Would you hire you?

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Photo credit: cobalt123 / Foter.com / CC BY-NC

We all know the heartache of sending a resume for a job that you’re sure you are going to love and then never hearing anything back.

It can be simply crushing. As a recruiter, I hear about it all the time.

I spoke with one woman this week and asked her to describe one of the roles she had applied for. It did not sound like it quite fit with what I knew about her background.  When I asked her about it, she said that no, in fact, she had not really done that type of role but she felt very strongly that she could do it.

Of course she could.

It is easy for us to look into an organization or have a brush with customer service and think I could do that. No problem.

But if you’re a hiring manager living and breathing your company every day, you know specifically what skills and experience are required to deliver the goods and be successful in your environment.

You might not even have the time to meet with someone who isn’t walking in the door with exactly what you need.

Imagine calling a plumber to fix a blocked toilet. The doorbell rings and it’s a nurse. She marches past you saying “I know I am not a plumber but I am a highly trained professional and I can take care of this for you”.

Taking a flier on a job is the same thing. Before you send your resume, ask yourself would you hire you?  Use a critical eye to decide if you really are an appropriate candidate and save yourself the heartache and the plumbers bills.