By Jeff Westover
Becky Hart needed a job.
She was returning to the workforce after a year off to have a baby. She is
only 27 years old, has her masters in business and experience as a buyer for
a large west-coast retailer. Piece of cake, right?
After 3 months and nearly 100 resumes later, Becky is weary in her job
search and worried if she will ever land the right job.
We hear this far too often.
"I felt like I was throwing my resume into a black hole," one job seeker
recently wrote to
myjobsearch.com. "I would respond to a job posting and
nothing happened. Never would I hear what the outcome would be. I would
attempt follow up and never did I get a response from that either. And this
is after spending the money to be professionally coached to create a strong
resume!"
A survey of job seekers at
myjobsearch.com recently revealed that 90 percent
of all resumes sent online never get a response.
~ Lots of Fishes In The Sea ~
The cut-and-paste technology of the Internet has made sending a resume
faster and more convenient than ever. Job seekers have taken to it in a big
way. At Monster.com, a popular Internet job board, the tally of online
resumes stands at well over a million.
Companies like the idea too. Development Dimensions International released a
study this month indicating that 76 percent of employers are using the
Internet to recruit.
This embracing of technology has lead to an explosion of online sources for
posting jobs and resumes. According to Computer Economics, it is estimated
that online resumes will balloon to more than 16 million by 2002.
How does the job seeker get noticed in all the madness? Is the answer to
just to send even more resumes?
Job seekers must have a crafted strategy for the job hunt. Listed below are
specific actions that job seekers can take online to make their resumes have
a greater impact online.
~ Tip #1- Drive The Superhighway ~
The Internet is changing some fundamental habits. Fewer people are writing
letters on paper and going to stores to buy things. But the one true benefit
of the Internet is the one habit the job seekers need to master: researching
information.
According to the United States Internet Council, there are more than 1.5
billion web pages on the Internet. Job seekers have more information
available to them in researching a company and a career field than ever
before. Researching an opportunity before submitting a resume for it will
cut down on the number of resumes that need to be sent.
A human resources professional recently wrote to myjobsearch.com. "I can't
handle the amount of resumes I get from the Internet. One major problem for
me is dealing with those that have no business sending me a resume. They
don't qualify and can't qualify any time soon. But they send their resume
anyway and I have to deal with them."
~ Tip #2- Connect With Employers ~
As companies transition their business to the Internet they make use of
several interactive venues such as discussion forums and chat rooms. Job
seekers can use these venues to make connections within a company. We call
this internetworking.
There is great power in the principles of internetworking. By making an
online connection and being able to "link" through email, web pages, and
online portfolios a job seeker can demonstrate skills long before a resume
is ever sent.
Company connections are everywhere on the Internet. Many companies have
their own web page. Some partner with major web portals like Yahoo to
sponsor forums or clubs. Others provide leadership in their industry in
newsgroup discussions or via free electronic newsletters.
The research a job seeker takes the time to do on a company will reveal
ample opportunities to find companies interacting online.
~ Tip #3- Give Them What They Ask For ~
Many people view the resume as a travelogue or a brief biography. Most job
seekers create a resume once and then duplicate it for every job opening
that interests them. Many use an "objective statement" that serves only the
job seeker's interest. This is a critical error.
The resume is a marketing piece. It is supposed to answer an advertisement.
It is an inducement to buy. If an ad says "I want to buy a Mustang!", you
would not respond by sending a picture of a minivan. But that is in essence
what many people do.
The resume needs to be restructured to meet the needs of every employer that
receives it. If they are advertising for a "Sales Manager" then that is the
positioning statement put at the top of the resume. A hiring manager is more
likely to read the resume that says "Sales Manager" than the one that says
"seeking employment with a progressive, growth oriented company".
~ Tip #4- Go Low Tech! ~
As target employers are identified, job seekers need to find the names of
hiring authorities and get on the phone. This old fashioned approach is
simple and surprisingly effective. Some job seekers work under the mistaken
assumption that people are unwilling to be bothered on the phone. But the
job seeker working with a professional approach can arrange for connecting
meetings with a hiring manager by simply asking for information.
The Development Dimensions International study provides a crucial clue for
job seekers. They say that while employers are expanding their budgets to
locate a bigger variety of candidates, more than 80% of employers prefer
connecting with job seekers by referral.
Referrals come from people that have taken the time to help you. Holding
connecting meetings with employees of target companies or members of
associations can be a great way to get the attention of someone who would
rather not go through the traditional process of finding a new hire.
For the job seeker looking to be more effective with their online resumes it
will be necessary to find ways to connect with employers the old fashioned
way--by actually talking to them!
~ Tip #5- Manage Email Religiously ~
The world moves pretty fast. The Internet moves even faster.
When a job seeker receives an email as a result of a submitted resume there
needs to be a timely response. Perceptions online are far less forgiving
than they are offline. People demand instantaneous results.
Critical care needs to be taken in the format and protocol of email. If you
are an active user of the Internet it may be wise to set up an email address
specifically for use in the job search. This will avoid messages getting
caught up in the clutter of other online activity.
When opportunities present themselves for email contact with a hiring
manager, be certain to include and invite offline contact information.
It is easy to get overwhelmed and out of control in a point and click
environment. If a job seeker is new to the software being used then careful
attention needs to be made that things don't get out of hand.
In a job search, it is critical to track every contact and to manage
correspondence with them. Nothing is more embarrassing than to get a return
call on a resume that you cannot even remember sending!
The online resume--like an offline resume--is only a tool. There is no
substitute for getting the job seeker in front of a hiring manager. But
resumes sent to a targeted audience with an appropriate message have a far
greater chance of success.
-- Jeff Westover is an Internet Content Developer based in Salt Lake City.
He has 15 years of executive level experience in personnel and project
management. Jeff writes for
myjobsearch.com, publishers of the largest
independent directory of online career resources.
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myjobsearch.com. All Rights Reserved
