Stop being boring
August 7th, 2007
Every week, we are humbled by the amount of resumes and job opening inquiries we receive, for they are many. Now I’m not a recruiting expert by any means, so this is just my opinion here, but why, oh why when you’re applying to a creative agency would you make your resume bland and boring?
The part that really gets me, though, is the “Objective.” Take this one that showed up in my mailbox yesterday:
Objective: To obtain a full-time position where I can utilize my education and experience in business to benefit a corporation in achieving its goals.
Ah, what?
How vanilla can you get? It’s like a tagline that you can pick up off of one faceless, personality-void company and put on another. How about “to kick creative ass” or like when our First Impression, Mr. Steve was applying for a job once upon a time, “To get paid, fool.” Now THAT’S an objective.
Sadly, there are throngs of companies out there that present themselves the same way. It’s rank-and-file thinking. And it stems from a lot of things…the largest being a tired identity.
So let your personality shine through, for cryin’ out loud. No, you don’t have to be wild and crazy, but there’s gotta be something there that people can connect with. That goes for the buttoned-up types of business, too. We’ve seen what the power of a strong identity can do. And, believe me, even if it’s in the professional services industry, it’s not boring.
Other posts by Spike.
Kyle says:
How about:
“I wanna smoke my creative genius out of its holes. Smoke’em out!”
August 7th, 2007 at 5:58 amPatrick says:
I admit I have made this mistake in the past out of several reasons;
1.) Fear - I was afraid of being offensive or coming across and an employee that could potentially be a problem
2.) I believed the “resume experts” of the time
3.) I paid a “professional” to write my resume and I think you see a ton of these look alike resumes as a result of hiring someone else to do it or using templates. That does ask the question, do you want an employee who doesn’t do the work for themselves? Sure it’s ok to use a template or framework as a starting point and standards are great when they are proven but it doesn’t take a lot of effort to customize something just a little bit to make a big difference.
Now that I am an employer myself and I’m in the process of looking for employees to help us out I certainly see things in a different light.
August 7th, 2007 at 6:17 amSpike says:
Kyle: Nice one!
Patrick: I think we’ve all been a victim to it, especially right out of school before we know better and are programmed to follow the herd.
August 7th, 2007 at 6:20 amDonnie says:
I recruited for a couple of years. Our strategy would always be to send in 4 cookie cutter candidates.(people with the expected background,education and experience. In one word “boring”.)
We would also include an “out-of-the-box” candidate. That candidate would always be one of the final two, and half the time be the one who got the job.
August 7th, 2007 at 6:32 amMr. Steve says:
I feel the need to point out that I did, in fact, get hired for that job.
August 7th, 2007 at 7:01 amSpike says:
Sorry, Mr. Steve. I didn’t mean to leave that part out. My bad.
August 7th, 2007 at 7:22 amMichael Rubin, Arment Dietrich says:
Great post, Spike, and absolutely true. But this begs the larger question that I’ve never quite understood — what is the point of the objective sentence anyway? When I’ve in a position to hire others, it’s not something to which I’ve paid more than two seconds worth of attention. Any thoughts?
Incidentally, here’s the objective I used on my last resume: “Put simply, I am seeking an opportunity to amaze you with my diverse talents, creativity, and “can do” attitude.”
—-
Michael E. Rubin
Arment Dietrich, Inc.
Call me — 312-787-7249 x212
August 7th, 2007 at 7:57 amTell a friend — fight destructive spin! http:///www.spinsucks.com
See what I’m up to — http://twitter.com/merubin
See a picture of an orangutan — http://tinyurl.com/yosceb
Kyle says:
Donnie’s math scares me. When boring candidates compose 80% of the prospect pool… bring on the melba toast.
Spike, I thought of another one:
“I prepare to be mediocre but do it half assed, anything else is a bonus.”
August 7th, 2007 at 9:00 amChristy says:
Spike, having recently gone through this, I’m with Patrick. Fear of looking like a loose cannon is a definite deterrent for trying something new. Sometimes companies put up a front of being “out there,” but they’re really not.
Also, most companies have “human resources” folk reviewing the resumes, not the “hiring manager.” So, those HR-types like to see all the right words in the right place. At least, that’s what our HR-types keep saying.
*sigh*
It’s finally great to hear someone speak out about this boring mindset, though. So often, job hunters send resumes only to hear from them six months later, once they (me) have already moved to another state!
August 8th, 2007 at 5:40 amDavid Binkowski says:
I agree with Spike, however I’d like to bring it from the “other side” as the employer. I’ve have problems getting HR to put the words “Ass kicker” in the requirements for job descriptions.
August 8th, 2007 at 7:00 pmRobbie says:
I’ve only been in the professional world for about 3 months, so I’m still pretty green. Although, I have noticed there is a bit of a mutation that new creatives, such as myself, feel like we must undergo in order to present ourselves as “professional.” Many times I think “professional” translates into boring.
In my last month of school I was given the opportunity to present my portfolio to the team at brains, and the first person I met with was Robin. I had this mentality that I couldn’t say certain words, and I couldn’t act like this, or do that because it was “real.” In actuality, manipulating my presentation and my speech would have made me completely the opposite.
I think you have to be yourself. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty positive potential employers can see straight through it. Honesty is numero uno. If you can’t be transparent with your presentation, resume, and portfolio then what benefit will you have to a future client/company.
So be yourself and be honest. If you happen to be a boring liar, then it sucks to be you.
August 9th, 2007 at 7:28 amT Smith says:
My favorite - and one that’s never left me out of a job:
Sent one of those cakes that allows you to put the picture on it. The picture was my resume. White and black icing. I told the employers that if they didn’t find my credentials fitting, they could eat them.
Pretty good objective. It got me hired.
August 18th, 2007 at 5:02 amT Smith says:
Oh yeah. And then there was that time I told BOF that I’d eat live crickets just to get an interview. You interviewed me and hired me on the spot. I was your First Impression for several months. Many years back. My favorite part about the place? 1). The coffee and 2). Goots music. Nothing beats Beethoven and African World Beat in the morning.
August 18th, 2007 at 5:07 amQuentin says:
hi nice post, i enjoyed it
August 18th, 2007 at 8:11 pm