Have you ever hired somebody based on a letter, résumé or phone call sent directly to you?

No. While I get a lot of people sending me their résumés, my hires have either come from my network or through a talent acquisition department. I do not think I have ever accepted a cold call where that person ended up getting hired.

What advice can you offer to candidates about their résumés, thank-you notes and cover letters?

Think differentiation with a capital "D." A lot of people are very traditional. They send traditional follow-up or thank-you notes and then they ping the hiring manager or the human resources professional within a certain amount of days.

I would look for ways to differentiate your résumé, perhaps in ways that may look a little untraditional at first. I received a for a highly qualified candidate, and when I got down to the hobby section, it said, "I can juggle four things at once and I lost Jeopardy." That differentiated the candidate for me and actually got the candidate's résumé to the top of my stack. I am looking for innovative, risk-taking and differentiated backgrounds for our roles here.