What Type of Job Seeker Are You?
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IT Jobs and Recruitment Insights
We’ve all been there. Going out on the job market, trying your best to come across as amazing and giving the hiring manager no other choice but to offer you a role and absolutely kill it in their company.
That being said, have you ever thought about how you may come across to hiring managers? What impression might you be giving that meant you were rejected from that one role you liked or prompted the hiring manager to fast track a recruitment process and beg you to be on their team with an offer? Well, here are a few examples of the types of candidates hiring managers deal with regularly, so let’s see if you identify as one of them!
I know personally, that there may be similar qualities to these people that I have at a less significant level, but I won’t incriminate myself, so let’s just get into it!
Chancer Charlie
Chancer Charlie can appear in many forms. He tells little lies to make himself look better, similar to Lying Liam (whom we will encounter a little later in this blog) but also disingenuous in their approach to the job search. They may only be in interview processes to check out what the market’s like and learn more about their worth or see how much they can earn from a company if they joined them.
It’s always so important for you to know your worth, but Chancer Charlie wastes a lot of people’s time and energy, and it creates a bad reputation for Charlie moving forward if hiring managers begin to question their seriousness of being in these processes. This will then begin to impact candidates who are genuine about their job search.
My advice: If you want to know your worth, there’s no need to waste time in interviews and push companies like Chancer Charlie. We have IT jobs experts, along with many others that have insights into the market that can help you with this. We even have a salary guide, but it is best not to waste people’s time if you have no intention of taking up a new role.
Desperate Dan
We’ve all been there, we’ve really wanted a new job, a new opportunity, a new beginning, but you need to remain level-headed. Dan gets super nervous in interviews as he’s desperate for a job. He’s contacting companies every hour to see if there’s an update on his application. If he doesn’t get this job, it’s the end of his world (spoiler, it’s not).
Dan can be applying to every role under the sun that needs his skill set, or he may be obsessed with one singular company. Both aren’t the best options, as you should be clear about where you want to work and the companies you apply for should match your goals. However, putting your eggs all in one basket is not a good idea either, trust me! You want to keep your options open, unlike Dan who is stuck in the mud if he gets that one rejection in a company that may not be what he expects it to be.
My advice: Don’t be Dan. You need to be level-headed with your job hunt. There’s no need to commit your loyalty to one company before they’re even loyal to you, it’s basically like the dating world! As well as this, similar to the dating world, applying for every role under the sun isn’t the best either, you need to consider the companies and the job descriptions you read to find the best matches, like you would on Tinder!
Hopper Hailie
I deal with contractors, so they generally don’t come into this discussion here, since part of being a contractor is going from one project/company to another. However, this isn’t expected of someone in a permanent position.
I’m talking about Hailie, a permanent employee, she joins one company and Karen says ONE thing she disagrees with and she’s out. The next company doesn’t have a coffee machine and didn’t predict her upcoming coffee addiction, she’s out. Another company had Dave ask her if she could offer an opinion about his code, and he didn’t offer her all of the valuable assets he’s ever gained in return! How rude of Dave, bothering Hailie like that. I think you get the point. These are silly reasons to leave a company, but as Hailie hops jobs, which will lead to companies questioning her level of commitment to their company.
Some companies may not be a fit, and that’s okay. But, hopping from one company to the next and spending no longer than 6 months in an organisation for the last 4 years creates a bad impression. It could really damage her reputation going forward and find it much more difficult to find a job!
My advice: Ask the questions you want the answers to before joining the company. You need to consider your deal breakers for joining a company and not just wing it until you find out in the first two months of working there that you shouldn’t have taken the offer. Consider your options carefully and choose the best fit for you, and if you enjoy hopping from one company to the next and experiencing the different cultures, maybe try contracting!
Newbie Nathan
New to the big bad world, Nathan is ready for the next chapter of his life. He’s full of energy and enthusiasm and is confident he can really make a difference. Then he applies for CEO of a Multinational Company… The problem Nathan has is that while he may have the skills and wants to take up a leadership role, we all need to start somewhere.
I am a karate practitioner with national medals, but that doesn’t mean I got these medals when I was a white belt, even if I did have the ability and potential! Nathan needs to understand experience is important for any leadership role and he has to climb a ladder to reach his destination, like everyone else.
Nathan is ambitious, and he will be a valuable asset to any company, but Nathan needs to reflect on where he currently stands with the roles he applies for considering work experience plays a huge part in a candidate gaining a role.
My advice: Keep the enthusiasm, keep the energy, keep that drive, and be willing to climb that ladder and learn! You don’t know everything yet, but with some time and experience, you still won’t know everything, but you’ll know a lot more. Then you, like Nathan, could be the leader of a massive company in the future and have fond memories of being a newbie.
