As you may already know, we recently announced that we are hiring a new program associate.  We definitely received some beautifully composed cover letters and nicely descriptive resumes, but we have also seen a fair share of carelessness (to put it mildly).  In discussing this over margaritas at a new favorite watering hole, The Creek and The Cave, before attending a swell production of Brecht’s “Caucasian Chalk Circle” by Performance Lab 115 at The Chocolate Factory in Long Island City, we decided that a blog post about the dos and don’ts of job applications might be helpful to those of you job seekers out there — whether you are applying to work here or anywhere else.  Please read this for your own good… We want to help!

Do….

1 - Read the entire job announcement and abide by the rules. When it says to send your job application as a PDF, don’t send it as a Word file.  (On a side note, I do not believe you should ever send your resume as a Word file unless you are specifically asked to.  PDFs will remove Word’s spelling and grammar mark-ups and will make your application look much prettier.  Also, Word documents can be edited by anyone you send them to, whereas PDFs cannot.)  When it says “no calls please,” then don’t call.  When it says to send applications to a specific email address, only send them there.

2 - Use spelling and grammar check. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Word and a whole bunch of other word processors have this thing that checks your spelling and grammar!  It’s freaking amazing!  Seriously, though, if you worked for The Museum of Contempory Art instead of The Museum of Contemporary Art, you’re probably not getting the job.  And, in cover letters that you may be writing for jobs of which you might be interested in applying to in order to work for an organization you whole-heartedly believe in and hope that you will one day work for — don’t use run-on sentences that make no sense!!  But, more than just using spelling and grammar check, you should proofread your application and have others do it for you as well — there may be other errors that fall under the radar!

3 - Suit the resume to the job.  We’re not hiring a stage manager, nor are we hiring a visual artist to paint for us, we’re hiring a program associate.  Therefore, we don’t need a list of every production you have worked on (for the stage manager) and we don’t need to know about every gallery exhibition you have ever participated in (for the visual artist).  Make these things one concise note on your resume, like this:

- Freelance Stage Manager (January 2006-current):  responsible for organizing productions, communicating across different disciplines, and running rehearsals/performances for over 10 productions, including those at Berkeley Rep and P.S. 122, among others.

or like this….

- Miscellaneous: Visual artist working in mixed media; work has been exhibited in over 20 galleries in 10 cities.

Going along with this, you should have multiple resumes on hand.  A resume being sent in an application for a marketing job should look different than one sent for a development job.  A resume being sent for an executive assistant job should look different than one sent for an IT job.  But, how do you do this if you’re still just listing the same three jobs you’ve held?  Adapt the information that coincides with each job.  If you worked at The Gap and are applying to be an executive assistant, focus on coworker communication and customer service interactions.  If you are applying to be an IT person, make note of the cash register and inventory software you used.  (A great book to read, and one that focuses on job applications for artists specifically, is Ronda Ormont’s Career Transitions for Creative People.  I found it invaluable when I applied to work at Fractured Atlas.)

4 - Send your application from a professional email address.  An employer does not want to receive a job application from soundguy50@yahoo.com or twinkltoes75@aol.com.  Don’t have a professional email address that looks like firstname.lastname@gmail.com or otherwise?  Set one up — it’s free and easy!

5 - Make your resume easy to read.  Employers don’t have time to read every single word on your resume — at first, we may just do a quick scan.  Therefore, things that jump out at us (bullet points, etc.) are helpful.  And remember to leave some white space!  If you keep expanding the margins because your text is going outside of the printable area, then you’d better have someone else look at your resume to see if it looks a mess.  If they go cross-eyed, it’s probably time to do some editing.

6 - Address your cover letter and email appropriately.  If there is an individual staff member’s name on the job announcement, address the letter to them specifically instead of “To Whom It May Concern.”  Even if there is no name listed on the announcement, you can usually do some reconnaissance to figure out who is leading the hiring process.  If you can, it is always best to address the letter to an individual rather than to the “Hiring Committee” or “Human Resources Representative” (especially if there is no human resources department at the organization!).

