Current Issue
Candidates: Speak Out and Listen Up
“Since everybody is an individual, no one else can be you. You are unique.” --Eleanor Roosevelt
Email, texting, blogging, chatting, instant messaging. All have come into our lives to one degree or another and the speed at which these are developing is stunning. For example, recently, on my Blackberry, I received a text message from my son John, with a photo attached of his graded geometry exam, bearing a score of 101. Terrific news, yet even as late as last week, that that kind of communication was possible was unimaginable to me. Gone, apparently, are the days of proudly presenting your parent with the actual test with the actual grade on it in actual red pencil.
Indeed, a great deal of our communication has turned into email or something in data form. While some of that is required and some of it is just makes things faster to do, we have largely turned away from voice communication in favor of email messages. We have especially shunned the telephone call.
While a candidate can distribute information and a resume in an email message, and efficiently so, an email can only really do that – send information. In black and white (or blue or fuchsia, I’ve seen both colors used). Email usually does a poor job of communicating anything more than qualifications the sender deems important. Other than with a change in “ink,” it cannot provide the color or depth that is often necessary for a recruiter to make the right choice among many email messages and resumes they receive.
On the other hand, a phone call can deliver substance and definition and offer a window into candidates’ personalities. Each phone caller is distinct. Their voice is unlike anyone else’s. The pattern of speech is unique. The inflections are different. The style of communication is singular. They are no longer data.
While an email message or background or smiley face can be changed in color or nature, an email message is subject to the rules and fonts and reply functions of the application being used. A voice is your own application. It’s what sets you apart. It gives the data an added dimension.
Personally, I can discern many more important details when speaking with someone. I can judge earnestness, credibility, conviction, determination and whether I would want to work with someone or have them work for a client. But the beauty of the telephone call is that it can stray in some of the most telling ways. I can learn of struggles the candidate has overcome or of insights they have. I also can discover parts of a person’s experience that they would not normally share in print.
As the caller, you yourself have the opportunity to inquire of a recruiter about a position, its duties, the boss, the business culture, the salary, the location. All information you may or may not be able to divine from the internet or otherwise. All of this is a part of the job-seeking process. You can enhance your own prospects by distinguishing yourself from the rest in a genuine verbal communication.
Personal interaction is key. You can set yourself up to be a part of a group or you can set yourself apart as a candidate with unique abilities, experience, passion, creativity, stamina, determination and skill. The first step is to pick up the phone and let us know who you are.
I called my son to congratulate him on his test score. His voice mail message said to text him.
David Maldonado, Esq. is a Senior Vice President of Special Counsel and Editor of The Column.
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