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The Power of Online Job Seekers

Published on . Updated on .

As a job seeker, I have the power of choice. I have the power to control what information I give them. I have the power to accept or reject the offer. Not just the hiring manager who has the power.

Why does a company need a lot of information from a job seeker?

I do not know.

First of all, if I apply to an online job posting with all of my personal information, am I going to get hired? NO.

A while ago, a company was giving me a form to fill out. It asked for my address. What? Why do you need my full address? Are you going to visit me?

A company does not need my full address to hire me. The most important thing is my skills and projects. Not where I live.

Also, a company does not need to ask for a phone number. That is too much. The hiring manager should be able to contact me through email or LinkedIn. Now, we live in a world where social media exists. We can use them.

The point is if I am not get hired, then what will the company do with that data?

Useless questions

I submit my resume so you as a hiring manager can read it. You can learn about me. Then, when you are interested in me, you send me an invitation for an interview to learn more about me.

Next, I receive an invitation for an interview. Great! Now, I can start also learning about your company. I do some research by visiting your website. Take a look at your social media.

Finally, it is time for the interview. We do a video call. Then, you ask me, "Tell me about yourself". Wait a minute. Did you read my resume or not? Did you do some research about me? Did you see my LinkedIn profile?

You should read my resume. You should also do some research about me. The point of putting my LinkedIn profile on the resume so that you can learn about me. Then, you ask something from it. For example, "I see one of your posts on LinkedIn, and you are doing a frontend challenge thing. Tell me about your workflow on doing that.". Now, I can talk naturally. I can be myself. I do not need to do research on "the best answer to 'tell me about yourself' question".

I do my homework and you should also do your homework. I learn about the company and at the same time, you should learn about me. This way, the interview will be focusing on learning more about each other.

Using me for free

After an interview, I usually get asked to do a task. The company wants to test me if I can do the work properly or not.

Wait. I give you my resume to prove to you that I can do the work. You are not satisfied. Then, you ask me questions to learn more about my personality and also to know whether you actually know your stuff or not. Again, you are not satisfied. Now, you ask me to do another test to prove that I can do the work. Okay!

A while ago, the work that I got was to create a presentation about how to improve the homepage of their website. What kind of test is that? Are you trying to use me for free? Then, after I submit the presentation, you can say to me, "Sorry, we do not need you".

I want to get a job. I will do that if you already accept me.

The purpose of the test is to test whether I will be fit for the company or not. That is the goal. Not trying to use this opportunity to gather ideas from people without having to pay them.

Solutions

Enough for that. Let me give my solution.

Necessary information

A company does not need personal information yet. You should ask for those kinds of information when I am sure will work in your company.

A resume should only contain the necessary information to show that "I can do what you ask". Then, do not give a required field to fill in my address.

More ways to communicate

You can contact me through LinkedIn or email. No need to ask for my phone number, at least until I get hired.

We do what we should do

Let both of us learn about each other. I learn about the company. You as the hiring manager also learn about me. This way, we can skip questions like:

My strength is in my resume.

Everyone has weaknesses. But, not everyone can talk about it to strangers. What if I asked you about your weaknesses? Will you be honest?

Do not try to get free work

If you want to test me, give me a test that will be similar to the workflow of your company. Do not give a hard test. Do not make me work for something that has nothing to do with the real work. Also, you should not try to use me for free.

You and I need each other

We need each other. You and I should be aware of that. You need to hire someone to do your work. I need someone to pay me for what I do. So, do not try to act as if you are more important than me.

No one is superior to the other. We are in an equal position.

Theory is not reality

Do not blindly believe in a theory. The theory of asking "What are your weaknesses?" is to know whether this person realizes that everyone has weaknesses. Also, to know whether this person actually does something about the weaknesses or not. That is the theory.

The reality is that does not show any of that. Now, as the interviewee, I know the purpose of that question. So I will try to answer it to satisfy that. That is it! It does not actually show that I am aware that everyone has weaknesses. It also does not show that I am actually doing something about my weaknesses.

You will only know my real attitude after you work with me. You start having more conversations with me. Only then, you can start knowing the real me.

Interview process is not perfect

Not all people have good communication skills. That is normal.

In the interview, the interviewee or the job seeker is usually nervous. So when in the interview process, that person can not show the "true" communication skill.

A person that desperately wants to get a job can lie. That person can be really good at the interview. But, that does not prove that the person can do the work.

Be better

The job seeker does not have to be the one that is to impress the hiring manager. The hiring manager should also try to impress the job seeker. This way, the job seeker will try their best to get hired. The hiring manager also gets more hard workers and happy people that want to work at your company.

Resources

TMI: Sharing your CV on LinkedIn

Improve The Developer Hiring Process - YouTube