I usually write pieces that are valuable for the talent in our network, but for this article, I decided to write one that pertains more to my own interests. This topic has come up repeatedly in the thousands of emails, resumes, cover letters, and phone messages that I have received throughout the last few years. This is the topic of “contact details.”
I usually write pieces that are valuable for the talent in our network, but for
this article, I decided to write one that pertains more to my own
interests. This topic has come up
repeatedly in the thousands of emails, resumes, cover letters, and phone
messages that I have received throughout the last few years. This is the topic of “contact details.”
If you are an active job seeker, your contact details, that is, your email and phone
number, should be visible in every piece of communication that you send to
people. The email you use should be your
personal email address and should be “professionally focused” – [email protected]
works well. I would try to stay away
from something like [email protected],
although I have seen ones like this.
Your phone number should be a number at which one can easily reach you,
like your cell phone, and should be a number that you check often. Most importantly, your phone should have a
professionally sounding voicemail, not something that says, “Hey, you have
reached B (for Brian), you know what to do… “.
This type of message does not come across well to an HR professional who
is considering you for a “professional” role at their company.
In terms of contact details, every email you send should have your phone number
and email address as part of your email signature. There is nothing more frustrating than not
being able to find a person’s number to call them, when you have an email from
someone who looks like a great fit for a role. Most people probably wonder why
they should include their email as part of their signature. Well, sometimes
when people forward your email to another person, your email address does not
always translate. Sometimes only your
name comes through. This makes it
difficult if the person who was forwarded your information wants to contact
you. If you did have all of your contact details in your signature line, then
they would have everything they need to connect with you.
Even though people have Blackberry’s and iPhones, and even though they may have your
resume, it is so much easier to pull up an email with a person’s number in the
message in order to call them, than it is to search for a resume document, open
it, hope it will be visible, and then find a number from there. As a job seeker, you want to make it really
simple and hassle free for people to contact you when they are considering you
for employment. The harder you make it,
the more likely they are to reach out to someone else instead.
When it comes to resumes, your personal contact details should always be visible on
the first page. At a minimum, you should
list your city, state, phone and email.
At a maximum, you could also include your entire home address and
LinkedIn profile link. Amazingly, I have
seen resumes with no email or phone number and a few even with no city or
state. Without a location, it’s very
challenging to tell where someone lives.
Without an email or phone number, how are you supposed to be contacted
to talk about a role? This is a huge missed opportunity for the job
seeker.
In a cover letter, include your phone number and email address underneath your
signature. I have seen countless well
written cover letters with no contact details – again, how can you be contacted
about a position, if you don’t list your contact information?
If you leave a voicemail, make sure to include a phone number so that you can
receive a call back. Also, speak your
name slowly and steadily so the listener has no problem identifying who is
calling.
Hopefully these insights are helpful. If anyone
has other advice or suggestions, please let me know.
