I hope this is not too broad, but: Could you share aspects that put candidates higher on your priority list, and on the opposite end maybe red flags?
Some examples that come to my mind: Is being at a company for a very long time a negative or positive signal, or does it not even matter? Do a lot of certificates in the CV help, or are they irrelevant? Is a nice cover letter important to you? Maybe you have some anecdotes of unexpected things that completely changed your mind on a candidate?
I know this might be very individual and sometimes more of a âgeneral gut feeling when seeing the whole pictureâ thing, but I thought there might be some helpful nuggets of wisdom!
Thanks for the question Christoph! Iâll start with my takes on the examples you listed and then pivot to some broader thoughts:
Being at one company for a long time: this really depends on the specifics. The main reasons I might see this as a negative signal are a) if I worry that the long tenure indicates that someone will find it difficult to translate their experience to a different working environment or b) that they havenât been successful in their career and have been stuck in one role for a long time (if they havenât switched roles as well as not switching companies). I think these can both be real concerns, but there are often mitigating factors too, and frequent job-hopping can also be a relevant concern. The question of âwould staying or leaving be better for my careerâ is really the thing to worry about IMOâif youâre making the decision on that basis, youâll probably have a convincing story to tell.
CV certificates: it depends on the role! Usually a good job description will highlight skills or qualifications that are relevant to it, and certificates that demonstrate those can be helpful, especially in more technical roles. If thereâs no obvious connection, they probably wonât be helpful (or harmful).
Cover letters: I would recommend being guided by the application form on this front. If it includes an option for a cover letter, Iâd almost always recommend including one. If it doesnât, Iâd almost always recommend not including one. This is a personal preference, but I donât enjoy reading unsolicited cover letters myself!
Speaking more generally, the key things that often put candidates higher on the priority list are the straightforward factors of e.g. do they seem to understand the role /â organization and to be excited about it for genuine reasons, are their skills and experience a good fit for our requirements, do they communicate effectively, etc. If youâre demonstrating these things in a way thatâs easy for a recruiter to understand even on a quick review, youâre likely doing just fineâI donât think there are any special tricks here.
I hope this is not too broad, but: Could you share aspects that put candidates higher on your priority list, and on the opposite end maybe red flags?
Some examples that come to my mind: Is being at a company for a very long time a negative or positive signal, or does it not even matter? Do a lot of certificates in the CV help, or are they irrelevant? Is a nice cover letter important to you? Maybe you have some anecdotes of unexpected things that completely changed your mind on a candidate?
I know this might be very individual and sometimes more of a âgeneral gut feeling when seeing the whole pictureâ thing, but I thought there might be some helpful nuggets of wisdom!
Thanks for the question Christoph! Iâll start with my takes on the examples you listed and then pivot to some broader thoughts:
Being at one company for a long time: this really depends on the specifics. The main reasons I might see this as a negative signal are a) if I worry that the long tenure indicates that someone will find it difficult to translate their experience to a different working environment or b) that they havenât been successful in their career and have been stuck in one role for a long time (if they havenât switched roles as well as not switching companies). I think these can both be real concerns, but there are often mitigating factors too, and frequent job-hopping can also be a relevant concern. The question of âwould staying or leaving be better for my careerâ is really the thing to worry about IMOâif youâre making the decision on that basis, youâll probably have a convincing story to tell.
CV certificates: it depends on the role! Usually a good job description will highlight skills or qualifications that are relevant to it, and certificates that demonstrate those can be helpful, especially in more technical roles. If thereâs no obvious connection, they probably wonât be helpful (or harmful).
Cover letters: I would recommend being guided by the application form on this front. If it includes an option for a cover letter, Iâd almost always recommend including one. If it doesnât, Iâd almost always recommend not including one. This is a personal preference, but I donât enjoy reading unsolicited cover letters myself!
Speaking more generally, the key things that often put candidates higher on the priority list are the straightforward factors of e.g. do they seem to understand the role /â organization and to be excited about it for genuine reasons, are their skills and experience a good fit for our requirements, do they communicate effectively, etc. If youâre demonstrating these things in a way thatâs easy for a recruiter to understand even on a quick review, youâre likely doing just fineâI donât think there are any special tricks here.