Ten Ways Job-Seekers Drop The Ball Without Meaning To

Dear Liz,

I started a software company six years ago. We have 18 employees now and hit the $15 million revenue milestone in 2016.

I am actively looking for a couple of very senior software people but I always have my eyes open for other talented people who could help us, whether or not they have a technical background.

Right after Thanksgiving I got one of your Pain Letters from a young man we'll call Chris. It was a great letter.

Watch on Forbes:

He had really researched our company and made some insightful points. I called him on the phone.

Chris is a new grad. He's a smart kid. We talked for about 40 minutes. It was a promising conversation.

I said "If you're interested in working with us, send me an email message and tell me what you heard in today's call and how we could work together."

Chris said "I'll send it today or tomorrow!"

I got off the phone feeling like we might have found our next new hire.

Chris and I talked on a Monday afternoon. I didn't get his email message that day or on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.

On Friday I was in our testing lab and one of our techs, Jason, said "I heard you talked to my friend Chris."

I said "I didn't know he was your friend. That's right -- we talked on Monday. Chris was supposed to write to me but I haven't heard from him."

Jason said "His job search heated up all of a sudden. He's going after a job with a big consulting firm. He thinks they're going to make him an offer. I'm sorry he didn't write to you if he said he was going to. That's not like him."

That was that. I forgot about Chris.

The day before yesterday I finally got his email message, five weeks after we spoke on the phone.

In his message Chris said "I guess Jason told you I was expecting an offer from an international consulting firm, but it fell through and I'm still very interested in your company."

My assistant sent Chris a polite "no thanks" email message. Is this the millennial behavior I've heard about? How clueless can a job-seeker get?

What are your thoughts?

Thanks,

Ricardo

Dear Ricardo,

Stop! Don't you dare tag all millennials with the "clueless" label just because one young job-seeker dropped the ball.

It's not fair to classify a whole generation based on a sample size of one. Chris has a lot to learn -- but who doesn't?

Chris made one of the most common job-search mistakes. He thought he had the big-consulting-firm offer in the bag, so he let your opportunity fall by the wayside.

That was short-sighted, obviously. Even if he had gotten the consulting job, you would have been a great contact for him to establish and maintain.

A job-seeker can't rest until the ink is dry on the offer letter (and not even then)! They have to keep every iron in the fire hot until they start their new job.

Chris blew it by telling you he was going to write to you and then failing to do it -- and crawling back to you five weeks later with the lame excuse "I thought I was going to get another job."

Here are 10 more ways job-seekers drop the ball without meaning to:

1. They fail to research employers before reaching out to them. Who wants to get the message "I'm really interested in your company....because you have a company." If you're going to take the time to reach out, learn something about the organization first!

2. They chase unsuitable opportunities past the point of reasonableness, wasting their time and mojo in the process. If you're getting screaming neon signals that the company you're talking to values you as much as they value an empty Diet Coke can, walk away.

3. They come to job interviews unprepared. Don't do it! You're wasting your time if you do.

4. They brand themselves as random bundles of skills and certifications, instead of deciding up front which jobs they're best suited for and branding themselves for those jobs. Branding yourself the wrong way will cost you valuable time and salary dollars, because you won't be seen as a qualified candidate for higher-level jobs unless you brand yourself that way!

5. They fling applications into Black Hole automated recruiting portals and figure that they're actively managing their job search. That's not true. You could wait forever to hear back from an employer after completing an online job application.

6. They job-hunt sporadically for a few days and then get distracted with a household project or another diversion. A job search is a real job. It's a marathon, not a sprint!

7. They rely on recruiters to get them a new job instead of driving their own job search.

8. They drop out of sight for days while they're in an active interview pipeline. (Employers are famous for doing this, too!)

9. They neglect their LinkedIn profile.

10. They don't customize their Human-Voiced Resume for each opportunity, so they seldom look as well-suited to a job opening as they would if they'd taken more time.

A job search takes a lot out of a person. A job search takes time, energy and mental focus. It is easy to get distracted or exhausted and drop the ball as a job-seeker, and squander the connections and opportunities for more conversation that you worked so hard to develop.

A job-seeker's time and energy -- not to mention their talent -- are too important to let that happen!

With luck this snakebite (in the form of your "no thanks" message) will be a great learning experience for Chris. Often the most painful learning is the kind that sticks!

All the best,

Liz