Hiring frustration

Ok, so a little less than two months into my new job, I had to hire my first new employee. One of the folks in my department was heading to greener pastures, and we needed to fill the position.

Having just been through the job search process myself, I knew the things I wanted to try and do right... communicate in a timely manner, get through the process quickly and just generally be considerate.

By the same token, we had some definite criteria, albeit farely basic for this position. Most notably (and a direct quote from the classified ad) that "experience with Photoshop is a must." If you read that in the ad, and felt you were qualified to apply, wouldn't you at least mention the word 'Photoshop' somewhere in the cover letter and/or resume!?!? Yea, me too.

So, a couple basic words of wisdom gleaned from this experience...
• apply only to jobs you are qualified for.
• if it's not painfully obvious how you might be qualified, tell me in the letter.
• spellcheck is your friend. use it! have someone proof your stuff. that's the first cutdown for many positions... eliminate the resumes with any sort of typo.

Good night, and good luck.