Vox Fortis Communications

The past week taught me something, but I didn’t realize what it was until I was drinking coffee this morning. (Has anyone noticed this is where a lot of my entry ideas are spawned from? This is no accident.) The coffee wasn’t our usual brand, a fact I only mildly noticed while I was grinding it and muttering to myself.

Earlier this week, one of my clients and I realized we really needed to get some more resources on board. As her project manager, this was obviously something I was all for, because the squeeze was on our resources big time and I was sweating looking at the to-dos that had no contractor to call home until their completion. We put up two ads, one for a copywriter and one for an SEO person. Being on the “employer” side of that spectrum taught me a lot of things. These things have probably been mentioned a lot by other bloggers, but I didn’t get it until I saw it for myself. That said, here are things that hit me in the head like a two by four. (Which may be related to the caffeine headache, as the coffee is still brewing.) Granted, finding and applying for gigs can feel like a battlefield, but while you’re donning your helmet and kevlar vest, here are some magic bullets that I learned being the side of the place that needed a person and posted the ad.

Form letters are horrific.

These things really suck. Don’t use them. Please. First, it’s obvious that you didn’t remotely read the job description. You cut and pasted the same thing you sent to everyone else and hit “send.” Why would I want to get in touch with you? I know it saves you time, but as a contractor, you’re really in a service industry so it’s not about YOU. It’s about THEM. Don’t be the Paris Hilton of job ad response.

Get to the point, already.

This is actually a huge thing I noticed with the form letters. Long responses. I mean…scrolling and scrolling. Maybe this depends on the employer, but I can tell you that there’s no way I’m reading that. I’m glad you have a lot of experience, that’s very valuable. But it’s not valuable to list that you worked with Microsoft and then also mention you did SEO for Al’s Auto Parts. Who cares? If you worked with Microsoft, that matters. Al’s, though I’m sure was a great client, doesn’t matter under the shadow of a bigger company.

And if you’re writing 5 pages and it’s a form letter, you’re toast. It’s obvious in the intro that you didn’t read the job ad to begin with, yet you’re expecting me to read 5 pages about your glory? Mmmm….don’t think so.

Oh, and…just because you insert our name in the “Dear blah blah blah” opening and have things like “We would be pleased to speak with you about your [job ad need].” and then go one to talk about stuff not remotely relevant…that’s a form letter. I don’t care that you read enough of the ad to put in a name and what we were requesting. You don’t get partial credit for that.

What does the employer care about?

Ok, some job ads really don’t answer this well, at least in any obvious way. Some have a neon sign that screams, “Cheap person who doesn’t care about skill.” Unless you’re desperate for money, and some of us are around the holidays, keep moving. Potential clients aren’t going to show their hand in the job ad, but you can look for clues.

Did they ask for samples? Did they ask for references? If so, they care that you’ve done what they’re asking for. Pick two solid examples (Microsoft examples, not Al examples) and blow them out.

Did they ask for specific skills? It amazed me how absolutely clear I made the job description, yet people didn’t respond with experience at all related to it. Touch on the specifics of what they asked for. If you’re just ITCHING to tell them about something else, go ahead, but do not forfeit responding to their specific needs just scratch your own itch. If they want keyword research, give examples….and if you happen to write SEO content, YES mention that. But don’t talk about writing content without telling them you can do what they actually asked for in the first place. This was rampant in the results I saw. I had to get in touch and ask specific questions….questions which were, by the way, in the job ad to begin with.

What does this have to do with coffee?

My coffee this morning was great. It wasn’t the usual brand, but I didn’t notice. Know why? Because all I cared about what that it was halfway decent and stripped away the Ultimate Grouch Aura I have first thing in the morning.

Employers want what they want, and some things matter more than others. They might not care if you’re Starbucks or Folgers, but they want you to work in their coffee maker. Others might totally care if you’re Starbucks, and they’d be willing to pay for it. Figure out what they want and appeal to that. Don’t spend your time screaming about how you’re Folgers if their job ad made it clear they don’t care. You’re wasting your time, and you’re showing the employer that you don’t care what they need, just about what you can provide.

And in the end, you still won’t have helped their Ultimate Grouch Aura.

I’m non-grouchy 99.9% of the time. Subscribe and you can see for yourself.