7 - List resume-relevant references.  Okay, so maybe you don’t want us calling your current boss and maybe the boss before that wasn’t too friendly.  But, we need to know that your three references aren’t just three of your friends (or your parents’ friends).  If it would not be inherently clear to the reader who each reference is in terms of your past work experience, it might be helpful to note something about them (in one sentence or less) so we know why they should stand as a reference for you.  It’s best if your references have worked with you in a capacity that would reflect on specific qualifications in relation to this particular job.

Don’t….

1 - Send more than a one-page resume (especially if you are recently out of college).  Yes, I applaud the fact that you volunteered for 14 different charities, interned for 5 different dance companies, was a resident assistant, president of your sorority, and worked at both Barnes & Noble and George’s Pizza Place in your spare time, but you have got to edit the list!  Even if you’ve held fifteen full-time jobs over the course of your 20-year career, you need to cut somewhere.  Start by cutting the jobs from the most distant past and also cut anything that would not be relevant to the job you are applying for.  Be concise and tell us only the most important, relevant information.  If you really feel the need to note something, you can certainly try adding it to your cover letter or listing it briefly under the miscellaneous area.  We don’t need your life story on your resume; why not tell us about something you left off the resume in the interview (should you get one)?  And, in general, even if you’ve been out of college for 20 years, the more concise resume, the better.  We have a lot of reading to do already.  (On a side note, if an employer requests a CV, you can usually list everything you’ve ever done.)

2 - Take the cover letter lightly.  All too often I have read a cover letter that was clearly boilerplate text, too brief, and did not note specifics about why the person is applying to this job now.  A good cover letter can put your application over the top.  Granted, some employers don’t read them at all, but there are many that do.  At Fractured Atlas, we’re looking for someone who is a capable writer.  So, an interesting, customized-to-the-job cover letter — one that specifically notes why you are interested in that particular organization and position — can save your application from being thrown into the circular file.

3 - Leave your name and contact information off your resume.  On the first day of first grade, your teacher definitely said this, “Be sure to put your name at the top of the paper or else I won’t know whose it is!”  Yes, we realize your resume was sent from your personalized email address, but what happens if we start printing the applications out?  Then, you’re lost in the shuffle.

4 - Send your application within ten minutes of the job being posted.  We know a lot of people are out of work, but this reeks of desperation.  It also makes us think that you did not put time and effort into applying for this job specifically.

5 - Neglect email etiquette.  Nowadays, job applications (cover letter, references, and resume) are sent as one (preferred) or multiple attachments to an email.  But, what about the body and subject line of that email you’re sending?  Don’t leave them blank!  Usually, the job announcement will tell you what to put in the subject line.  If it doesn’t, it’s generally best to put something like, “[Job Title] Position.”  In terms of the body of the email, it’s up to you what you would like to enter, but it’s important that you do not overlook it.  Even something as simple as “Please find my resume, cover letter, and references attached,” is better than nothing.  And remember to spell/grammar check the subject line and body of the email as well!

6 - Put your graduation year on your resume.  Not everyone agrees with me on this, but it’s a little hint that I like to throw out to all my fellow young leaders.  Your graduation year is [generally] a dead giveaway of your age.  And, whether they are allowed to or not, a lot of employers might discriminate based on that.  Don’t give them the chance.  And, along with that, if you have graduated from college, please do not list your high school on your resume.  It’s not necessary and definitely demonstrates to the reader that you are quite young.

7 - Make mistakes (but, if you do, apologize promptly!).  Yes, we know everyone makes mistakes, from misspelling their own name to neglecting to attach their resume.  But, if you do make a mistake, it’s best to apologize for it promptly.  Don’t count on the fact that the reader will just miss that minor error (e.g., misspelling the word “the”).  You don’t need to send a remarkably long and saccharine email — just send a quick note apologizing and noting that, if you are hired, you can be counted on to double-check your work.  (If you misspell your name on the application, though, you’re pretty much doomed.)

We hope all you job hunters have gained a little something from reading this.  All of my fellow staff members have chimed in on this blog post so, if you have a question about anything above, leave a comment and we’ll be happy to respond.

We’d also love to hear your opinions — whether you are a job seeker, employer, or otherwise.  Do you agree with our notes above?  What else should people take into account when applying for a job?