My team is hiring a bunch of open positions right now, so I am finally getting a sense for what it's like on the other side of the table.
Writing an Application that is Meant to be Read
Author :
Sandlin Seguin
My team is hiring a bunch of open positions right now, so I am finally getting a sense for what it’s like on the other side of the table.
We are fortunate to work with a great recruiting team, so we only look at candidates that are reasonably strong. While I don’t have any funny stories about off-the-wall applicants, I have some gained some perspective on what the applications look like for someone reading them. And because technical writing is an area that many people transition into, rather than train for specifically, I want to articulate some ideas I have about application materials for transitions.
For starters, I need the resume and cover letter to explain to me someone’s experience. I would rather see some clarity, or even vague description of responsibilities, instead of an impressive collection of internal abbreviations and buzzwords. This is a bit more common in resumes than cover letters, because we seem to think prose isn’t appropriate on resumes.
Particularly for people in transition, I would rather see a description that said, Scientist: Designed, ran and interpreted experiments related to the genetics of an orphan disease, instead of a list of super specific committees you sat on, meetings you attended or organized, or anything else that involves an acronym people outside of your current organization don’t know. Feel free to use language you are confident you have in common with the people who will read your resume, but remember they might include the HR team, and a manager who is not actively doing the work you describe.
Second, use those materials to explain not just your strengths, but why you are a good match. Neat, you are a rockstar who has turned projects into gold in the past. By the sounds of it, you could be making magic anywhere in the galaxy- why my team? Why this company? Why now?
People often use their cover letters to add color commentary on their resume, explain their motivations and evolution. Try to include in that narrative arc a bit about how that past experience and your current interests brings you to looking to make this change. Or explain how this new opportunity suits your long term goals. One reason people are often afraid to hire someone who is overqualified is they worry their new candidate will leave. Especially if you are taking your science smarts into a new direction, make it clear that you intend to build your career this new arena in the long term.
Part of this is just clarifying your motivations, and part of this helps those of us trying to gauge your materials that you know what you are applying for, and that you get it. My current team values our culture a lot, so we are really looking for folks who can fit in with us, who share our values, and understand what we do. You might not always have deep insight to team dynamics, but, for example, the current openings on my team are for technical writers to write training materials.
Lots of people can write (and list all manner of publications and documentations they have created). We are looking for people who want to write to help people learn. This is clear from the job description, but I am somewhat surprised that I don’t see all our applicants echoing that back. Sure, you are super talented and experienced, but do you know what we do here?
None of this is advice that you can’t find elsewhere, so I will just couch it in the experience that my coworkers are having right now. The recruiter sends over a handful of applications, and a couple of meetings scheduled as interviews.
Having 15 quiet minutes to prepare for an interview is generous, and it will have to include reading the applicant’s materials, re-reading the job opening, picking questions they want to ask of that person, and coordinating with other people on the interview loop. Those materials need to be an introduction to this person who they know nothing about, but that they have to imagine working side by side with. When you are re-reading your cover letter and resume, try to think about the people who will be reading it, and what they will want to know about you.
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