Just Do It!

  Career Development  

What is the problem out there? In the last year I have had more candidates actually complain about having to fill out an application--and heaven forbid if I ask them to fill it out completely! Then I am looked upon as though I have lost total control of all reason. Why do companies ask you to fill out applications when your resume says it all?   What do we hope to gain by asking you to fill in all the details instead of just stapling a copy of your resume to the application itself? Take a peek inside and find out what we look for on the other side of the interview desk!

I am interviewing a PM for a top spot. The candidate is a bona fide PM professional, not a college grad with a chip on his shoulder since he did a three-week internship at IBM. The receptionist asks the candidate to fill out an application, with a special note to fill it out completely. The candidate hands the application back to the receptionist about two minutes later, and, naturally, has written "see resume" in every available space, excluding name and address. Now the receptionist (per previous instruction) hands it back to the candidate and again asks that person to fill it out completely, reiterating that it is the company policy and that we need it for our records. At this point, the candidate wastes no time in telling the receptionist that there is no reason to rewrite the resume on our application …

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