Mystique Marie
It’s an X-Men reference I hope you realised, but similar to Mystique, you are going to have shape-shifters, and Marie is one of them. She has 47 different CVs for different types of roles, yet she has only worked in marketing in a company like Dunder-Mifflin (I hope you get that reference). They don’t have a clear career path, which is perfectly fine, but her expectation that a company will define this for her is not going to help either. She can’t miraculously change from being a marketing executive to a software engineer by joining a company
Marie doesn’t know where she wants to go in life, so she’s gone with many different forms like Mystique. Even Mystique became comfortable with what she can do and how she wants to use her power, and Marie will too, but a company won’t be able to help with this, as she will need to reflect on herself! Deep thoughts right there.
My advice: You should study the different career paths you can take, where the progression leads, and utilise further education to your advantage. Don’t be afraid to continue to learn and grow. You will find what suits you and this will take a bit of time and patience, but don’t expect anyone or any company to figure this out for you. You got this. Find your niche, your expertise, and you’ll kill it!
Modest Melissa
We can all appreciate someone’s modesty, especially Melissa’s modesty. She is a great person with great credentials who will go far in the world, yet she decides that the one time she has to sell herself is the one time she’s most modest!
I want to shake Melissa and tell her to show off, and talk about her major achievements, but no, she says she doesn’t want to talk about herself to make her seem “self-obsessed”.
The whole premise of the interview is literally to talk about yourself! Tell them everything. That’s going to be the difference between Melissa getting the job or some average Joe who just made his smaller achievements comparable to Melissa seem much greater than Melissa and her achievements.
I get where Melissa is coming from, but she needs to cover as much as she can to portray her suitability for the role and show she is a major asset, for the sake of herself and her progression!
My Advice: The interview is for you to talk about your achievements and skills and it’s a time where you can get away with talking about how great you are and not be considered selfish or self-obsessed. Take the opportunity and run with it, this is your time to shine and be proud of your achievements, but make sure you have a positive tone that doesn’t come across as a Cocky Claire either who I’ll be talking about later.
Lying Liam
Liam isn’t cool. Not much to say about him. He lies on his CV, lies on his LinkedIn, lies in an interview, and lies to seem more suitable for the role. With the help of a background check, we can see and laugh at how elaborate the lies are.
If Liam wants a job, he just needs to stop lying. Everyone appreciates honesty, and nobody likes a liar.
My Advice: Don’t lie, earn what you desire.
Career Gaps Gary
Similar to Liam, there isn’t much to say about Gary. He can be a great guy or a lazy worker. He can be family-orientated, or he can be off the rails for months at a time. You see, I honestly can’t tell you what he’s like because he has SO MANY GAPS in his CV!
Gary needs to explain how his work experience has been going for him and his progression. That includes the gaps where he may have been studying to upskill or going on a massive session in Las Vegas. That’s the importance of filling in these gaps because a lot of assumptions can be made and there’s a lot of mystery to uncover.
My Advice: I’m not Sherlock Holmes, so it would be better to fill in the gaps to give a better understanding of your character and to highlight that you are still a great candidate rather than leaving it up to the wild imagination of a hiring manager who may presume the worst of these career gaps. Make sure that your CV is looking as good as it can be.
Cocky Claire
I know I criticised Melissa for being too modest and having to give herself more credit, but there’s a fine line between confidence and cockiness. Claire found the line and used it as a base for her long jump attempt. She takes any achievement and makes it seem like she invented the iPhone. She takes all the credit for any group project and she believes she’s better and knows more than the hiring manager. Everyone is beneath Claire according to her.
It’s not a good look for Claire, and she’s quite problematic in a team, which is very quickly caught onto by any hiring manager who interviews her and hears that her answer to what her weaknesses are is “I’m just so amazing I probably make everyone else jealous”. Claire’s skills aren’t questioned, it’s her character that lets her down.
My Advice: Be confident in yourself, but taking away credit from everyone else is not a good look in a team environment. Your selfishness will be frustrating to others, to say the least. Appreciate your achievements appropriately, as well as everyone else’s.
Amazing Amy
Achieve goals vector created by jcomp - www.freepik.com
I definitely missed the opportunity to use my own name in the alliteration here, but I’ll be humble… I don’t need to point out the obvious obviously. I guess I’m a Cocky Claire after glancing over that sentence again.
The point of mentioning Amy is simple: They are a superstar! They meet every skill required, they have a great personality for the role, and they are everything a hiring manager has dreamed of as they go to sleep stressing over work and fearing the nightmares of the others.
My advice: There’s not much advice I can offer Amy, other than to know your worth, some companies may be even willing to go over budget to get Amy on board. However, just like any negotiation, there are two sides to consider so it’s important for Amy to keep this in mind so she does not push her luck too far and lose out on a great opportunity.
If it’s not clear from these people, your character defines you in securing opportunities. Most of these people mentioned are great candidates, but you need to approach seeking jobs in an appropriate manner and be the best you can be, and come across the best you can. I hope you learned something from these people, but speaking of jobseekers, definitely check out our IT jobs in Dublin if you’re looking, or contact us. Happy hunting!
