Who knew sorting resumes could be so fun?

First. Props to BBDO and it's success at Cannes. Even though it's NY it's still very close to my heart.

So today I was assigned with the task of taking all the e-mails that CPB recieves from hopefulls trying to get a job and organizing them. Yuck. Well at least that's what I thought at first.

As I started to go through the sea of 600+ resumes (either this hasn't been done in a while or we just get alot of resumes) I started to realize that I had just been given a great opportunity. I had just switched seats from being the applicant to the "employer." I was now going through resumes, reading them and would foward them to the correct HR person if they were sufficient. If a creative was sending in a portfolio, if I thought it was worth looking at, I forwarded it to the correct person instead of plopping it in the "Entry Level" folder (aka: the abyss). I suddenly felt very powerful.

I started to see what it's like to be a person in HR at a hot agency recieving tons of resumes for all of our locations and all of our departments. I was able to compare my resume with those who have also recently graduated and read through their e-mails and cover letters. While there were a few that I thought were really great, I can't lie... I'm feelin' pretty good about mine. Along the way I learned a few things that I'd now like to share with you about applying for jobs. Alot of this you've probably heard but this is honestly what you need to pay attention to... as far as I'm concerned:

#1. Put the job you are applying for in the subject line. That's all they really need to know. What are you applying for so that they (I) know who to send it to or what the heck you want. If you're a creative, maybe this can be a little different but if you don't put it in the subject line somewhere, put it very close to the top of your e-mail. I hate searching through trying to figure out what you're applying for. I should just delete it cause it's so damn annoying... but I don't.

#2. Don't write some long essay in your e-mail. Maybe one or two things that make you stand out -- not that you were in campaigns (cause everyone and anyone who was an advertising major took campaigns), not stuff about your classes or a long descriptions about your view on advertising (maybe save that for the cover letter but still keep it short). Just short important sentances that make you stand out with your name and the position you are appling for. I'm looking for like 5 short sentences max. (Name, position, why you stand out, and a closing.) It makes it so much easier.

#3. Know what you want! Don't send your resume and explain all of your experience without telling me what job or department you would be best qualified for. It is not my job to be a mind reader. I don't have time to read through your resume to see what you've done and decide for you. By resume 102, I'm kinda tired of reading resumes and might send yours to the wrong person or just straight up delete it. So know the position you're applying for or at least give me a department.

#4. If you're a creative, you have to have a portfolio. If your portfolio is online, you're money. When it comes to creative applicants, all I look for is if you have a portfolio link that I can forward on. So get it online. Now.

#5. Please don't bore me with standard resume formats and DON'T leave the formatting grid on there. Come on people. I pull up resumes with formatting bars and grids and it makes it look like crap. After looking at a bagillion resumes with centered headers in Arial font 16 and left aligned bulleted descriptions... I get really bored. I actually get excited when I see something different! Seeing an awesome resume was like the highlight of my day. It made me want to read it even if I already knew who to send it to (becasue they were nice and put the job in the subject line). Even a little bit of color helps or just simply making your header different works. It will probably make the person who I forward these things to want to read it to. We apprecaite the excitement.


#6. If you can, avoid sending your resumes to a generic jobs e-mail address (i.e. jobs@agency.com or internships@agency.com I honestly feel bad for all these people who's resumes just sat in this folder for who knows how long waiting for me to forward it to the right person. Skip this step by just sending it to them directly. Call the agency and just ask the receptionist if she knows who is in charge of hiring for the department you want to work in. Also ask for the correct spelling of the first and last name. (I've spelled a woman's name wrong before so just check to be sure... even with easy names like Denise that are usually spelled "Denise" not "Denisse"... damn it I'm stupid.) If they ask if you want to speak to the person you don't have to and don't give your name. They will never know it was you who called when you walk in on your first day at your new job (casue you sent it directly to the right person AND got their name right!!!!)

So this is what I've learned. I feel that I'm in a pretty fortunate situation even though this isn't what I want to make a career out of. I'm learning alot from looking at resumes, checking out agencies who produce award winning work when seeking out candidates for our upper level positions, and sitting in on all the hiring/staffing meetings. I know exaclty what we're hiring for, when, where and how it's done. What could better prerpare me for job searching than working for the other side? This job keeps getting better.