In defence of the majority of Students and young people I feel that some of your comments are slightly harsh. I agree whole-heartedly with your comment about 'racy' e-mail addresses. Nevertheless, if a cell number is on a resume, then surely you'd expect the person to be using their cell because they are not at a home address. Or genuinely having a life outside of work. If you are ringing somebody on a cell phone, do you expect them to be at home studying away 24/7 or waiting for a potential boss to call? The reason for cell phones is to communicate, whether that is in personal or work environments is entirely up to the individual. A simple question before starting the conversation such as, "Is this an appropriate time to talk?" would be recommended before passing judgements.
You would'nt hire someone because they shopped at Target? What were you looking for some who shopped at Nieman Marcus. So you would hire someone for listening to rap, but what if they were listening to Bach? Sound like a bigot to me. I think those people were fortunate to not have to work for the likes of you.
Very little excuse left in the world for using your "look how funny I am" email address on a resume.
Most online users, I'm sure, have somewhere between 2 and 12. That's an easy decision for you John. The candidate's demonstration of poor decision making is staring at you in the face.
Judging someone by the position they are in when their mobile rings... there would only be a limited few situations where I can feel justified to reject someone on these grounds.
Some of you are missing my point ... it's not "Target" or "rap music" that is the issue. It's carrying yourself with a professional demeanor.
When you give your phone number to a potential employer, you'd better be ready to talk when that employer calls. Don't try and carry on a conversation while you are in the checkout line -- and by all means, don't tell the employer to hold on while you pay (that's happened to me).
And don't answer your phone and try and shout over loud music (that's happened to me, too). You're just asking for your resume to be tossed.
If you don't have a home number with an answering machine -- and you must give out your cell number while job hunting -- let it roll over to voice mail unless you know it's a friend, and return the call when you are in a quiet place and can talk. I don't want to try and converse with you while you drive down the road or lunch with your friends!
This is all about respecting the people who are doing the hiring, and putting yourself in the best possible light. One of the toughest things for new graduates to realize is that they aren't in college any more, and the rules change. You have to adapt to the corporate world, not the other way around.
John:
It's far easier to give your post a superficial read and conclude that you're a bigot than it is to read your post carefully, apply critical thought, and determine the real point.
John, sorry but I think you are missing Matt's point. If you call someone on a cell phone then you should expect it to be inconvenient for them. That's why your first question has to be "Is this a good time to talk?". If you asked this question then your critiscisms are justified. If you didn't then it's you who isn't showing respect to the potential recruit.
You say "this is all about respecting the people doing the hiring". It isn't. Respect is a two-way street. Give respect, get respect. Just because they are undergraduates or interns doesn't entitle them to any less respect than you or me.
DISCLAIMER - Matt Peden is an intern at my consultancy.
If you call someone on a cell phone then you should expect it to be inconvenient for them.
How am I to know I am calling a cell phone?
If you have one number on your resume, and I call it, I don't EXPECT to reach someone who is shopping or having lunch with friends. I expect to reach a person who can talk, or a voice mail.
I still say -- if you are looking for a job, don't use your cell number as a contact point, or if you must, don't answer it if you don't know who is calling unless you are in a position to talk.
Or ... if you answer by mistake, simply tell the employer/recruiter you can't talk now, and that you'll call back as soon as possible.
Apologies John. It appears the USA is out of step with the rest of the world. At first I was confused by your reply as in most of the world it is obvious you are calling a cell phone from the dialling code. However it appears that the USA doesn't abide by the common standards agreed by the International Telecommunications Union and instead uses something called the North American Numbering Plan.
To quote:
"Mobile phones are allocated numbers within regular geographic area codes corresponding to or close to the subscriber's home or work location, instead of within a distinctive subset of area codes (e.g. 07xxx in the UK). Since a calling party cannot reliably distinguish between landline and mobile phone numbers, this forced most wireless telephone carriers in North America to use a charging model where the wireless phone subscriber pays for all airtime on his/her phone, even for received calls. This is opposed to the "caller pays" model used in other countries, in which landline callers are charged a higher rate to connect to mobile numbers, which are distinguished by their distinctive number prefix."
Stuart:
That's very interesting. I knew we were behind other countries in terms of mobile usage, texting and things like that. But I didn't realize there were different models for numbering and pricing.
There looks like a lot of talking around John's point, which I read as this: When you're ready to become a professional, have at least an idea about how to act like a professional, and what the professional world tends to expect. Look-at-me-I'm-cool e-mail addresses, or distractions on the phone, those are just examples of things that are considered not professional. Obviously it doesn't mean you have to turn into an uptight suit and not have any fun, it just means you can get oriented in general toward what you're trying to accomplish -- which presumably is to land a position as a professional.
Of course, respect is a two-way street. Everyone is entitled to respect as a human being. However, if you're not ready to conduct yourself like a professional, or worse, can't recognize and choose behaviors that are the lubrication of the professional world, then sure, it's reasonable for someone to have doubts about your ability to professionally represent a company, agency, client, whatever.
On the "is this a convenient time?" point, that's probably a good question for the employer, no matter what number s/he's calling. But, on the other side, if job-hunting is my current priority, I'm going to be absolutely certain I take extra care when answering the number on my resume pretty carefully, whether it's cell or home or anywhere else.
It's true you can't judge the proverbial book by the cover. I would guess, though, that most of us have learned at some point (the hard way) that impressions matter. I might respect you as a human being, but if I get a bad impression based on your behavior, it's legitimate to question whether or not you'll give good impressions on behalf of clients.
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