Hiring Managers Share What Catches Their Eye

04.25.2011
HR & Safety

Job seekers who are not following proper etiquette are hurting their chances of landing a job, even if they may be a good fit for the position. More than one-in-five hiring managers (22%) say they are less likely to hire a candidate who doesn’t send a thank-you note after the interview, according to new data released by CareerBuilder.

The majority (89%) of hiring managers say it is okay to send a thank-you note in the form of an email, with half saying it is actually the way they prefer to receive them. When it comes to industries, the bulk of IT hiring managers say they prefer to receive email thank-you notes more than any other industry surveyed, while the majority of those in the financial services say it’s not preferred but still okay.

Employers also expect cover letters. About one-third of hiring managers say a lack of cover letter will likely eliminate a candidate from consideration.

Once they have read a candidate’s cover letter, seven-in-ten hiring managers say they prefer to see a career summary at the top of a resume instead of an objective, and more than half (57%) think a resume should be two pages long. When asked what catches their eye on a resume, hiring managers said:

  • Bulleted list of accomplishments (51%)
  • Career summary at the top (40%)
  • Relevant key words (39%)
  • Resume customized to the open position (36%)

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