Don’t Be Stuck Reading the Paper

My employer has an onsite cafeteria. Although the food is hit or miss and expensive as hell, it’s convenient and I visit the café at least once a day. During a recent visit, I noticed someone sitting down and eating their lunch. But what was abnormal is that they were reading a newspaper. Yes, a paper newspaper. My first thought was, they still make those. It’s normal to see someone chatting with friends or focused on their phone, but I don’t too often see someone reading a newspaper. I mean, it is 2016.

Nevertheless, the newspaper made me reflect on how the times have changed and how some people, for whatever reason, haven’t changed with the times.

I’m sympathetic to job seekers because I understand how it is when you’re looking for an opportunity whether in a different role or with a better company. But I’ve seen one too many resumes and have interacted with one too many candidates, and although I’m sympathetic to the job search grind, some candidates are sitting in the café reading a newspaper. In 2016!

Let me explain…

If your email address is an AOL address, you’re reading a newspaper.

If you still use “objective” on your resume or refer to “references available upon request,” you’re reading a newspaper.

If you don’t use any form of social media (not even LinkedIn), you’re reading a newspaper.

While I agree that there’s a disconnect between candidates and recruiters, reading a newspaper in a world where we’ve advanced far beyond it doesn’t help your chances of getting a job. And while, I think, the root cause of that disconnect is job seekers don’t fully understand the recruiting process and recruiters don’t fully understand anything but the recruiting process, refusing to change with the times (or even acknowledge that times are changing) doesn’t give you equal footing with tech savvy candidates.

So if candidate A and candidate B meet all the requirements and are neck and neck in the recruiting process, but candidate A is reading a newspaper and candidate B is with the times, which candidate gets the role?

And this isn’t about age. There’s no implication that candidate A is older than candidate B. This is about a willingness to embrace change and an openness to learn more than what you currently know right now. And sometimes, more often than not, that requires opening your mind and expanding your realm of thinking beyond what you consider possible.

So when searching for a job, don’t be that candidate stuck reading the newspaper.