“Not a fit”

Q: What do the words “not a fit for the job” actually mean?

A: This is a common response to a candidate when they are not offered a job.  “Not a fit” can have many legitimate meanings.  Some of these reasons include the candidate’s skills are a mismatch for the job requirements.  For example, if a job posting states that QuickBooks experience is required, and the candidate has never worked with QuickBooks, then the candidate’s skills are “not a fit.”  Or the candidate has not worked in a similar environment and therefore wouldn’t “fit” into this work environment.  We have clients who have struggled with hires from large companies, expecting to hire a large team or have generous budgets available to them.  In the job descriptions, one of the requirements is working in a smaller, more entrepreneurial environment.  If a candidate doesn’t have work experience in a smaller environment, then another candidate may be hired (who has experience working in a smaller organization).

I encourage our clients to offer more specific reasons for why a candidate was not hired.  However, truthfully, sometimes it is difficult to deliver negative feedback to a candidate.  And some of the reasons are embarrassing and may be awkward to share.  It is awfully difficult to tell a candidate that they did not receive a job offer because they had body odor or their resume was full of typos or their grammar was less than stellar. Some candidates respond very defensively or angrily if you share honest feedback with them.  This is why some hiring professionals will resort to “not a fit” as a reason for why another candidate was hired.

However, there are also situations where I think employers have used “not a fit” as a euphemism for some other attribute that may be an illegal reason for excluding a candidate.  I have seen sales teams, mostly in the 80’s (although I am sure that they still exist today) prefer to hire men.  The reason that they give women are “sorry, you are not a fit,” meaning you don’t fit our preferred gender.  This is clearly illegal.  I also have seen candidates from different ethnic backgrounds or races be classified as “not a fit.” Let’s face it, discrimination exists.

Finally, there are candidates who seem to apply for every role under the sun, from accounting to engineering roles.  I call them the “perpetual posters.” it is difficult to believe that they are genuinely interested in this one specific role, when you have seen their resume three times in the last week, for other roles.

When a candidate receives this as a reason, a smart response would be “can you tell me why I was not a fit?”  Remember, a candidate has to be open and receptive to the feedback.

Pattie Hunt Sinacole is a human resources expert and works for First Beacon Group in Hopkinton, an HR consulting firm. She contributes weekly to Boston.com Jobs and the Boston Sunday Globe Money & Careers section.

“unwilling to embrace technology” feedback

Q:  Recently I was invited to interview for a company in financial services.  I received some feedback after the interview that I seemed “unwilling to embrace technology.”  I must admit that I get nervous with computers.  How should I handle this in the future?

A: Technology touches most jobs now.  I know of no role in financial services, which does not require some basic PC skills.

It is helpful to understand how a prospective employer perceived you.  Not all employers are willing to share candid feedback.  First, re-think your responses to questions which may have led an interviewer to have these concerns.  Did you mention that you were uncomfortable with technology?
Did you become nervous in response to a question about your skills in this area?  Many interviewers will ask about a candidate’s technological expertise and may even to share a rating on skills.  Or, an interviewer may ask how a candidate used that skill.  For example, “Describe for me a type of project or task, where you were required to use your advanced Excel skills?”  This type of question is fairly common interview question.  If you lacked confidence in these responses, how can you either 1. improve your confidence level and /or 2. build and practice your skills in this area?

If you need to improve your confidence in how you respond to these types of questions, practice sample responses.  Give examples of when you have to use a specific technology in a past job.  Also think about offering an example of when you have to learn a new software or system.

If you need to improve your skills, think about taking a course.  You can explore classes and online tutorials or you could enroll in a class at a local technical school or college.  There are also training companies which offer a variety of training courses.  Online courses are often free and self-paced.  Enrolling in a local college would be more expensive but many offer one or two day courses, which are a bit more cost-effective.

Once you learn the skill, try to use it a few times to continue practicing the skills.  If you have just learned PowerPoint for example, develop a mock PowerPoint presentation on your job search, as an example.

Technology is here to stay.  Those candidates who are willing to learn new technologies often have an edge.

Pattie Hunt Sinacole is a human resources expert and works for First Beacon Group in Hopkinton, an HR consulting firm. She contributes weekly to Boston.com Jobs and the Boston Sunday Globe Money & Careers section.

Is an objective needed on a resume?

Q: I have noticed that more and more resumes do not contain objectives at the top.  I was told many years ago that this section was required.  Is my information dated?  What would I put at the top of my resume instead?

A: Resumes have changed.  Let me share some resume tips, while also answering your specific question.

1. Use a simple font which can be scanned. Many large employers use scanning systems, as part of their applicant tracking system (ATS). If your resume is scanned, an image of your resume can be accessed by the hiring team.  Fancy fonts can sometimes confuse an ATS, making your information more difficult to retrieve.
2. Keep it to two pages or under. My resume is two pages. Unless you have a lot of patents, publications or similar, your resume should probably be one or two pages.
3. Keep your resume current. Every January, I review my resume. You want to be ready to share a resume on a moment’s notice.
4. Use a font that is not microscopic. Tiny fonts are tough to read. Sometimes more information is not better.  A resume is your commercial.  It should interest the reader, but not share every detail of your career.  Use the same font though our your resume.  Switching fonts can sometimes give a resume a sloppy look.
5. Most hiring professionals want to see your most recent experience at the top. A reverse chronological order is best.
6. White space is your friend. Don’t fill every square inch. Use consistent formatting. Avoid logos!
7. Keywords are your friend too. Make sure that your resume contains keywords. Hiring professionals will often search an ATS by keywords.  If your resume does not contain the keywords, you may be overlooked.
8. No need to include “References Available Upon Request.” If interested, they will ask you for references!
9. Proofread and then ask someone else to proofread. Sometimes we don’t catch our own mistakes. No typos or grammatical errors please.
10. I think the Objective section is dated and should be replaced with Summary. It is a way for you to summarize your career for your audience.  Take the opportunity and ensure that there are keywords included!
11. Make sure that your contact information is accurate! I have called or emailed candidates only to discover that their email or phone number is not correct!
12. Include your LinkedIn profile, if you have one, at the top of your resume. Recruiters will look up on LinkedIn anyhow so make it easy for them.

