I was working with a client today to customize her CV for two different positions.
One job was with a large government bureaucracy. The terms of reference were vague and mysterious and required following links, opening attachments, and working hard to track down basic information about the opportunity.
Even after my client and I had spent several minutes trying to discern the nature of the project, we were unable to determine exactly what the funder was seeking, and decided to study the documents offline and address them together at our next meeting.
The other position description was a breeze to respond to: it clearly outlined the role, the expectations, the desired traits of an attractive candidate, and all of the other information necessary to write a winning resume and cover letter in response to the job.
When I worked at Duke University, I partnered regularly with a recruiter from Mercy Corps to help her find talent within our student population.
The recruiter gave me a valuable tip: “Tell your students to apply for the opportunities that come out in February,” she told me. “Those are the projects that are organized, that have done a needs assessment and gotten buy-in for an intern, and they’re the ones who would have substantive work and a well-organized team,” she said.
“The projects to avoid are the ones that come through in May,” she told me. “Those folks are in panic mode, and are reaching out because they are drowning under their work load or because they do things at the last minute.”
This wisdom translates to my client’s situation today.
“Beware,” I warned her, as we both grew frustrated looking for the details of the consultancy for which she wanted to apply.
“If the employer’s documents are obtuse and hard to follow, and if the application process involves heavy paperwork and many hoops and hurdles, then you may likely experience these sorts of procedural roadblocks in your work within this organization,” I said.
Likewise, if the position is clearly written and the organization knows exactly what they want and what defines success for your role, it’s likely that the hiring unit is well-run.
A rule of thumb is that if you enjoy applying for the position, you’ll more likely enjoy (and be good at) the job as well.
