Rocking The Vote
Hopefully you got a chance to “Rock The Vote” last week and regardless your political affiliation it’s safe to say that last week Tuesday, America spoke, loud and clear:
Barack Obama won the office of President by obtaining 56,445,394 of the popular vote as opposed to John McCain’s 57,446,223 votes.
Although most of you probably didn’t vote in the last two presidential elections, I’m sure you remember the stories of the “hanging chad,” “miscounts,” and “recounts” that rocked the American electoral system. And for good reason: when it comes to electing a president, not only does every vote count, but so does every detail. Read the second line of this email again. See something wrong? That’s right, I mistyped the number of votes that Barack Obama received. The true number is 65,445,394 votes (CNN.com). See what a difference a typo makes? Instead of Obama winning by almost 80 million votes, I stated that he lost by 1 million votes. Big difference huh? So what does this have to do with you and your job search?
What I want to highlight here is attention to detail. You may think applying for a job isn’t as big of a deal as counting presidential votes, or is it? The future of the free world may not rest on your job application, but your future does. Employers all too often tell us about dismissing worthy candidates due to little details. Some examples that have happened here (yes, to Babson students) include the following:
· Failure to submit the appropriate application documents: Take the time to thoroughly read job descriptions. Does this position require a cover letter? An unofficial transcript? A separate online application? You may have the sickest cover letter of all time, but if you forget to turn in the unofficial transcript or online application, the employer may toss your application just for failing to follow directions.
· Failure to check and recheck cover letters, thank you notes, etc…: A lot of time students CTRL-C and CTRL-V (copy & paste) the same cover letter to different companies without taking the time to make adjustments for industry, position title, or even Company name! We recognize these letters are difficult to write and personalization is time consuming. But, that is no excuse to gloss over details. This is often the ONLY form of communication the employer has had with you. Take the time to personalize the correspondence and check for grammar and spelling errors. Be forewarned: MS Word’s grammar check is not 100% perfect. Little errors like the difference between “there” and “their” can often be overlooked by the software, but won’t be overlooked by employers.
· Failure to mind your P’s and Q’s: I don’t really know where that expression comes from, but I know what it means: mind your manners. Be sure that when going into an interview you are taking the time to turn off your cell phone, spit out your gum, and leave your coffee outside the door. Sure, these are little things, but even these personal details can make a huge difference in how you are perceived by the employer.
Sounds like a lot to do, huh? It’s really not all that bad… Overall, we want you to put your best foot forward and pay attention to the details. Come into CCD for a cover letter critique! Use the writing center for grammar support! Do whatever it takes to impress and create the best opportunity for you to be the employer’s next hire!
Monique