Want the job? Follow instructions!
Update: I was surprised by the destructive / mean-spirited criticism in response to this post. I have posted a follow up and removed a couple of comments that were unwarranted and a bit too personal to leave on my own blog. My apologies for the censorship - it is not a common practice for me and I agonized over doing it at all but in the end I realized that this is my blog and I have the right to remove mean-spirited comments.
In the past year or two I have posted job ads for software developers on Monster, this blog, www.ardentdev.com, and the CanadaEast virtual job fair. Every single time I explicitly ask for resumes to be sent by email with a specific keyword in the subject line. And yet I continue to receive phone calls, in-person resume deliveries, and emails without the requested subject line.
I know this is well-intentioned and learned behaviour taught by guidance counsellors and job seeking guides. Maybe it works well for some types of jobs but it sure bothers me. Three reasons:
- Software development involves translating requirements into unambiguous designs. Failure to observe and follow simple, unambiguous instructions for submitting a resume shows a lack of appreciation for the importance of attending to details.
- The procedure for submitting a resume is the first thing an employer asks you to do. Ignoring the first process you are asked to follow should be an obvious no-no.
- Calling or showing up unannounced at a small company is rude. We small company folks wear a lot of hats and on any given day we might be against a deadline, generating invoices, dealing with customers, coding (!), working on company strategy, or interviewing other job candidates. I have not made time in that day to interview walk-ins. It's not like I'm impressed that you can find our office. And your resume is not with the electronic copies of all the other resumes so it may get overlooked. Furthermore, if you show up unannounced at a larger company you will probably get stonewalled by a receptionist and your resume may not even get to a decision maker since you failed to follow procedure.
Today I had a walk-in with resume in hand. He had seen a job posting but had not sent in his resume by email. He got about 45 seconds of my time and clear instructions to email in his resume. The paper copy he handed me went straight in the shredder (after he left - I'm not heartless). If he is reading this post: I got your email copy and it will be reviewed along with all other submissions.