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What HR Managers Never Tell You

Mon 29 August 2011

, LEAP redaktie, LEAP

Sometimes, what you don’t know about HR Managers – because they never tell you – might hurt you.  We read through several lists of tricks and tips and made a selection for those of you that need some help in the hunt for a job.

The funniest comes from Laurie Ruettiman, who says: “Someone might tell you to ‘Be yourself’ in the interview. Don’t be yourself. That’s the worst advice ever. We don’t want people who are neurotic and quirky and whatever else. All we care about is your skill and experience.” And a useful one comes from an anonymous HR professional in NY City: “Be careful if a headhunter is negotiating for you. You may want extra time off and be willing to sacrifice salary, but he is negotiating hardest for what hits his commission.” 

Here’s the rest of the list:

Your resumee
1. “People assume someone’s reading their cover letter. I haven’t read one in 11 years.” –HR director at a financial services firm

2. “If you’re in your 50s or 60s, don’t put the year you graduated on your résumé.” –HR professional at a midsize firm in North Carolina

3. “We will judge you based on your e-mail address. Especially if it’s something inappropriate like kinkyboots101@hotmail.com or johnnylikestodrink@gmail.com.” –Recruiting consultant in Philadelphia

4. “There’s a myth out there that a résumé has to be one page. Some people send their résumé in a two-point font. Nobody is going to read that.” –HR director at a financial services firm

5. “Most of us use applicant-tracking systems that scan résumés for key words. The secret to getting your résumé through the system is to pull key words directly from the job description and put them on. The more matches you have, the more likely your résumé will get picked and actually seen by a real person.” –HR professional in the Boston area

6. “Résumés don’t need color to stand out. When I see a little color, I smirk. And when I see a ton of color, I cringe. And walking in and dropping off your resume is no longer seen as a good thing. It’s actually a little creepy.”  - Recruiting consultant in Philadelphia

7. “When it comes to getting a job, who you know really does matter. No matter how nice your résumé is or how great your experience may be, it’s all about connections.” –HR director at a health-care facility

The interview
8. If you’re a candidate and the hiring manager spends 45 minutes talking about himself, the company or his Harley, let him. He’s going to come out of the interview saying you’re a great candidate.”  –Kris Dunn, chief human resources officer at Atlanta-based Kinetix, who blogs at hrcapitalist.com

9. “It’s amazing when people come in for an interview and say, ‘Can you tell me about your business?’ Seriously, people. There’s an Internet. Look it up.” –HR professional in New York City

10. “Don’t just silence your phone for the interview. Turn it all the way off.” –HR consultant in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

11. “Someone might tell you to ‘Be yourself’ in the interview. Don’t be yourself. That’s the worst advice ever. We don’t want people who are neurotic and quirky and whatever else. All we care about is your skill and experience.” –Laurie Ruettimann, HR consultant and speaker in Raleigh, N.C.

Negotiations
12. “Never accept the job immediately. Say you need to think about it overnight. Once you sign on the dotted line there’s no room for negotiation.” –HR  professional in New York City

13. “On salary, some companies try to lock you in early. At the first interview, they’ll tell me to say, ‘The budget for this position is 40K to 45K. Is that acceptable to you?’ If the candidate accepts, they’ll know they’ve got him or her stuck in that little area.” –HR professional in Alabama

14. “I once hired someone and her mother didn’t think the salary we were offering was high enough, so she called me to negotiate. There are two problems with that: 1) I can’t negotiate with someone who’s not you. 2) It’s your mother. Seriously, I was like, ‘Did that woman’s mother just call me, or was that my imagination?’ I immediately withdrew the offer.” –HR professional in New York City

15. “Be careful if a headhunter is negotiating for you. You may want extra time off and be willing to sacrifice salary, but he is negotiating hardest for what hits his commission.” HR professional in NY City

All the professional quoted above are American. Do European HR managers recognize their opinions? Do you have any other interesting tips? Let us know!

Sources:
http://www.rd.com/13-things/39-more-secrets-your-hr-person-wont-tell-you/
http://www.notthecareeriordered.com