shining Resume needs wide Supply Chain

Now you have a Shining Resume. You keep it in a box & it will gather dust. No ad campaign becomes a winning campaign unless accompanied with a solid media plan. The political parties go for print media, they go for digital media & even internet & so does your company. You also need to draw a detailed plan as to which all headhunters your Shining Resume should go to, whether in print or by e-mail, you also must decide which companies need be attacked & made to get a Feel good factor by sending your Shining Resume. You also need to make a list of their websites & start posting your Shining Resume into the careers pages of these websites.

Alternatively, you must go for a resume blast to consultants & companies. Let the world know that you have a shining resume showcasing your unique achievements differently (you alone know that it is penned by a copywriter). This alone will generate marketing enquiries. Maybe every company which matters would love or even compete with all others to hire you. You have a choice. You are now being chased by headhunters & companies alike & you decide which company to join. That is the Magic Mantra for the day. See you later in the next issue.

Questions about some of the terminology used in this article? 

Get more information from Anil Mahajan, He has made pioneering contributions in the field of Resume Writing and Resume Management.

For Professional Consultations on your resume & your corporate life guidance both Tactical & Strategic, he may be contacted on +91 83760 32607

or at CVSurgeon@Gmail.com

Republication or dissemination of the contents of this article are expressly prohibited without the written consent of the Author 

The Beware Factor in Interviews By Anil Mahajan, MBA PGDIT (IIFT)

The Beware Factor in Interviews

By Anil Mahajan, MBA PGDIT (IIFT)

More the comfort level you can generate into the mind of the hiring manager, better are your chances of selection.

Now, why the hell he is looking for comfort levels?

Anil Mahajan

Tells Nokia…… why interview clear aapne na kia?

The Beware Factor

Interview: 10.00 AM

What if…

I hire him…

He wins Pitches…

Mr. Popular…

He Takes my Job!!!

So, I better not hire him.

What we discussed in the last issue on “The Beware Factor” has been amply demonstrated in the recent ad on TV by Nokia.

The power of negative imaging generates fear in the hiring manager – and it is a power that is abundantly & universally present among all professionals. Hiring manager, therefore, tend not to select people who appear better than them.

One notable exception was Henry Rockefeller. He was asked by a news magazine as to what was the secret of his success.

“I always select professionals better than me.”

The stark reality is that almost cent per cent of hiring managers either go for a professional appearing a shade or a couple of shades lower in ability. The hiring manager is not the owner of the organisation, and he doesn’t want to have nightmares about losing his job. He find the easiest solution: REJECT THIS MAN under one pretext or another.

So where is the solution for the candidate?

Either try to appear a shade lower than the interviewer or try to appear like his alter ego (again a shade lower) as a bit of narcissism is present in everybody. You see your face everyday in the mirror & never hate it. Even Mogambo likes himself. Being a hiring manager’s alter ego needs a careful research of the interviewer both offline, before the interview and online during the interview. Relating is a deadly tool & coupled with Alter ego tool generates a strong Potion to effectively nip the “The Beware Factor” in the bud.

Common Ground

One of my readers could not fully understand the Relating concept & called me up. He was to appear in an interview in a durables company & the hiring manager was some Bannerjee. He thought that relating meant the interviewer would select one of his Relations or a Bengali fellow. It took me half an hour to explain the concept of relating which is Continually Building Common Ground. You are not being interviewed for a govt. job where Bhai Bhatijabaad(nepotism) matters the most. It is a case of one of the private sector organizations, where delivery & results are most important. Selection tool “Relating” dwells on the comfort level. More the comfort level you can generate into the mind of the hiring manager, better are your chances of selection.

Now, why the hell he is looking for comfort level? Because, he would find himself comfortable in generating results for the company with you as a subordinate.





Questions about some of the terminology used in this article?
Get more information from Anil Mahajan, He has made pioneering contributions in the field of Resume Writing and Resume Management.

