3 Basic Things to Check Before You Apply to a Job

As a Career Coach and HR Consultant, I conduct my share of interviews—about 500 a year to be exact. There are a few critical mistakes that I run into more than you’d expect, and it always amazes me how job seekers can overlook some really critical details at the beginning of their job search. If you’re in the job market, here are 3 things you’ll want to check before you submit your resume:



1. Is your phone number listed on your resume?
You’d think this would be a given on every resume, but surprisingly it’s not. A similarly unfortunate mistake is listing a phone number that is inaccurate or disconnected. Sometimes I do email candidates with excellent resumes if they don’t have a phone number listed, but usually only a handful will respond. When I call a phone number that's inaccurate or disconnected, I tend to view that as an error in judgement and a poor example of attention to detail, so I usually opt not to email these applicants when hiring for our internal team. 

2. Is your voicemail greeting professional?
Many of us recorded our personal voicemail greeting ages ago. Since we don’t typically call ourselves, it’s out of sight out of mind. If you're in a job search, it's time to re-visit this—especially if you're an entry level candidate. What kind of impression does your voicemail give to potential employers? If you need to re-record your greeting, find a quiet location and aim for a friendly, professional, and short message.

3. Is your voicemail full?
Sometimes your voicemail fills up a lot faster than you might think—especially with all of the spam calls that we get on our cell phones these days. It's unfortunate too, because often applicants with really strong resumes will have a voicemail that is full, or one that is not set up. This is beyond frustrating for hiring managers and it will prevent you from seeing the job search results that you want, so don’t let this happen to you!

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