Could your phone be blocking your job search?
Here’s the scenario:
You reached out about a job opportunity a few weeks ago, and OHMYGODOHMYGOD they just emailed you to set up a call.
You are super excited and you email right back on your phone.
Awesome, right?
Well, it depends.
The good news is, you replied quickly. (Well done, you!) The bad news is how your phone may be set up for handling emails.
Here are three things that could be blocking recruiters from calling you back about your job search without you realizing it:
Problem 1: Is there a mismatch between names on your email accounts that’s preventing recruiters from finding your email?
Here’s what I mean. Let’s say – way back when – you set up your email address on your home computer using your name, John Doe, at [email protected]. (or Comcast.net or [email protected], but please tell me it’s not @aol.com.)
So, when someone gets an email from your home computer (or work computer), it looks like this:
“John Doe” [[email protected]] – and the “John Doe” is what’s called your account nickname.
But, that was probably a long time ago. And you probably have multiple email accounts: work, home, and that random one you use for spam.
So, when you set up your phone, you may have quickly entered that same email address and used a different account nickname like this: JD Home.
So, when someone gets an email from your phone, it looks like this:
“JD Home” [[email protected]]
Why does that matter?
I can tell you, as a recruiter who used to deal with hundreds of emails a day, it got very confusing if a candidate was using two different email addresses and/or nicknames.
If I’m looking for an email from John Doe, then an email from JD Home is not going to catch my attention. I am SURE I inadvertently missed emails from people who used a different nickname, even if I really wanted to hear from them.
The recruiter may think you’re not interested, or may search for your full name and think you haven’t replied yet. Either way, he/she is going to be moving on to call another candidate who’s easily found.
Tip: Make sure you have the same (professional) name that comes across when you email someone, no matter which device you use.
Problem 2: Is your phone’s email signature unprofessional?
“Sent from my phone… please excuze any typoz or mistakes due to brevity.”
Ummmm… as a recruiter, I’m thinking, “Really? She has a ton of typos, and she can’t take a few seconds to re-read before sending? Do I really want this person working for our team?”
Sure, it’s funny. And, sure, autocorrect is annoying. But, please, don’t make recruiters think that your attention span is a problem. They’ve got other, more professional emails in their inbox, and they’ll make a call to those people first.
Tip: Edit your phone’s email signature to say “-Sent from my mobile device,” type carefully, and always re-read before hitting “send.”
Problem 3: This is an ACTUAL phone-blocking problem: Do you have “anonymous call blocking” set up on your phone?
There are many reasons recruiters may be calling from an anonymous number… so, if you’re in a job search, make sure your cell plan or home phone (if you have or use one) doesn’t include anonymous call blocking.
So, add those three items to your list, along with making sure you’ve set up your voice mail with a normal greeting, that your voice mail inbox is not full, and that you ACTUALLY LISTEN to your voicemails and return them. (That last one is much harder for some people than you might think!)
What other words of advice do you have for job seekers using their phones for the job search?