For Professional Consultations on your resume & your corporate life guidance both Tactical & Strategic, he may be contacted on +91 83760 32607

or at CVSurgeon@Gmail.com

Article published also at:  http://jobnetonline.com/the-beware-factor-in-interviews/

Republication or dissemination of the contents of this article are expressly prohibited without the written consent of the Author

By-passing the Gatekeepers By Anil Mahajan, MBA PGDIT (IIFT)

By-passing the Gatekeepers 

By Anil Mahajan, MBA PGDIT (IIFT)

In today’s scenario, most of the recruitment jobs for the open positions in corporates are outsourced. Pre-screening, for example, is done by headhunters & placement consultants. These placement consultants therefore form the First Ring of the gate keepers & need to be dealt with effectively.

Once you are cleared by the placement consultants, you stand a chance of meeting the Gate Keepers of the inner circle i.e., company HRD folk. Only then can you hope to get through to the man who actually might hire you!

With an ineffective resume, your fate resembles that of Abhimanyu. You could bombard into the ring of placement consultants but could not get out of it —ALIVE. Your resume gets buried into the files of all the placement consultants. The Industry Kurukshetra here has jobmarket Chakravyu comprising of Placement Consultants guarding the turf in the outer ring & HRD fellas guarding the precious turf as the warriors of inner concentric ring. Abhimanyu, or your resume personified, has to be totally Flawless, Energetic, Valiant & Appealing to by-pass these warriors. Abhimanyu, while in his mother’s womb, had learnt from his father Arjuna on how to effectively pierce both the rings. Extensive study of articles on resume or your Professional Resume Writer may help you in making your Resume so attractive & luring in the eyes of both the kinds of Gate Keepers that these warriors actually welcome you for meeting the precious turf comprising of Hiring Heads. You need to develop strong interview techniques to win the fortress or an Offer letter. Career Doctors or good articles on the interview techniques can give you sufficient winning strategies. The JobMarket Chakravyu is impregnable for resumes of ordinary types. Piercing the Concentric circle-I to reach the Concentric circle-II & piercing the Concentric Circle-II to meet the precious Hiring Heads & eventually coming out with an offer or appointment letter is no joke. There are ways and means of developing the resume keeping the psycho-graphic & other factors that govern the working patterns and beliefs of both the kinds of Gate Keepers.

Bypassing the Outer ring comprising of Placement Consultants:

So, simply blasting a poorly written resume doesn’t cut ice with placement consultants. The tribe of placement consultants has developed a keen scanning eye & can easily & fatally bury your resume in his files forever.

The reasons could be many.

Maybe you have no talking personal letter addressed to him. Maybe you never spoke to him. But mainly it is because your resume is badly made & doesn’t give him the feel of a winning professional.

He is certainly not interested in proposing a professional with a losing streak(s) (amply present in your poorly written resume) to his client company. Even if you have never spoken to him, your resume speaks. And a poorly written resume talks death of the professional. Even if you have been speaking to him & cultivating him for years.

This placement consultant gatekeeper has over the years fine-tuned his senses. He is a pucca businessman & he doesn’t relish bidding on an ordinary horse or a donkey.

Your resume should appeal to a placement consultant. It should unleash substantial creative juices flow in this businessman & he should start seeing your resume as a thick wad of money or a cheque to be earned from his client company. This is a psychographic situation to be created by your all powerful & ascending resume being presented as a marketing tool rather than as a stale compendium of history. Your appropriately made resume must put most of the placement consultants in a competition to get you immediate job change.

Bypassing the inner ring comprising of corporate HRD folks

Bypassing the inner ring comprising of corporate HRD folks is equally important & involves much more than putting together a resume in a layout and format that is pleasing to the eye. Effective resume writing alone can help you by-pass both kinds of Gate Keepers & it  involves art, science, and a large helping of technology.

