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Running yourself out!

8/15/2017

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What does your contact points say about you?
 
When I was young and played cricket on a regular basis, I hated when I ran myself out, as I had effectively given away my wicket to the opposition free of charge.  If I had not done something stupid, I would still be in bat and adding to my score. Likewise, so many people ‘run themselves out’ in the job hunt, before they even come in to bat.
 
Recently I presented to a group of recruiters, and talk turned to how poorly many candidates brand themselves at prime employer contact points.  From terrible email addresses to shocking voicemail messages, each mistake piles up to leave a trail of unprofessionalism that does not set them up for success in the candidate screening process..
 
Email addresses that (don’t) rock
 
As MD of CV.CO.NZ, I come across people who tell me they are having problems finding a new role because no one responds to their emails.  Chatting with them, I try and figure out if they have the relevant skills and experience, and am sometimes amazed that no employer has snapped them up.  That is, until I get a copy of their CV and see their email address… 
 
Real life examples of terrible email addresses that have come across my desk include one_nightstand@, imasexybeast@, badboyrulz@, loveisworsethandeath@ and life-is-a-nightmare@.  The Herald’s public decency guidelines also limit me from putting far worse ones in this column.
 
Unsurprisingly, recruiters do not want to proceed further when their candidate’s email address is something offensive, racist, sexist or just plain crazy.
 
Abysmal Voicemail Messages
 
Time and again, I would screen a candidates’ CVs and think “this person is great – let’s get them in for an interview.” Unfortunately, when it comes time to make contact, I am greeted by an abysmal voicemail message that says something along the lines of “Hi it’s [insert name] here.  I’m drunk at the moment, so leave a message and I’ll get back to you when I sober up.”
 
While this message may by funny while you are at university, the joke suddenly turns against you when graduate recruiters start hanging up and not leaving messages.
 
My recruiter friends shared that almost every day they would discount potentially suitable candidates because their ‘employer touchpoints’ were so poor.  No recruiter wants to put forward to their client, a candidate who has the email address ‘deathninja@’.  (Yes it’s a real one)… 
 
Your Brand
 
Voicemail and email addresses are a key part of your employer marketing, and recruiters, human resource managers and employers in general, tend to have a low level of tolerance for poor candidate branding.
 
If you are about to start job hunting, I strongly encourage you to check your voicemail and email address, ensuring they represent you well when recruiters start to call.  Making sure your prime employer contact points are professional, will ensure you do not ‘run yourself out’ at the start of your job search.
 
Contact Tom for a free Linkedin or CV review, or to be your personal career coach.  Visit www.CareerCoach.nz or www.CV.co.nz to find out more. 
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    Tom O'Neil B.Soc.Sci.(Psych) MNSANZ  MCDANZ

    Tom is an award winning keynote speaker and international careers and personal development author.

    Published and featured in the Harvard Business Review, Economist, TVNZ and TV3, Tom is also a business and careers Columnist for the NZ Herald. You can read some of his most recent articles here...

    Tom has written the ‘The 1% Principle’, published through Harper Collins in the USA, Canada, UK, Australia and NZ.  Recently the 1% Principle peaked in the top five business books and the top 21 best sellers on Amazon.co.uk.  

    Tom was brought up in an environment associated to human resources and recruitment and has a degree majoring in social and perceptual psychology. 

    After developing and selling two recruitment consultancies, Tom consulted independently in Human Resources to a number of leading national and international organisations including Sovereign Assurance, South Auckland Health, Auckland City and Morgan and Banks.

    After two short period's doing community support work for his church in the Philippines and India, Tom then joined Deloitte as a Management Consultant specialising in Human Resources.

    Over the last twelve years, Tom has been Managing Director of CV.CO.NZ (NZ) Limited, and has been personally involved in designing high quality career solutions for more than 8,000 clients in over 50 countries!

    Contact Tom O'Neil direct on (0800) 282 669 or email him at tom@cv.co.nz to discuss your career and personal development needs.

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    Gaynor O'Neil MRCSA CRC

    Gaynor is a pioneer within the modern world of recruitment and human resources. 

    Gaynor has successfully built up and sold several successful recruitment and HR consultancies and has written various books concerning career matters, one of them sponsored by a national bank.

    Gaynor is also co-author Selling Yourself to Employers’, published through New Holland Publishers in the U.K., Australia and NZ.   She has also been employed as a weekly columnist for a national newspaper, writing about vocational opportunities.

    Admitted to the Institute of Personnel Consultants in 1981, Gaynor is a Certified Recruitment Consultant. 

    You can contact Gaynor direct at gaynor@cv.co.nz
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