How you can respond to job advertisements

There are countless websites that offer job listings, and it is true that many of them offer attractive posts and salaries. However, there are also a ton of people competing with each other to get noticed by said companies. While there is no specific way to reply to a job advertisement, how can one be sure if the tone or language is appropriate to create a good first impression? It is important to note that these companies usually go through their list without properly looking at the resumes, so the reply itself is quite crucial in continuing the conversation.

Long gone are the days of scanning through newspapers, or relying on relatives to refer over their companies for jobs. It is true that the convenience of having all these job opportunities at your fingertips can be quite daunting, and one can make many minute errors without noticing it. However, as the saying goes, practice makes perfect. The usual practice is to reply to their advertisements with a quick email, but there are certain ways that can bump a candidate up and help get their foot into the door faster.

BE CLEAR ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR

After giving a succinct introduction, jump right into what you are expecting from the company. Be sure to list helpful information such as salary expectations and working hours, so that they can also determine if you can a suitable fit for the company’s requirements. This will also help them to filter out potential candidates faster, and save on the extra logistical emails requesting the aforementioned information. Otherwise, if they did not list out what they are looking for in candidates exactly, offer to give a brief description of your credentials and what you can do for the company. 

AVOID SPELLING AND GRAMMAR ERRORS

Always double check, even triple check, the quality of the replies before sending it out to the companies. This is because once the reply is in the email outbox, it cannot be edited or retracted. As mentioned, such replies are paramount in creating good first impressions, and spelling and/or grammar mistakes are a huge warning sign for the recruiters to skip over your reply. There are multiple online tools that can help vet spelling errors and even grammar blunders, so be sure to put them to good use before hitting that send button.

INCLUDE YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION

If the format of the reply does not allow you to include your resume, then either consider including a short blurb of your skillset in your reply itself, or take the initiative to offer to send over the resume via another channel. For example, leave your contact details for them to contact you and lead with something like, “I would be more than happy to send over my resume. Let me know who I can contact for this.” It opens up a conversation with them and encourages them to contact you in order to find out more, just be sure to follow up!

How to be a responsible candidate?

If you are a recruiter, you will likely know what this article is going to be about. Experienced recruiters meet all sorts of candidates – from the sincere to the least responsible one. Sometimes, we even converse those who we think are sincere, but would remain uncontactable after. Trust us, this situation breaks our fragile hearts in the life as recruiters every single time.

If you are a candidate on the active lookout for jobs at the moment, read on to find out how you could be more responsible to your recruiters and stop breaking our fragile hearts.

Be Punctual

There is a reason why interviews have been scheduled at a certain time. Behind the scenes, is a lengthy process of coordination between the hiring manager and your availability for the interview. Being late not only reflects poorly on your interest in the role – but it also shows the attitude you take towards your work, and to others.

Time might not be important to you, as you are unemployed – but it matters to others.

Inform us if you have already found employment

During the process of job application, it is normal to have a surge in phone calls where recruiters are asking if you are interested in the roles you have applied for. It’s not because you are in high demand, but it is because recruiters (especially from agencies) are just making sure you are able to find your suitable employment in your shortest possible time.

If you have already found employment, it would only be polite for you to call your recruiters up and share with them that you have already found employment. This prevents any further interview arrangements to be coordinated, or for the hiring manager to even process and consider your application – which will only be a waste of time.

Let us know in advance if you are unable to attend an interview or any appointments

If we have already arranged an interview (and have already done all the back end coordination), you could share with us if you are unable to attend an interview or any appointment in advance. This helps us to reschedule our appointments, and free up our time slot in doing our day to day activities. In advance, not mean few minutes in advance but more than a day in advance. Please remember how many involved parties are going to be affected.

…& we would like you to take the initiative of informing us, instead of us calling you – only to know that you are unable to attend the appointment later.  This not only breaks our fragile hearts, but also gives us a shock as well.

Tell us if you are uninterested

You can have all the right in the world to share with us if you are not interested in the role – whether the interview has already been arranged or not interested in the temporary assignment an hour before

But don’t just “no-show” which makes all the affected parties wonder what happen to you. We have no time for mind-guessing games. If you are uninterested in the job, there are many others who would be more than willing to take this opportunity up.

Ultimately, one should choose to be gracious and not selfish. Because the opportunity that was given to you - but you had chosen to forgo today, could be the rice bowl for someone else