Many HRD Gate Keepers trash functional resumes as soon as they see them. Use a chronological resume format. If you apply for jobs online or through e-mail, paper quality and scannability are unimportant. Content, structure, format, and Strategy are much more important. Gate Keepers and hiring Heads view functional resumes with suspicion. Authors of resume writing books, and unsophisticated resume writers who subscribe to their views, often advocate functional resumes for three reasons: it is a simple solution to a complex problem, the advocates do not know better, and they do not have to live with the consequences. If you assume that most people who make hiring decisions are of above-average intelligence, it stands to reason that they would recognize an overused method of hiding information. If you know how the human eye travels, and understand Gate Keepers psychology, you can hide negative information in plain sight.

HRD Gate Keepers are very fussy about the resume but at the same time they tend to accept the recommendations of the placement consultant. So, if your resume is approved by the placement consultant, most of the job is done & the Inner ring of HRD warriors crumbles to a large extent. It can disappear completely, if the mindset of a HRD Gate Keeper is kept in mind while designing the resume.

And lo! You get a date with the Hiring Head. Here the resume needs certain attributes & you need certain interview techniques to enable you to win the Offer / Appointment Letter Jackpot which we will discuss in the forthcoming issue. Maybe Abhimanyu now needs a charioteer of the likes of SriKrishna to reveal the Srimad Bagwad Gita for winning the interview war.

Questions about some of the terminology used in this article?
Get more information from Anil Mahajan, He has made pioneering contributions in the field of Resume Writing and Resume Management.

For Professional Consultations on your resume & your corporate life guidance both Tactical & Strategic, he may be contacted on +91 83760 32607

or at CVSurgeon@Gmail.com

Republication or dissemination of the contents of this article are expressly prohibited without the written consent of the Author

Cover Letter provides Great Cover By Anil Mahajan, MBA PGDIT (IIFT)

Cover Letter provides Great Cover

By Anil Mahajan, MBA PGDIT (IIFT)

The Death of Biodata, printed in the last edition of Jobnet made a professional friend quip “the biodata is dead, the fact is well taken. Now what about the cover letter?  I hope it is dead, too.”

I am now constrained to write this article on the cover letter.

Like a phoenix, it has risen from the ashes and is very much alive and kicking. Unless you have a PERFECT work background, growing academic qualifications and SOLID GOLD EMPLOYERS then a résumé just won’t work on its own. It is only with an effective cover letter that you can save your butt and get that interview call. With an effective cover letter, you can promote yourself any which way you want.

A cover letter is just not an optional add-on. Actually, the resume is an optional add on.

During my headhunting days, I have been using this as a “guru mantra”. I hunted a man for a company, and, seeing his resume, I found that he’s lacked somewhat in his resume ( for instance, he had 8 years of experience as against the 14 desired by the company. ) and resume will “khol his pol” and not lead to an interview call. I asked the man to write a cover letter showing his prowess in the skills the company wanted with absolutely no mention of the shortcoming!

After ten years of working with job seekers in all industries as a placement consultant, the best results and fastest turnaround I’ve EVER SEEN from application to interview has proven time and time again to be sending a cover letter ONLY, and taking the résumé to the interview (where you can answer any concerns in person).  I’m always being asked by job seekers “How important is a cover letter?” What they should really be asking is… “How important is my résumé?”

Because of the sheer volume of résumés being submitted for each job (especially jobs posted on the net in naukri, jobsahead, jobstreet etc.,), employers simply don’t have time to read and interpret your past skills and experience; so they simply use your résumé to discriminate against you. In other words, they’re looking for what you don’t have rather than what you do have…

Here’s where your cover letter comes in.

A resume has to compete with a whole lot of identical clones for standing out of the crowd, whereas a cover letter has virtually no competition. If at all, some candidates use a cover letter,  it is virtually a simple, stupid, run of the mill kind and that is “…ref your ad in times of India dated so and so, I am enclosing…” .This kind of cover letter is actually de-marketing you. An effective cover letter can help you in ways that a résumé can’t (and can actually cover-up things that work against you!)

