Stephanie Ward, Executive Director of the Spicy Brain Collective, has seen her fair share of recruitment horrors. Her companies provide a range of services for, with, and about neurodivergence, and she finds that a neurodivergent workforce are the best people to deliver this, although the team are about a 50/50 mix. However, she has found that despite her best efforts, there are some highly frustrating errors that applicants make time and again. Here, she tells all!
When it comes to recruitment, we don’t do bland. In my adverts, I ask for a CV, cover letter, and for them to include the name of their favourite dinosaur in this. My reason is simple: I require attention to detail regardless of the role. I also make what I am looking for very clear, and I have run my adverts past my HR administrator and existing team members to make sure I have been clear. As an autistic, I know I can lack clarity, after all!
When people apply for a job with me, they have about one minute to impress me. If you make any of these five mistakes, you are immediately on the NO pile. My last vacancy attracted over 250 applicants, and as the sole decision-maker for recruitment in my company, I need to be productive. It always shocks me when I get absolute chaos in my inbox.
Here are my top frustrations and gripes as an employer and recruiter:
1) Asking if the job is remote when it clearly says otherwise.
No, it is not. Ask BEFORE applying. Please don’t make me read your application only to realise you live 350 miles away.
2) Sending a generic cover letter OR sending one with another company’s information in it!
I ask for cover letters as part of the application process because this is the only chance I get to gauge your personality. Without this, you’re just another generic CV to me. I specifically ask you to include your favourite dinosaur to gauge how much attention you paid to my ad.
But the worst one is when I get sent a cover letter with generic paragraphs in, and then a random other company’s name!
“Dear Director, I am very excited to apply for the role at Primark.”
I’m not Primark. This does not belong in my inbox.
3) Slating your old employer
We have all had a bad boss. Heck, I have had bad bosses.
But if you come to an interview with me and talk badly about your previous employer, this tells me that you are unprofessional and, secondly, that you might do the same thing to me. I don’t need that kind of thing on my list of things to worry about.
4) ChatGPT invasion
If I have to hear about how you will ‘elevate’ my company or your ‘rich tapestry’ of experience one more time, I might lose my mind.
These words SCREAM ChatGPT, and it's clear that you don’t have enough experience with it to know that. Take the time to write the letter yourself. And make sure it isn’t a repetitive AI word salad before you send it. Gross.
5) Minimal effort to sell yourself in your CV
I can always tell when someone has been told to apply for a job because it's a list of jobs and dates. I don’t want that. I want to know why that job is relevant. One of my team members is a hairdresser by trade, which might seem completely random for a business services provider. However…
- She ran her own business
- She did all her marketing and promotions
- She knows how to manage all the moving parts that come with a business
- And she has random skills that come in useful. On one occasion, she gave a client tips on headlice eradication!
Here is what I want to see from applicants:
- A strong, well-written cover letter
- A complete CV
- Evidence that you took time over the application
- Evidence that you have read about the job and understand the role and what it means to be a part of my team.
I am so grateful for my team, but I will say that not one of them made these mistakes on their application, and the quality of work they provided is proof that they were the right fit for the job.
Learn more about the work of the Spicy Brain Collective here: spicybraincollective.com
