From The Blog

If you apply for a job, know who you are talking to

Posted by Robert Dempsey on 17. May, 2008 in Articles

We posted a position for a VP of Marketing about two weeks ago. So far, we have received 10 applications. Out of the 10, here are the stats:...

We posted a position for a VP of Marketing about two weeks ago. So far, we have received 10 applications. Out of the 10, here are the stats:

  • Mentioned my name in their cover letter: 1
  • Mentioned our company name in their cover letter: 1
  • Mentioned both in their cover letter: 0

I’ll never forget an experience where I applied for a job, got an interview (which lasted all day), and at the end of the day spoke with the CEO of the company. He looked at me and asked me if I knew who he was. As I had not done my research I didn’t, and of course I didn’t get the job. That experience has stuck with me ever since.

I don’t think I am asking for too much. If you go to our job posting and click on our logo at the top of the page, you will be taken to the main job site, where I am mentioned by name as the “talent agent.” It is pretty common to click on a company logo and be taken to the home page of the site. What this tells me is that people are applying for a position without looking into the company at all. Many of the cover letters are simply lists of credentials. That doesn’t get me excited, and that definitely doesn’t fit into the new rules of marketing.

Do you think my expectations are too high? I’d love to hear your opinion.

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  • Bill Allen
    I agree with you Robert. I pay attention to how an applicant initially responds, the research they appear to have done, and the selling/interpersonal skills they demonstrate from initial contact through the interview process. It's a good indicator of how they will perform in these areas on the job, and of their level of interest in the position.
  • Even if I disagreed with this statement generally (which I don't), it is doubly (if not triply) true for someone interviewing for a 'VP of Marketing' position. A good marketing person knows all the Dale Carnegie tricks to remember someone's name, repeating it when you are introduced, and so on. A Marketing person has to be on his game when managing these personal relationships!
  • Emily: I am glad to see that we aren't the only ones with these issues. I am willing to give second chances when warranted, however misspelling the company name three times in a single instance warrants no second chances for me. First impressions are huge for sales/marketing. If someone doesn't take the time to do any research (i.e. look at our web page) whatsoever and they are applying for a job, how are they going to approach our potential clients?
  • Nice post. I receive the incoming inquiries from Viget hopefuls. We blog openly about our expectations (see http://www.viget.com/blog/category/recruiting/), but most applicants still miss the mark. I was talking yesterday about the importance of first impressions (and the question of second chances). What do you think - do you give second chances? For example, recently an otherwise promising candidate mis-spelled "Viget" three times in his cover letter ... sigh ...
  • Luis Casillas
    Rob,
    Another great post. What you described sounds a lot like job hunting spam. Hoping that you get a job simply by playing the numbers. I remember making similar mistakes when beginning my career. Getting a job only to later realize that minimal research into a company's background and corporate culture would have showed me that it wasn't a good match. A little research can help many people to avoid obvious mismatches as well as help them find places where they may thrive.
  • I'd expect them to give me the same research that they'd give a potential client. They're in marketing after all, and an interview/application is marketing themselves to you. If they do a crappy job with that, I'd assume I'd get the same amount of productivity from them on the job.

    Maybe I'm cynical. :)
  • Pierre - you make a great point as well. Thanks for the feedback.
  • Cory, I see what you are saying. I don't expect candidates to know anything about me past the fact that I am the one that they are going to be talking to. If there was no indication of who was doing the hiring that's one thing, however on the job site, it is given.
  • Actually, I think that recruiting someone who really wants to work with you and in your comapny is more important than everything.

    Motivation is a powerful energizer !

    I somtimes receive worse than what you had : emailing application, with the name of my competitors in the email address form ! I don't even read the mail... No way !
  • Rob,
    I'm not sure I agree with you on this. I've interviewed a bunch of folks, and the last thing that I want is for them to have some in-depth knowledge about me. I'd certainly like them to know my company, and what we do. More importantly, I'd like to see that they are good at what they do, and aren't the stereotypical geek (that drives me nuts). For them to know about me though?

    Really?
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