- Doing it in incognito. Saved passwords on your personal computer, VS doing it incognito. Logging into everything again and avoiding cookies? A time saver? Not one bit.
- Doing it on your phone. There is no benefit to this. They won’t read it on a phone. So see it how they will – on a big screen.
- Applying in public wifi in a bar at 1am. Aside from the fact they are gonna see you applied at that time, public wifi can never fully be trusted. Especially on your phone. Especially at a bar, with someone looking over your shoulder – with a cocktail in one hand and your phone in the other.
- Googling “jobs in L.A” and expecting your dream job to come up. It’s fun – I get it. How great would it be if “apply here to be Justin Bieber’s new personal assistant!” And then spend the next 2 hours, how to alter your CV to show them how great you’d be at this.
- Applying for 50 jobs within 1 hour, to the same field of work. Where to begin?! The chances of crossing paths and applying with the same employer, 1, 2 , 3 times? Rushing and racing to see if you can hit a nice big round number…
- Applying to 3 jobs within 1 hour to the same field of work. Kind of the opposite of number 5. If you are organized enough, then it shouldn’t take this long to do so few. Read a few other articles to be more effective with your online job applications and time management.
- Putting a picture on your CV. Amateur error. You do not want the reason you are hired, to be because how you look, nor do you want to be hired because of how you do NOT look.
- Attaching your CV as a screenshot. They cannot see it. They just cannot see it. Why would you do this to yourself?
- Emailing it to a personal friend who works there, relying on them to pass it on to HR. No matter how much you adore each other. This is unprofessional, unreliable and the miscommunication of it could go horribly wrong. I get it. Having your foot in the door, by knowing someone who works there has its perks. But applying through your friend, is unreliable, especially to get feedback.
- Emailing it from an email address you made when you were 9 such as “girlpowerspicey@aol.com or “ilovensync@yahoo.com – Self explanatory.
- Having a pic of a bear as your email image, that shows up when you apply. Your email address has an image. It’s better to be a blank circle, than it is to have a selfie from a night out in 2006.
- Putting emojis in the cover letter. What do you gain from this?
- Sending more attachments, aside from the CV itself. No need to send videos showcasing your knowledge or portfolio, unless requested otherwise.
- Saving your CV as something such as “millennial genie CV 2017 number 23 to HR”. It’s like dating. They don’t need to know about the others.
- Saving your CV with anything more than 30 characters. Long names like above or below. Only save it with the essential information they need.
- Using acronyms or abbreviations when unnecessary. Or better yet, building a whole sentence of them – like this: “OMG Ty 4 dis OOO, I
U 2 mch ok byeee”
- Attaching all your personal social media, in the signature. They can find it if they want to see it. They have Facebook too you know. If they want to stalk their future employees, they will do it themselves. They don’t need it spoon fed. Nor do you want to flaunt it to them.
- Putting links in the cover letter to random websites. The cover letter is a summary, a description, an outline of what you are looking for, and your chance to explain your needs in more depth. If the job requires content or other, longer sources, then they should be on a website, and that link , can be on the CV itself.
- Applying through a job app website, then adding a personal touch, such as “I’m so glad I found your contact email – Please Pick Me!” They know how the job applications come in. They know you didn’t have it dropped off by a pigeon.
- Not putting a cover letter. Biggest Mistake Ever. Your chance to shine is here. Make the most of it!
Millennial Genie 