Job Applications…
I’ve just been working my way through a stack of emails for a range of positions we have open here at LogLogic. It got me thinking that I could probably help all you job seekers out with a few pointers on the things that drive us nuts:
- Don’t ask questions prior to sending a resume. For instance, “before I send my resume over, is this a newly created position?”. It is unlikely you will get a response and those that do have a resume in the pipe now have a lead on you.
- If you aren’t clearly qualified, don’t pretend to be and don’t apply. Your application is a basic indicator of intelligence and comprehension. If a recruiter says “five years of technology sales experience required” they mean five years and technology and sales. Not five years and real estate and coordinator. We might be closed minded but we know what we want.
- Don’t just attach your resume. Give the five most relevant bullets in the body of the email and specifically flag time with relevant companies. Anything more than 2-3 paragraphs won’t get read. If you don’t think we will have the vaguest idea who your employer was, give us one line on them.
- In delivering your resume, use the format specified in the ad and if nothing is specified put the body of the resume in the email and attach a .pdf. Avoid word.doc attachments if you can.
- Name your resume with your name. myresume_2_draft.doc doesn’t look professional and will get lost in the filing process.
- I know it is tricky but when applying using personal email try to use a professional address. It is hard to take an email from “sexydog@gmail.com seriously – if it even makes it through our spam filter.
- Avoid puffery in your language. Nothing works better than good, plain English. This kind of thing won’t work… “I know very clearly & absolutely before to submit my submissional application for the post-recruited requirements… I will prove my supreme liase abilities, hugely Graymatters-accessible triumphancies… & my superiorated talentedness to do my job at excellent.” Ummm, really.
- Check spelling!
As I said, this stuff drives us nuts. We will take the time to look at your resume despite what seem to be best attempts to cause us not to do so. But at the end of the day you want to be ahead on points before you walk in the door.
Good luck. There are wonderful opportunities out there. Don’t start behind the pack with a lousy application.
The Strange Death Of Modern Advertising
Maurice Saatchi has a piece in today’s FT titled “The strange death of modern advertising“. He observes that “At the age of only 50, advertising was cut down in its prime. Advertising holding companies used to boast about their share of the advertising market. Now they are proud of how much of their business is not in advertising. How did this happen?”
It is happening because creativity declined just when it should have exploded. Instead of treating consumers with respect advertisers chose to assault us with and endless tirade of irrelevant and shallow ads. And the media – the medium (for the most part) lost our respect.
He goes on to touch on message clutter. Marketers made this mess for themselves by zig-zagging on messages.
Each brand can only own one word. Each word can only be owned by one brand. Take great care before you pick your word. It is going to be the god of your brand.
Try this simple test on your own company’s products or services.
Pick a brand. Any brand.
Maurice offers a pragmatic solution – “one word equity”. I couldn’t agree more. “In this new business model, companies seek to build one word equity – to define the one characteristic they most want instantly associated with their brand around the world, and then own it. That is one-word equity.”
This act of distillation and focus should be a priority for every communicator. It might not solve the problems advertising has, but it would certainly improve communications effectiveness.
Southwest CEO Contributes to SWA Blog…
I think it’s a first but Southwest’s CEO clarifies recent remarks on their seating policy on the “Nuts About Southwest” blog. This is a good move – gets the message out unfiltered, start’s up a conversation with customers, and delivers more transparency.
disclosure: Southwest are a Group Lark client and did some consulting awhile back on the blog.
The Hightest Paid Person In PR?
Is Steve Parrish the highest paid person in PR? Perhaps. According to the NYTimes Magazine the senior vice president of corporate affairs at Altria (think Philip Morris and Malboro pulled in a cool $14m last year.
The revealing read points as much to his personal transformation as to the shift in position and message at Philip Morris – a company that has evolved from claiming that cigarettes weren’t addictive and an individual choice to one in which they “area addictive and cause the disease and death of hundreds of thousands of people every year”; and, “when you set tobacco on fire and inhale it into your lungs, bad things happen”.
Moreover, Nocera’s piece points to the intrinsic link between communications strategy and business strategy. Philip Morris has shifted from a position vehemently opposed to the regulation of the industry to supporting it, for instance. In doing so the message has caused a shift in some of its opponents message.
“There is no question, then, that Parrish and Philip Morris USA are hoping that regulation could help lead the company to reclaim some legitimacy. From a business perspective, that could result in a higher stock price…”
This is arguably one of the most dramatic and socially significant shifts in message we have seen undertaken by a corporation.
Ray Is Wrong…
Sometimes the V in VC stands for vested. As in vested interest. For this reason, Ray Lane’s comments on press releases aren’t that surprising. In this BusinessWeek interview, Ray Lane of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers calls standard media and press releases “a waste of time.” Instead, they should use “blogs and wikis and podcasts and videos.” Ray says:
What’s going to happen is, employees are going to start podcasting and blogging about what’s really going on in the company. It’s going to cause huge legal concerns on the company’s part. But companies are not going to be able to stop it. Outside the company, you can’t tell people not to talk about their products. We’re not China. We can’t shut it down.
The reality of how employees feel, and the reality of how customers and partners get information about your company, are going to change in the next five years from standard media and press releases – which are a waste of time now – to these other methods like blogs and wikis and podcasts and videos
He’s right that companies should be using blogs, wikis and podcasts. He’s wrong that press releases are a waste of time. In fact, they remain hugely valuable. That I place would place more credence on the drivel pouring out of most corporations whether in a blog or a press release is just misfounded. What is needed is better, clearer, more compelling communications – period. Whether a press release, podcast or blog – I really don’t mind. What I would prefer, personally, is short blogs and podcasts on the corporate narrative – and I want a press release for all formal communications.
Ray’s argument is also founded on a pretty major assumption – that employees will blog about “what is really going on” inside a company. Really? Not too sure about that Ray. First, they’ve got jobs that come with a fiduciary responsibility. Break that and they are out the door. Last time I looked, mortgage payments trump blogging on the list of things they are worried about.
Dana makes a point that I agree with – it would be terrific to hear directly from leading lights like Steve Jobs. I want to hear more from the thought-leaders and innovators. I don’t need to hear from everyone – I’d love to here more from the people that matter.
