According to research by employment search website Simply Hired, hiring managers get an average of 34 applications per job listing, but they spend time genuinely considering an average of only 12.6% of them – that’s less than 1/3. Some applicants may feel the need to go above and beyond the average application and do something unusual or unexpected to grab the hiring manager’s attention.
Simply Hired conducted a survey to find out whether or not “nontraditional” strategies to stand out are worth the risk, or whether it makes sense to stick to a traditional resume and cover letter. They surveyed over 500 hiring managers and over 500 job applicants to find out what sort of outside-of-the-box approaches applicants are willing to take, and which ones do and don’t pay off.
Most notably, the survey found that over 63% of hiring managers find attention-grabbing gimmicks totally unacceptable, with only 20.2% saying they were acceptable. Hiring managers were also given a list of unusual strategies to rank from most to least acceptable. Unsurprisingly, the least acceptable strategy was offering to sleep with the hiring manager – which should really go without saying.
Interestingly, hiring managers also really disliked when applicants persistently emailed their resumes over and over until they got a response. One or two follow-up emails after your initial application aren’t such a bad idea – but if you don’t get a response after that, continuing to pester the hiring manager isn’t going to help.
While sending baked goods to the office was considered a somewhat acceptable strategy, sending those same cookies to the manager’s home address was a big no-no. Desserts might sweeten your application, but not if you cross a professional boundary by bringing them to someone’s home – that’s just creepy.
Another tactic that hiring managers received fairly positively was “enduring extreme weather to hand-deliver a resume” – but waiting around for inclement weather to apply for a job doesn’t seem very efficient. However, hiring managers did respond well to applicants who went out of their way to demonstrate a skill, for example, by creating a mock product or presentation or completing their interview in a second language. A librarian who was surveyed said she landed her job by making her resume into a book and creating QR codes with links to her portfolio, while a woman applying to work at the hotel hopped behind the counter and started checking customers in.
It’s worth noting that while most hiring managers aren’t into your gimmicks and games, of the 12.9% of applicants who said they have risked an unusual strategy, 67.7% of those actually landed the job.
Still, it’s probably a safer bet to stick to the protocol and not try any theatrics. So then, what can you actually do to improve your chances of landing the job?
Applicants surveyed tended to focus most of their time on their resumes, but according to hiring managers, the interview and cover letter are “the top ways to stand out among the rest.” Sure, brush up your resume, but make sure to give equal time to writing a strong cover letter and practicing potential interview questions.
In the survey, applicants also tended to overestimate the importance of knowing people within the company and having a “unique” cover letter and interview question answers; meanwhile, they underestimated the importance of asking smart questions at the interview and personality. In fact, hiring managers reported that personality was the most impactful factor in their hiring decisions.
It appears that the best way to stand out in a job interview is to wow them with your personality and nail the interview. Weird outfits, stunts, and baked goods will only get you so far – and in fact, may backfire.
Mariana
November 28, 2007 at 10:45 pm
Wow. “Greatness is not yet on my business card.” Well, it should be.
Jeff Brown
November 29, 2007 at 1:43 am
Benn is being far too modest.
As the guy on the ground, he carried the water. Benn knows many things, but fear isn’t one of them.
All he wants to know is — “What needs to be done?” It’s my firm belief he goes to Starbucks with a Plan B AND a Plan C, just to ensure he walks out with his coffee. No lie. 🙂
There are, as I recently told Benn, great sports heroes. There are those whom the Lord chooses to bless with great natural talent. There are those who became great by shear force of will and a killer work ethic. Then there are guys, like Jerry Rice, who was born with 1 in a million talent, AND worked like a demon to become as great as he could be.
Benn, in my opinion, is a natural who works harder than most I’ve known.
Remember his name.
April Groves
November 29, 2007 at 8:05 am
As is the norm – I think what Jeff thinks (Jeff – does it feel weird to be right so much of the time?)
😉
BTW Benn – I think your inkblot was hanging on the wall in one of Athol’s recent bad MLS pics of the day…seriously – the Nov. 26th one.
Benjamin Bach
November 29, 2007 at 8:26 am
Great work Benn
I have some clients looking down in Texas too – holla at ya boy !
Benn Rosales
November 29, 2007 at 8:45 am
Benjamin, I’m already working for you, get on the horn with Brian, and I’ll be calling you on Friday!
Jeff, you are to kind… Thanks
April, I hope that it caught his eye too doesn’t mean I’m as insane as he is!
Mariana, I’d like to think that because I surround myself with greatness such as yourself, Jeff, Brian, April, and Benjamin that little bits rub off on me.
Chris Lengquist
November 29, 2007 at 11:05 am
Nicely done.
Brian Brady
November 29, 2007 at 11:27 am
Aw, Benn,
Lani and Debra did all the work- we just took the credit.
Nice work, cowboy
Jeff Brown
November 29, 2007 at 11:28 am
April — >As is the norm – I think what Jeff thinks (Jeff – does it feel weird to be right so much of the time?)
I’d love to introduce you to my wife. 🙂
April Groves
November 29, 2007 at 12:55 pm
Jeff – Please refer to Mariana’s post yesterday – #14…your request will require at least one side of a reasonable commission
😉
Marian Brown
November 29, 2007 at 1:47 pm
OMG! I didn’t realize what a genius son I raised!…Jeff’s mom
Benn Rosales
November 29, 2007 at 2:14 pm
Marian, it is a pleasure to have you by agent genius. And yes, Marian, two things come to mind- morally and ethically your son is sound, but his mental health is askew. I blame that on the lead paint chips he eats with his coffee in the morning. 🙂 Seriously, that’s a great kid you’ve got there and his son isn’t to far off the old block.
Benn Rosales
November 29, 2007 at 2:20 pm
Brian, I would have to agree that we may have washed our hands 24 hours into it ourselves had it not been for Lani & Debra…