There are a few golden rules to follow when looking for a new job: Check your resume for typos, address the right company in your cover letter, and be on time for all interviews, to boot.
However, some mistakes are less obvious and more difficult to avoid, but such oversights can be the difference between getting a job offer and being rejected.
Lauren Gardner, director of global talent acquisition at Microsoft, understands these mistakes all too well. She has evaluated thousands of job candidates in her 31 years working for the tech giant and has CNBC do it that job seekers tend to make a major mistake during their search.
According to Gardner, the worst thing a candidate can do is resort to “blanket solicitations.” “They send out thousands of resumes and expect one to be successful,” she explains. “I wouldn’t recommend submitting just one or two applications, but when you submit too many, people will start to question what you’re really passionate about.”
Instead, Gardner recommends targeting your job search, starting with a list of 10 to 15 companies you’re interested in and broadening your search if you don’t see results. “You want to make sure he can show a genuine interest in multiple companies,” he adds.
It’s also important to be brief and fit your resume on a single page. “People often provide ridiculously long resumes, but no one has time to go through all that information,” says Gardner.
Your resume works like your elevator pitch: If you had someone’s attention for 30 seconds, what would you want them to know about you?
“I’ve seen some great resumes where people not only capture their skills and experiences, but also include a short ‘interests’ section highlighting their hobbies and passions, covering it all in less than a minute. [of reading time]Gardner says. “That’s all people have the attention span to review: You want to highlight the things that are most unique to you, quickly.”
Gardner recommends a similar targeted approach for other aspects of the job search. “You don’t need to write a hundred cover letters; you’ll go crazy,” he says.
Have a basic cover letter structure for job applications on hand and tailor the details to each company or position you are applying for. “We know it’s a hot market and people are applying to a lot of different companies,” says Gardner. “But why are you applying to ours and what is most interesting to you about working here?”
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