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5 Rules of Thumb for Job Hunting

Three career experts and authors give ‘thumbs up’ or ‘thumbs down’ to long-held conventions.

How many of us take for granted that certain rules are the norm for job hunting? Looking at some of those long-held conventions, ADVANCE spoke with three career experts and authors to get their “thumbs up” or “thumbs down.”

Our panelists include:

* April Callis, president and principal consultant of Springboard Consulting, East Lansing, MI, and author of the recently-published career tome, Springboard to Success: Strategies To Keep Business Casual From Making Business … Casual, (Kensington Press, 2005).
* Louise Kursmark, master resume writer; president, Best Impression Career Services, Cincinnati; and author of 12 books on resumes, cover letters, interviewing and other job search topics.
* Scott Bennett, author of The Elements of Resume Style: Essential Rules and Eye-Opening Advice for Writing Resumes and Cover Letters that Work (AMACOM, 2005).

1. On your resume, include your GPA if it’s 3.5 or higher.

Thumbs Down: You should include cum laude or summa cum laude though, Callis advised, as they indicate a high GPA “without the silly 3.785.”

Thumbs Up (for recent grads): “A high GPA is evidence of your intelligence and your ability to achieve, and might give you an edge over other new graduates whose grades are either not shared or not as high,” Kursmark said. “I recommend including GPA if it is higher than 3.0.”

Thumbs Down (for seasoned professionals): “After several professional jobs, your work experience becomes your strongest qualification, and what you did in college becomes much less relevant,” Kursmark added. Instead, focus on your job achievements and use your education simply as a credential, without added detail, she said.

Thumbs Up: Bennett noted that including your stellar GPA is one more way to quickly convey evidence of skills you can bring to bear anywhere. “Concerns about GPAs being disregarded by prospective employers due to perceived grade inflation (e.g., easy “A”s) are overblown-hiring managers know that plenty of schools still require a boatload of hard work before awarding As or honors.”

2. Never, ever talk about money until you have the job offer in hand.

Thumbs Up: Do not discuss money until you have the offer, Callis maintained. When they decide to offer, it’s because they want you - employers will pay for what they want. She asserted that talking about money before the offer can often knock you out of the running, for two reasons: 1) You don’t understand timing; and 2) You may scare them off with expectations (they don’t want you enough yet).

Thumbs Up: Kursmark said there is no advantage to you in discussing compensation before the employer has made the decision to hire you; early in the process, it can only serve to screen you out.

“In advance, prepare and practice a variety of responses that deflect or defer compensation-related questions,” said Kursmark. “However, because it can be difficult for anxious candidates to always perform smoothly in an interview, you should also prepare a response that includes a salary range (not a precise figure) so that you can respond to the question without limiting yourself to a specific figure.”

She provided one caveat: If you are working through a recruiter, then “thumbs down” - you will need to disclose salary information if you want to go any further in the process.

Thumbs Down: Bennett said employers request salary requirements for several important reasons:

1. They don’t have time to interview candidates they cannot afford to hire.
2. They don’t want to waste the time of candidates they cannot afford to hire.
3. They want to see if the candidate can follow directions. This third reason, Bennett said, is why many employers discard response letters and resumes from people who fail to address this request. He added that you should never include a statement of salary requirements unless an employer first requests one.

3. Don’t talk about promotion opportunities until after you are hired. You should be focused on the position you’re aiming to obtain.

Thumbs Up: Callis said you should get inside the mind of the hiring manager, who thinks this: “While I do want someone who is ambitious, I don’t want you to take this job just for the promotion opportunities. The search is painful enough and I don’t want to redo it in 8 months.”

Thumbs Up: In general, Kursmark said. Focus on the value and benefit you offer as related to the needs of the organization and the position. As long as you don’t appear self-serving or interested only in yourself, it’s perfectly OK to ask about the company’s track record of promoting from within, or to discuss additional areas where you might be able to bring value to the company.

Thumbs Down: If it is important to you, it is perfectly acceptable to ask if there is room to grow over time in an organization, Bennett said. He explained that interviews are a two-way process: “If you seek opportunity for advancement over time and an organization can’t offer it, it’s good to know up front. Questions such as this need not detract at all from your genuine and clearly stated enthusiasm about the position offered.”

4. Small talk can be toxic. Avoid it all costs.

Thumbs Down: Small talk, Callis told ADVANCE, is crucial to the interview. But stick to safe topics, like weather, transportation and sports.

Thumbs Down: Small talk, Kursmark said, is a great way for you to build rapport with your interviewer, and it shows that you are adept in social situations.

Thumbs Down: Bennett noted that some hiring managers will start an interview with a moment of small talk to help put the candidate at ease. “If the receptionist or the interviewer initiates small talk, then it is quite natural to respond with a genuine, brief, courteous reply. If you question yourself about the appropriateness of something you are about to say, your instincts are telling you something. Listen to them and hold that thought.”

5. Send a thank you note to each person you met during the interview.

Thumbs Up: Everyone knows they should send a thank you note, but only a small percentage actually do. It’s good to get your name in front of those with hiring power again and for the company to realize that you do follow through on things, Callis said.

Thumbs Up: It’s about good etiquette, Kursmark explained, “it will reinforce the positive image you created in the interview, and it will set you apart from the vast majority of candidates who do not take the time to write a thank you note.” She added that rather than writing a simple “thanks for your time” letter, you should take this opportunity to continue selling yourself and your value to the employer. Reiterate key selling points, show that you understand the challenges of the position and the needs of the company, and present yourself as the solution.

Thumbs Up (Way up!): “Help prove that civility is not dead,” Bennett said. “Many a close call between two similarly skilled finalists has been decided by receiving from one of them an error-free, brief, clear, focused and genuine thank you note.”

He advises getting business cards from each interviewer so you have the correct spellings and contact information. If the timeline of an employer’s hiring process allows, a mailed thank you card will set you apart from the crowd, Bennett added, but “if the timing of an expected decision is tight, individual e-mailed thank you messages are fine, too.”