Here’s a quick chart that makes it obvious how useful a cover letter can be compared to the humble résumé:

Why the Right Kind of Cover Letter Can Improve Your Chances

Your résumé perforce has to be a factual statement of your skills and past experience wide open to interpretation by the employer. The cover letter, properly written, shows an employer what you want them to see and tells them what they want to hear.

It’s all about Positioning. Let me give you an example and then apply it to job-seeking. All soaps have similar contents and manufacturing processes. Yet here’s what the soap companies promote –

…Dettol soap has been positioned as the soap you buy when you want HYGIENE and SAFETY from bacteria…

…Lifebuoy is for those who want “health and vigour” —

— Looking for beauty? Lux is for you —

All these soaps are made up of the same basic elements, but the marketing people go to great lengths to talk about these things in terms of the POSITION they want to occupy in the customer’s mind. So if you want beauty, you think Lux. That’s positioning.

A cover letter, written correctly, does EXACTLY the same thing with your résumé.

You and all the other applicants applying to the same job will have the roughly the same skills and experience listed in your résumé, but the key is to use your cover letter to POSITION yourself into the solution the employer is looking for.

Without a doubt, I can tell you that the ONE SINGLE KEY to unlocking a virtual torrent of interview offers is simply knowing how to read the job post to decipher the key requirements that tell you EXACTLY how to best position yourself and your application.

And for the best positioning to set your self apart from the job-hunting pack, you’ll need to have an effective cover letter. The cover letter is your first opportunity to impress an employer. It is the first thing they read and, if it’s not good, it may be the only thing the employer reads at all.

Nuts and Bolts

Writing your cover letter may be easier if you divide it into three sections: The first paragraph states why you are writing. The next explains why you are ideal for the position. And the final paragraph closes by stating how you plan to follow-up.

In the first section, indicate how you learned about the opening and mention the job title. The middle paragraph should relate your skills and abilities to the qualifications listed in the job posting. Address how you meet those qualifications with direct examples from your resume. Be open and clear about what you have to offer the prospective employer.

Throughout the entire letter, use clear and simple sentences so the reader doesn’t have to decipher what you’re trying to say. Keep paragraphs short so they are easy to skim. Proof read. Then proof read again. Even a small typo can look like a glaring error and may reflect on your ability to perform accurate work. Read your letter out loud. Does it make sense?

Ask someone else to review it for you. Sometimes it’s hard to catch our own mistakes.

Finally, let the employer know how you plan to follow-up. Be direct and indicate that you will call to set up an appointment at a mutually convenient time. If the job ad specifically says not to call, thank the employer for his or her consideration and let them know you look forward to hearing from them.

Looking Good

Once you have written the letter, then you will need to make it look good. The visual appearance of your cover letter is just as important as that of your resume.

* Consider using bullets or bold fonts to draw attention to the skills you wish to highlight.

* Print your cover letter on standard size laser bond paper that matches your resume paper. Use conservative colors like white or beige. Brightly colored paper will not get you the type of attention you want. Use one-inch margins and balance your paragraphs on the page. Most importantly, don’t forget to sign your letter. If you are sending a cover letter via email, cut and paste it into the body of an email message since many people are leery of opening attachments.

A well-written cover letter is worth the time investment. It’s the first tool an employer will use to decide whether to interview you or not. So, make your cover letters count!

Appropriate and well positioned cover letter is one important thing you need to get that job. You see, the point of a good cover letter and résumé is to secure the interview. Now here’s the thing — if you get an interview, the job is as good as yours. The employer knows you have the skills to do the job… they wouldn’t call you in if they thought you couldn’t do the job. So now you need marketing tools like the cover letter…

Questions about some of the terminology used in this article? 

Get more information from Anil Mahajan, He has made pioneering contributions in the field of Resume Writing and Resume Management.

For Professional Consultations on your resume & your corporate life guidance both Tactical & Strategic, he may be contacted on +91 83760 32607

or at CVSurgeon@Gmail.com

Republication or dissemination of the contents of this article are expressly prohibited without the written consent of the Author