Resumes have changed over the years.  However, an annual review should help with keeping your resume current.

Pattie Hunt Sinacole is a human resources expert and works for First Beacon Group in Hopkinton, an HR consulting firm. She contributes weekly to Boston.com Jobs and the Boston Sunday Globe Money & Careers section.

How to apply on LinkedIn

Q: I recently applied for a role on LinkedIn and never heard back from the company.  Is this typical?  I would expect when a company posts a job on LinkedIn, they are serious about recruiting.

A:  LinkedIn is a great recruitment tool for most roles.  Most employers post roles on LinkedIn when they are eager to generate a pool of qualified candidates for the role.  However, there are ways you can use LinkedIn more successfully as a job seeker.

1. A candidate is qualified. Applying for a role requires less of an effort than it did 20 years ago. Most of us have a current resume on our desktop and we can easily respond to a posting with a resume.  However, there are “perpetual posters” who apply for almost any open role available.  It is difficult to take those candidates seriously because they seem to apply for any and all jobs, rather than the roles for which they are most qualified.
2. A resume is attached, as part of the online application. This might seem like a no brainer to some but many candidates do not attach a resume with your online application. This is frustrating!  The recruiter then has to reach back out to the candidate, and request a resume.  Yes, I can view a candidate’s LinkedIn profile but most of my clients still want to review a resume too.
3. The LinkedIn profile is complete. A professional photo is part of the candidate’s LinkedIn profile. The LinkedIn profile includes a well-written job history and contact information.  There are some LinkedIn profiles which are very thin and offer limited information.
4. A candidate is responsive. Sometimes recruiters work odd hours and on weekends. When we reach out to a candidate, we are hoping for a quick response (within 24 hours or sooner).  With smart phones and other technological innovations, we expect job hunters to respond if we call or email them.  If a candidate takes several days to respond, that is a sign that this opportunity is not priority in their lives.
5. The first impression is positive. The resume is well written and there are no typos. The same standards apply to a candidate’s LinkedIn profile. It should be well written and logical.
6. Check out who you might know at the company.  A connection to the company may be helpful!

Finally, sometimes hundreds of candidates apply to posted jobs.  It would be difficult to respond to every candidate.  If you feel like you are a well-qualified candidate, you can reach out to the recruiter listed on the posting.  However, there may be a reason why they haven’t contacted you and it may be unrelated to you.  The job may have been put on hold or another candidate has been hired.

Pattie Hunt Sinacole is a human resources expert and works for First Beacon Group in Hopkinton, an HR consulting firm. She contributes weekly to Boston.com Jobs and the Boston Sunday Globe Money & Careers section.

2017 hiring plans may exclude those over 40

Q: I am a new supervisor and we have been discussing hiring plans for 2017.  I work for a growing tech start up.  It is a fun environment but demanding.  My manager keeps describing our ideal new hire as “young, bright, high energy, etc.”  She keeps repeating that she does not want to hire anyone over 40 because they are on the “back nine” of their career.  She has directed me to exclude candidates of a certain age.  Isn’t this illegal?  How can she tell me that this is the right path?

A: Unfortunately you have been placed in a very difficult position.  You probably have an inclination that excluding one group of candidates is not a wise decision, but you are being pressured to do just that, by your manager

I consulted Amy Carlin, Esq., a partner at Morgan, Brown and Joy, LLP.  Carlin and I reviewed your question and she shared my concerns.  Carlin comments, ” Yes, it is illegal to make employment decisions, including hiring, based on the applicant or employee’s “protected class or characteristic,”  which includes age (40 or over pursuant to Massachusetts state law and federal law).  Other protected classes in Massachusetts include race, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, among others. The manager here is making assumptions about what an applicant over 40 will be like in the workplace and seeks to exclude candidates based on their age – this is precisely what the anti-discrimination laws are meant to protect against.”

Instead it is better to focus on the requirements of the job description.  What exactly are the skills, knowledge and attributes required for the open position?  Carlin advises her clients to “develop interview questions that directly relate to these and the legitimate business requirements of the job. Interview questions that will lead a candidate to reveal that they are in a protected class are prohibited by law; investing in training for managers in this area is a smart move and one that will protect against discriminatory decisions such as the one the manager in the question is about to make.”

Tech companies have a bit of a tarnished reputation when it comes to hiring workers with a few gray hairs.  In 2014, the median age of workers at Facebook was 29, according to a report by Payscale.  At Google and Amazon, it was 30 in 2014.  Yet, the median age of all American workers is closer to 42 years old, according to the Department of Labor.  Employers will often tout that they are eager to hire a diverse workforce, but sometimes that diversity leaves out those who are 40 or over.

Companies are smart to include a broad pool of candidates.  With unemployment in Massachusetts hovering around 4%, employers need to tap a wide range of talent.

Pattie Hunt Sinacole is a human resources expert and works for First Beacon Group in Hopkinton, an HR consulting firm. She contributes weekly to Boston.com Jobs and the Boston Sunday Globe Money & Careers section.