Applications and Resume responses, your opinion

We're currently hiring at the CPC, so i have been patiently perusing applications and resumes.
All i can say is that sometimes even i get surprised by the information i receive.

MY question is two fold for the forum today.

First, how do you feel about resumes/applications that are overtly religious in tone?
(I've received several of these over the past few years, the responses always relate directly to the applicant's religious preference and the applicant tends to mention the need to "spread the word")


Secondly, what are the most ridiculous/funny/surprising applications/resumes/responses you've received when search for new staff members?

When we first opened, i placed a "help wanted" ad in the local paper. I must have received more than thirty calls where the conversation went something like this:
CPC - hello, Charlestown Pizza Company, can i help you?
interested applicant - Are you guys hiring?
CPC - yes, we are. Would you like to come down and fill out an application?
interested applicant - What do you pay?
CPC - Well, that depends on your experience and a few other factors, but we start most people at a little better than minimum wage.
interested applicant - so, when can i start?
CPC - well, you need to come down and fill out an application first
interested applicant - you mean, i can't just come in and start tomorrow?
CPC - yes, we need to review your qualifications before we decide to hire you
interested applicant - do you guys pay at the end of each day, in cash?
CPC - no we issue payroll every two weeks, by check
interested applicant - ok

- i can't say for sure, but i don't think any of these folks ever filled out an application

shawn

Best response I ever had was someone's reason for leaving their prior job: Accused of stealing from the business. Am I discriminating if I don't hire that person?

We get a lot of resumes where I work, and some of the email addresses they are sent from are ridiculous. For example, piratehooker@, icequeen@, sexybiatch@. Those are just a few. Really. Do people honestly think before sending resumes? I mean, if I were hiring, and I got a resume with one of those addresses on it, I would throw it in the trash! You can get a free gmail account, and it takes all of 5 minutes to set one up. Think, people!

One memorable application we received was from a middle aged woman applying to be our receptionist - the scantily-clad photos included with the resume were a bonus but they didn't help her get the job.

Spelling mistakes abound - use spell-check.

I like hand written resume's that are totally unreadable.

Wow this topic is so near and dear to me!! For the past 5 years I have worked in Sales for a staffing company (Ajilon if anyone is interested )and this is a discussion I have with my co-workers daily! Just to expand the thread a little bit and on the subject of hiring, what about the craziest interview responses? Or what about the wildest at work behavior?

I could go on for days about this kind of stuff and if I were a decent writer I would write a book about it, but as for my response here I will keep it simple...

Resumes should not include anything even remotely religious.

The funniest resume I have ever seen was not really a document at all but a 25 screen PowerPoint presentation complete with video, pictures, and the star spangled banner as the soundtrack. This was for a receptionist position!

The craziest interview response I ever heard was in response to why did you leave your last position? "Fighting, guns, and police were involved" was the beginning of the response.

The wildest at work behavior involved a temp receptionist in a gorilla costume. So when I asked him to remove it he did and then sat right back down in his seat stark naked!

Short Response:
The point of a resume is to get your foot in the door for an interview. Simply, nothing should be included that may give the "resume reader" second thoughts about you. As you have posted asking for opinions on the matter, it is clear you are having reservations about particular candidates.

Caveat: This is not to say not to include religious participation on your resume if it highlights positive skills such as leadership, organization, etc. Simply the want "to spread the word," is not a sound reason to be overly religious in a resume/cover letter/interview.

-----
Long Response:

I've taught business writing for UofL in the past. I'd say the the majority of the students I've taught have zero experience developing resumes, so the days we spend on the topic seem to be very valuable. I'd say those classes are the most positively mentioned classes in regards to class evaluations.

A few years ago, I had a student who wanted to close all his assignments with some form of a religious closing - such as, "In His Name," or the like. We went back and forth all semester about the appropriateness of such a closing. Business writing is particularly one of those "know your audience" realms. The catch there, though, is unless you actually know the audience in real-life, there is no way to "know your audience." As such, I argued to the student that such a closing takes an unnecessary risk and threatens the business relationship because of his inability to know how his audience would react to such a closing.

I'd say the same about resumes that are overtly religious in tone. I'd specifically say 1)the writer does not understand the genre and 2) the writer is more interested in "spreading the word" than getting a job. Now, I'm not implying this person would be a bad worker, but I would wonder what motivations they bring to the workplace. You have to remember that, once you hire this person, his/her actions reflect on your business.

In other threads, I have talked about the difference between knowing your audience and proposing an audience. Seems that my student wanted to propose to the audience that they be open to his Christianity (if not Christianity in general). He both understood what he was doing and the risk associated with it. As a devout, saved Christian, he was not willing to "edit" that part of his identity out of his business correspondence. As a result, he opened himself up to certain risks.

The only safe answer to "why did you leave your last job" is along the lines of "I moved out of town," "I wanted to be challenged in a new position," "my hours changed and did not fit with my other job," etc. The less said on the question the better.

Seems that many people feel they have to be honest on that question because there is always "the other side" that will fill in the gaps. From what I understand, more and more companies are refusing to answer that question - "why did Bob leave your company?" - in regards to former employees because of the threat of defamation lawsuits.

The problem with that question - if, for example, the answer is along the lines of "guns and police were involved" - is that there are always two sides to the story and never "facts." It seems companies have realized this and now refuse to answer these questions about former employees.

It's surprising to know that people use religious tones in their resumes/interviews. I am a Christian, but would never do that. I wouldn't want to offend anyone, and i feel it definitely does leave you open for risk, and is somewhat disrespectful. Your beliefs really should have no bearing on your application or interview, unless of course the position is non-secular. But that is completely different.

So I am now a minister. When I graduated college, I was not. When I put a resume together, I actually did two. One for church work, and one for secular work. The only mention of my beliefs in my secular resume was in reference to leadership positions I held in a religious organization, but then the focus was on leadership, not the organization. I'm all for "spreading the word" but that doesn't belong on a resume. Not sure I understand that one at all.
Kris