How You Look for a Job Is How You Do a Job: Observations by an Executive Recruiter
Recently, a talented professional who did not get the job for which Sweibel Arts was recruiting asked for advice on advancing his career. Great question.
I’ve hired dozens upon dozens of people in my decades as an executive working in the arts. I’ve been an applicant for dozens of jobs. Between serving as an employee, employer, and executive recruiter, I’ve learned some invaluable lessons.
The biggest came from my brother, Andrew. I was fresh out of college, trying to break into the theater business. What he told me decades ago is what I shared with that talented professional:
How you look for a job is how you do a job. If you go the extra distance before you get the job, a recruiter will imagine that you’ll go the extra distance when you’re on the job.
Following are a few tips on how to increase your chances of securing the job for which you’re applying.
Distinguish Yourself
You’re competing, so you have to distinguish yourself. What shows you to be a go-getter?
First, make your resume, portfolio, or LinkedIn page stand out by detailing your accomplishments. Everybody has responsibilities. What have you accomplished? Be precise. Share data. “Increased A by B percent over C time.” “Reversed X-year decline to grow Y by Z by… details, details, details.”
Having highlighted your accomplishments, further distinguish yourself by highlighting your character.
Consider the 51% rule: Better to hire a person who is 51% character and 49% skill than to hire a person who is 49% character and 51% skill. Why? Because skills can be taught, while character cannot. I live (and recruit) by this.
As do all smart recruiters. They put a premium on enthusiasm. Intellectual curiosity. Inventiveness. Stick-to-it-ive-ness. Follow-through. Integrity.
What exemplifies your character? Are you active in your community? Did you put yourself through school while working or raising kids? Complete a triathlon? Serve in the military? Write a book? Scale Killamanjaro? Overcome a challenge? Do you volunteer? Sing in a choir? Attributes are what make you the only one of you. Don’t sell yourself short by excluding these elements from your CV.
In a sea of penguins, it’s good to be a duck.
Apply Yourself
That said, always follow the hiring institution’s instructions. It’s okay to give more than is requested, but it’s not okay to forgo what is requested.
You don’t know who’s on the receiving end of your application. Whether you’re being evaluated by an HR professional or an algorithm, common sense applies.
Try to keep your resume to two sides of a page. Six-page resumes don’t impress me; they wear me out. This is an opportunity to demonstrate your growth, not share a nearly complete job description of every job you’ve ever had.
Always, always, always include a cover letter with your resume. If you think “this is the perfect job for me,” you can explain why. And if you think the job is a stretch, then stretch.
A winning cover letter doesn’t repeat what’s in your resume. It adds the human element. Why are you excited about this opportunity? What shows you’re a go-getter, an enthusiastic, “lean-in” kind of person? A person whose character reinforces your capacity to do the job?
A few perfunctory notes about a cover letter:
- There’s a correct way to format a business letter. If you’re unclear, look it up.
- Proofread. Bother to make it error-free. A typo hurts like a paper cut.
- Sign it. Make the effort to personalize your electronica.
Send PDFs, not Word docs, titled to make it easy for the recruiter who may be flipping through literally hundreds of applications. Jane Doe Resume and Jane Doe Letter is better than JD ACB Dev Dir (1).
If you’re attaching your materials to an email, that’s another opportunity to sweat the details. Better your email should read like a letter than a note. Keep it brief and professional. “Dear Hiring Committee, I’m pleased to submit my credentials for your consideration” beats “Hello! Here’s my app!” every time. You don’t know who’s on the receiving end. Could be someone like me, who seems casual but is a real stiff.
Err on the side of formality. Better to loosen up as you go than appear overly casual at first.
Prepare Yourself
So, dress professionally for interviews. One boss confided in me that, should someone appear for an interview in his office who hadn’t shined their shoes, he’d make a note. Shine your shoes—or the equivalent—even for a video interview.
And prepare yourself.
Study an organization’s website and financials (available on Pro Publica or Guidestar for nonprofits). Look for news articles. Does anyone in your network know about the organization? Ask around.
In the interview, don’t ask questions for which answers are readily available. Make it apparent in the interview that you’ve done your homework. Because I guarantee you that I, as a recruiter, have done mine. I’ve reviewed your materials, checked out your online footprint, and determined who we might both know. I may even have asked around.
Show me that you’ve put more preparation into our first meeting than I have.
When you’re asked a question… answer it. Keep your answer relatively short. Don’t be circuitous. Don’t answer a bunch of questions that haven’t been asked. A little story (and occasional humor) goes a long way. A lot of story or humor risks going too far. Hopefully there will be plenty of time for the recruiter to get to know you as a person. After all, that’s their goal.
If asked about a skill or experience you don’t have, try to offer an equivalency. “While I haven’t done that precisely, I have… and I believe this will enable me to…”
When it’s your turn to ask questions, ask a few questions that get at the big issues. Is this a turnaround, a start-up, or a sustaining success operation? What is the SWOT analysis reveal? What is the culture of the organization and what kind of person will add to it?
You don’t need to know yet how they organize the network drive. And you don’t need to know about the compensation package. If the company hasn’t shared it, that’s information in and of itself. Sit tight. All will be revealed.
After your interview(s), please send a thank-you note to everyone who interviewed you. Email is fine. But a letter or a note card stands out. Mail!
A Bit of Mystery
My final piece of advice: Do the work and keep the faith. For me, doing the work is the easy part. Keeping the faith, not so easy. I speak from experience. As an applicant, I’ve been passed over for jobs that I believe I should’ve been begged to take. And, just between us, I’ve been offered a couple jobs and thought to myself, you want me?
Despite best efforts to look behind the curtain, there’s always a bit of mystery.
Do the work and the right thing eventually will come your way. And if you keep the faith, you’ll be happier while doing that work.
Happy job hunting!
