The following is an interview with Mark Lyden, a college recruiter for a Fortune 500 company and author of “College Students: DO THIS! GET HIRED!”
Heather Huhman: In “College Students: DO THIS! GET HIRED!” you reveal that a candidate's attitude is the most important attribute a college recruiter looks for. Why, and how is this attribute possibly costing new graduates positions in this economy?
Mark Lyden: When I am on college campuses and I ask the question, “What do you think the number one fear of a hiring manger is?” Most often people answer with something like, “Hiring someone who doesn’t have the skills to do the job.” Although logical, that is not their number one fear. Yes, that is a concern, but at least they will have a chance to send that employee for more training, help, etc.
Without question, a hiring manager’s number one fear is hiring someone with a bad attitude. Attitude is the most important attribute because hiring managers know that having a college hire with a bad attitude will cause them nothing but headaches. They know it will play havoc with the team’s chemistry. It will cause friction between team members, which will lower morale, productivity and performance. And guess who gets blamed for the teams dip in performance? The hiring manger. To put it another way, it creates drama in the group. Hiring managers hate drama because instead of concentrating on how they can better perform their tasks and responsibilities, they are having to deal with the drama of people not getting along.
How this is costing new graduates from getting hired in this economy is simple once you know the number one fear of hiring mangers. Those who recruit candidates will look for signs of a candidate being difficult or not being able to get along with others easily. In this economy, if they are given even the smallest sign that may indicate the candidate might have a bad attitude, they will select another candidate.
HH: What is one secret you reveal about how college recruiters think and act that can't be found anywhere else?
MK: About 50 percent of those recruiters you meet on campus at the career fair or even across the table at an on campus interview are inexperienced and don’t recruit college students on a regular basis. There is an excellent chance college students will come across one of these inexperienced recruiters—a coin flip.
These inexperienced recruiters ask questions but often don’t know how to probe or ask follow-up questions to get enough information to really evaluate a candidate accurately. Therefore, they often judge a candidate on their initial answer only. The problem with this is, after I have evaluated thousands of candidates from colleges and universities from coast-to-coast, college candidate answers are rarely well organized and complete. I would say 90 percent of the time they are not! My job as a professional college recruiter is to get that information if they don’t give it to me. So what ends up happening—an alarming 50 percent of the time—is great candidates get counted out…due to the lack of skill of the person who is screening or evaluating them.
But there is a simple solution: Prepare college candidates for the inexperienced or even poor college recruiters. If they can do well with them, the good 50 percent will have no problem seeing their “greatness.” That is what my book does in every chapter; so no matter who is screening or evaluating the students, they always put their best foot forward.
HH: You state that students/grads should include the number of hours they worked per week if it was above 20 on their résumés. Why, and what is the best way to work in this information?
MK: Why students should include the number of hours they work per week, especially if it is 20 or more, is really smart and clever. By putting the actual hours on your résumé, you show the person evaluating you that you are much more than just another candidate. You are showing them you are a good time manager. You are showing them that you can multi-task and prioritize your time effectively. You are telling them you are motivated and willing to put in the effort to succeed. You are telling them you can handle a lot of work. That is very effective.
Plus if someone can work 20+ hours a week, it makes their GPA look that much better. For example, let’s say you have a 2.9/4.0. A lot of companies have this 3.0 cutoff. However, a 2.8 or 2.9 while working 25 hours a week is pretty impressive…or at least impressive enough for someone to not count you out. Or, you might have a 3.5 GPA. That is great in itself but look what it says if you tell them you are working 30 hours per week. Now that is simply a different level of accomplishment and even more impressive than just the 3.5.
Now the key is to place this information on your résumé in the right format and in the right place so it gets the most attention and gives you the best effect. First, the location of this information is not under “Experience” on your résumé. It should be put under “Education” and close to your GPA. After all, this is where it quickly shows all those things I just talked about. Plus, you should word it like this: “Worked 25 hours per week while attending school full-time.” This is a great tip and one that really works.
HH: In “College Students: DO THIS! GET HIRED!” you say the single biggest mistake students can make is not including their career centers as part of their overall strategy. Why, and in what ways do you believe career centers help students the most?
MK: If you think about it, those people at the career center are exposed to what works with some employers and what doesn’t. This is great information for a candidate to have and can give you a significant advantage.
Plus, the career center professionals are great to bounce things off of if you are not sure. For example, there are many candidates out there who don’t need to be told how to dress for an interview. To them it is common sense. But for others, it might not be or they may need a little guidance. The career center can give you a place to make sure you are going in the right direction.
Share your entry-level job success story (recent graduates) or expertise (hiring managers/other career experts) for inclusion in my upcoming book: http://bit.ly/12U2kD
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