How to make sure you land that IT job
David Southgate
Published: 21 Apr 2005 13:00 BST
Bad attitude
Unfortunately, negative attributes of a job candidate also catch the attention of hiring managers. At times, a job seeker can convey obvious hostility in his communication to hiring managers.
Matias had one client who came to her after being unemployed for three years. "In one cover letter he had written: 'Don't waste my time if you can't meet my salary requirements of $85,000,'" says Matias. "Unemployed for three years, he was demanding, felt entitled, and was angry. But no one should ever write that on a cover letter."
Another client had written to an executive about the possibility of doing an informational interview. Although it was clear that the executive wasn't interested, the job seeker shot off a missive in which he asked: "Are you ignoring my questions about meeting with me?" With this aggressiveness, the job seeker lost all chance of even getting a referral.
"He put them on the defensive and he saw nothing wrong with that. He said, 'He was ignoring me and I'm a human being,'" says Matias. No one is going to hire someone with excess baggage like that.
The importance of networking
Lastly, bad attitude can even hinder job seekers chances with the most effective form of job seeking — networking.
The old adage "misery loves company" can play out in network meetings between the unemployed. Instead of being mutually productive sessions where people share contacts, they can turn into a gripe session. "If that's the case, get up and leave. Don't waste your time," says Matias.
Instead, look for opportunities to openly share your own contact base and insider information at networking activities, and you'll walk away with some new leads of your own.
"I should be saying the CV is the end all and be all of everything," says Matias. "But I really don't feel that way. I've seen people with poor CVs that get jobs, and I look at the CV and think, how did that happen? "
It happened because they knew somebody and had a healthy outlook about the job search.
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