{"version":"1.0","provider_url":"https:\/\/warpwire.duke.edu","provider_name":"Warpwire","is_public":true,"duration":0,"has_caption":false,"views":56,"upload_date":"2018-09-18T16:04:16+00:00","description":"Don't get swiped left when applying to jobs or internships!\r\nTranscript:\r\nWhat can online dating teach us about applying to jobs? Learn how to get more right-swipes from employers on this episode of Zoom Out\u2013The Career Center Podcast.\r\n\r\nHi, my name is Nathan Wilson, Assistant Director of the Duke University Career Center. Not too long ago I was giving a presentation on the job search and I made a spur the moment connection between online dating and the actual job application process. \r\nAt the time, I felt kind of silly, I was, however, amused by the number of blushing faces in the crowd. The more I thought about it them more it made perfect sense. From an evaluator's perspective they are actually almost the same thing. So if you are on one of these dating apps like Tinder or Bumble or something like that. The premise is basically the same. You're given a set of photos and a bio and then you swipe right for yes and left for no. You\u2019ve also got a seemingly endless stream of potential partners meaning that you're not really going to get hung up on one profile or another. There are 1 million people right behind them so why get hyper focused on any one person. Well, it\u2019s kind of the same for a hiring manager. Any job that's worth applying to will have a pretty significant number of applications\u2026 so if you provide materials that are sloppy or confusing, they aren\u2019t going to take the time to figure it out. Chances are, they will move on to the dozens if not hundreds of other applicants right behind you applying for the same job. \r\nThink about it like this okay, in online dating, you\u2019ve got your photos and your bio In the job search you got your resume and cover letter. Those are the parallels. If you think about it like that\u2026 Let\u2019s take a look at some of the online dating mistakes that I found via Google search the lineup almost perfectly. \r\nMistake number one your profile is too generic. Well sure, chances as there will be way more qualified applicants for position than there are openings. So how do you stand out? Let's say that there are 20 qualified applicants and they are only going to give three interviews and one offer. You will need something that'll set you apart from the rest. That could be an interesting cover letter. That could be the \u201cInterests\u201d section at the bottom of your resume. I'm a huge proponent of that. I think it makes sense cause they're not just evaluating future employees. They are also evaluating people who may and being friends. People that they have to spend significant amounts of time with on a daily basis. They want to like you. It's really easy to get lost in the shuffle if you don't stand out and your materials just like everybody else's. \r\nNumber two, you haven't put your best face forward. This kind of touches on the importance of formatting in your cover letter but particularly in your resume. If it doesn't pass the \u201ceye test\u201d chances are, they won\u2019t even take the time to read it. Right? If you can't make something that's visually pleasing for your resume and the formatting is inconsistent or sloppy, you\u2019ve got a pretty tough selling convincing me that you\u2019re detail oriented. In this case, if you know they're not going to give you too much time before they make that snap judgment you got to make sure that it looks good in the same way that for online dating. You might be the most attractive person on the planet but, number one, everybody's standards are different and, number two, let's say you're as close to objectively gorgeous as you could possibly be but all of your photos are dimly lit or let's say you're blinking in them or you have unflattering photos. Well they're not going to assume that those are just unflattering photos. They're gonna assume that that's the best representation of what you look like in real life and swipe as such. \r\nNumber three, you are negative and this is an important thing to keep in mind okay especially on the cover letter. When you're expressing your interest in the position, the biggest mistake you can make is to say that you want to work for such and such company because another company didn't have it or that your previous internship didn't give you something . You always want to stay positive! What is it that you do like? What is it that you are looking for? If you focus on the negative, they\u2019ll assume that that's a core part of your identity and they may make the assumption that you're gonna be a toxic person on the team. \r\nNumber four, you focus only on what you want in a partner. Okay? Kind of along the same lines but a little different here. There is a big difference between \u201cI want to work for such and such company because you all have what I'm looking for\u201d versus \u201cI want to work for such and such company because I love the company culture and I feel like I would be a great fit.\u201d One is\u2026 this is the company I'm looking for and the other is\u2026I fit what the company is looking for. The latter is the one you want to go with because, in this case, it's not about you so much as it's about them and what you can bring to them. Here's another one. You post unclear photos of yourself. Think about your resume; if you are using vague descriptors to the point where they can't imagine even remotely what some of these experiences look like in real life then those experiences don't provide any value. For example, let's say you had a position working at a school and one of your descriptors was that you \u201cled afterschool programs for children.\u201d Great! I have no idea what that means. Is that one program per week for two students? Is that one per month for five students? Is that one program every day, five days a week, for 25 students? And how old are those students? You could tweak that descriptor to something along the lines of \u201cled two weekly afterschool programs for up to 20 children aged 9-12 .\u201d Okay, now you're giving them enough information to where they can start to visualize what this actually looks like and thus could imagine what kind of person was leading those programs. You don't have to quantify every descriptor on your resume, but it's hard for them to argue with numbers so give them something they can work with! \r\nA couple of other big takeaways here, they\u2019re not evaluating you. Whether it's your job application or actual online dating they are not evaluating you because they don't know you yet. They're only drawing conclusions based on the materials that you provide for them. So you want to put your best foot forward. Your photos equals your resume, your bio equals your cover letter. A lot of people will immediately swipe left if there's no bio. Along the same lines, if a cover letter is optional, do it! You should always do it. It shows that you're willing to go above and beyond and not just do the bare minimum and also shows to them that you actually want this position and it's not just another application that you're putting in. A lot of people look at the quantity over quality approach in applying for jobs with mixed results. \r\nAnother important thing to keep in mind when you're on Tinder or Bumble you don't go from swiped to a relationship in the same way that you don't go from applying to a job to hired. There are steps. When you're applying for a job you're only applying for the interview. It's a very important strategic move. You don't have to cram absolutely every qualification you have into your materials. You are just giving them enough for them to decide that you are worth bringing in for an interview. \r\nThat\u2019s it! In the same way that you don't have to prove you're going be the perfect partner. There is no perfect partner. There is no perfect employee, right? You're just trying to get the opportunity to state your case either through chat or on an actual date. So whether you're looking for a romantic partner or a job, we wish you happy hunting! \r\n\r\nIf you like what you heard, check out our website at studentaffairs.duke.edu\/career for more content and helpful resources. Also don\u2019t forget to follow the Duke Career Center on social media @DukeCareers. For appointments with a counselor or to apply to jobs or check out career events that are happening on campus and beyond, visit CareerConnections at careerconnections.duke.edu.\r\nThanks a lot for listening.\r\nCover image by Valter Bispo and Fahmionline from the Noun Project","author_name":"Sandhya Pakala","html":"\u003Ciframe width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/warpwire.duke.edu\/w\/LDoCAA\/\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media; camera; microphone; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen\u003E\u003C\/iframe\u003E","height":360,"width":640,"thumbnail_height":360,"thumbnail_width":640,"url":"https:\/\/warpwire.duke.edu\/w\/LDoCAA\/","type":"video","title":"Applying To Jobs is Like Online Dating","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/warpwire.duke.edu\/img\/140620F7-FDE9-47A5-88A2-1ECD0FA82B23\/7E31D233-755C-4040-82BE-CC265F34A261\/large\/"}