Searching For Employment in the 21st Century - Cell Phones

How many of you remember the rotary phone or what it feels like to not have cell phone?  How about not having voice mail? I remember as a teenager, running to the phone when I got home to dial *69 to see who the last person that called us was.  Things have changed a lot since then, particularly when it comes to finding employment.  No longer are we searching the "Help Wanted" section of the news paper and sending our resumes via snail mail to a potential employer. 

What surprises me the most in regard to current employment seekers is the lack of consideration regarding phone processes.  Nowadays, particularly in the Healthcare IT industry, the primary method of contacting and interviewing a candidate is via the phone.  If you are a job seeker and your voice mail isn't set up or it doesn't indicate who you are or it isn't professional you are going to lose out on job opportunities.  If you are a job seeker that has your phone set up to block your number on the receiving end, you are going to miss out on job opportunities.

I cannot count how many times I've tried to reach a number provided on a resume only to hear "the voice mail for this number is not set up" or "you've reached 419-555-1234, please leave a message".  It is a critical error for a job seeker to not have their voice mail message set up.  Ideally it should say something like "Hello, you've reached "First & Last Name" - I'm not available to come to the phone right now but if you leave your name and number I will return your call at my earliest convenience".  This way not only will the job seeker receive messages from interested parties but the caller will have confirmation that they have in fact reached the right person.

Pertaining to blocked numbers, myself and many other people do not answer calls from blocked numbers due in part to the fact that most sales related / telemarketing calls come from "blocked" or unknown" callers.  You can set up your phone to show your number on the receiving end, and if you make a call where you do not want your number to appear you can simply dial *67 prior to dialing the number you wish to reach.

In conclusion; making sure the phone number you are listing either via social media or on your resume is set up to provide the most thorough and professional impression will give you a definitive leg-up when industry recruiters contact you.