Resume attached: please don’t bother
This post was written by Matt Douglas, Founder & CEO
Last week, I wrote about how I receive a lot of resumes. In my blog post, I implored potential employees to create a one-page resume. I’ve gotten a fair amount of feedback about this blog post. In general, most people agreed with me that a one-page resume is sufficient — especially for jobs at a startup.
Today, I’d like to talk about another phenomenon that I see all too often in my inbox: potential job candidates that send me their resume with an email that says “resume attached.” Our job postings always say something to the effect of “Please send a *one page* resume, quick impressions of the site, and brief introductory email to…” Even with this very clear set of instructions, each time we post a position I get a handful of emails where the applicant only writes “resume attached.” No introductory email, no impressions of the site, no nothing. Only “resume attached.”
Here’s what’s particularly puzzling about this phenomenon: I’ve actually opened a few of the resumes, and once in a while I see a decent candidate. Yet if the candidate didn’t bother spending the time to write an introductory email, I know they are not going to be the right kind of employee for Punchbowl. We want to hire people who pay close attention to details and care about first impressions.
I decided to write this blog post so that I could send it to anyone who sends me an email that only says “resume attached.” If you are one of these people, please reconsider your approach. You might be a great candidate for Punchbowl Software, but we’re never going to find out unless you put your first foot forward in a way that shows us that you care. Please don’t bother sending an email that only says “resume attached.” If you don’t care enough to spend the time, than neither do we.
By the way… we are currently hiring great Ruby on Rails developers. If you’re interested in applying for the position, here’s the Ruby on Rails job description. We look forward to reading your resume — and your introductory email.
