Carrie-d Away

An inside perspective is what our fifth post in the How Do You Hire series gives—a perspective of which I find to be relatable and incredibly important to me personally. A former co-worker of Maple Creative, LLC, Emily Bennington now works to help new grads understand the realities and expectations of the modern-day workforce.

Emily Bennington is coauthor of the business book every new grad should own, Effective Immediately: How to Fit In, Stand Out, and Move Up at Your First Real Job. She is a frequent speaker on the topic of career success and provides organizational savvy training to new grads and their employers. Emily has been featured on Fox Business, CNN, and ABC, as well as quoted in publications including the Wall Street Journal, New York Post, and Washington Post Express. She is a contributing writer for Monster.com and a featured blogger for The Huffington Post, Forbes Woman, and US News and World Report. Emily’s second book, a career guide for young women, will be published in the fall of 2012 by AMACOM. She can be reached online at www.emilybennington.com, on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/EmilyBennington, or on Twitter @EmilyBennington.

Emily Bennington has his to say about her passion for creating office rock stars: “I became interested in careers because I’ve seen first-hand how being unhappy at work can bleed into all areas of life. It zaps your spark and affects relationships with friends and, most importantly, your own family.”

Let’s get to know you a bit better. What is your name, your position and your company affiliation? What is your favorite part of your current position?

Emily Bennington, career author and speaker. Best part of my job is that I get to do what I love and help others at the same time. I believe that intersect is the foundation of all extraordinary careers.

What is the number one mistake you see on job applicant’s resume? What is your number one tip for a successful resume?

The number one mistake I saw was common spelling and grammatical errors. It’s such a cliche now I hate to even say this, but when you send in a resume it’s important to recognize that you’re competing against a lot of other people for that coveted first impression – albeit on paper. Your resume has to be perfect or  you’re pretty sure to miss out on the opportunity. My number one tip for a successful resume is killer formatting. There were times when I would literally be handed a stack of resumes that was an inch think (or more) and the ones with the best formatting always made me stop.

What is the most unbelievable thing you have ever seen on a potential applicant’s social media page that caused them to be passed over for the job?

I was speaking at a college once and the director of admissions told me a student who had been offered an athletic scholarship came to visit for a required summer orientation. While on campus, she threw a party in her dorm room and posted photos of herself drinking. She was underage so when the university saw the pictures, she lost the scholarship. I would not want to be in the room when she had to break the news to her folks about that one.

It has been said by marketing professionals that the social media platform, Linkedin is a far superior source of recruiting talent than even some job search sites like Monster.com. What are your thoughts on this statement? What are your candid thoughts on Linkedin as a resource for job seekers?

I write a lot for Monster so I should say that up front – lol. I think they’re both excellent sites, but LinkedIn has the benefit of being for general networking whereas Monster is pretty exclusive to seekers. As a result, LinkedIn has attracted a deeper pool of profiles which is obviously attractive to employers. LinkedIn also gives a lot of control to the seeker to build their network, research companies, and contact potential employers directly which can significantly help in the job search. Just to have all bases covered, though, I recommend employers and seekers have a presence on both sites.

What are companies looking for in regard to experience? In regard to education?

Oh gosh – that’s unique to each company and the position their trying to fill.

What are your candid thoughts on the phrase, “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know?”

I think it’s more important who knows you.

If you could give one piece of advice for current and potential job seekers, what would it be?

I was speaking to Tory Johnson (workforce expert for Good Morning America) recently and she was telling me about the seekers she runs into at job fairs who have tough stories of unemployment as a result of the recession. We all know this economy has hit families hard but the problem is that tough stories elicit a response of, “Gee, that’s terrible” and – if you’re looking for a job – you need a response of “Gee, you should really meet so and so.” The best advice I’d give job seekers is know what you want and be confident in it.