I received an email from a jobseeker last week that was very cold, lacked soul and had formatting and grammatical errors throughout.
It turns out that this executive had rushed the email – they were actually a high profile executive with excellent experience at board level however their introduction may not be received by everyone, in the way that we did.
Executives are our clients and we are constantly looking to give feedback and advice, whereas recruiters may not be the same. My first impression was the complete antithesis to what it should have been, and that’s a common faux pas even in these competitive market conditions.
Ok fine, really good candidates may not be affected as much however you should not take anything for granted - Presentation is the key to making positive first impressions all the way from the introductory email through to your CV and finally to your presentation at interview.
Even if only a small percentage of recruiters read covering letters, you must leave nothing to chance.
You must make sure the presentation, tone and overall communication of your key skills have the maximum effect on your CV – you may want to try executive-i.com’s CV Consultancy service which increases conversion rates significantly.
Proof read your applications before they’re sent, and spend a little time tailoring your application for the jobs and companies of particular interest.
Have a productive week…