The resume is prepared and the hunt has begun! You've sent out your resume, both personally and by mail. You are waiting for the phone to ring, but nobody is calling. What can you do next, you ask? You will have to follow-up, follow-up, and then follow-up some more. It is the key to being successful in your job search.
When you distributed your resumes you recorded the names and dates in your own personal job search file. This information will now come in handy when you are ready to do your follow-up.
The follow-up can be done either by the phone, or by the mail. Sometimes it is even better to do both. Aggressiveness is a must and there is nothing wrong with being aggressive as long as you remain professional in your approach.
Prepare a brief letter that simply states that you are very interested in employment opportunities and because you have not heard a response as of this date, you would like to again express your continued interest. End the letter by thanking them for their time and attention in this matter. Be sure to include another resume with the follow-up letter. Repeated exposure is the name of game here!
After another week has passed and you are still not receiving any response, you can follow-up with a phone call. If at that time you are still not getting any positive responses, follow-up again in a few weeks with another "no response" letter.
Be sure to record all dates on any follow-up letters you send out and continue with your follow-up until you receive a reply, or acknowledgement of your resume submission.
If a particular company responds and tells you that they are not interested at this time, but will keep your resume on file, record this information as well in your job search file. If your interest in this company is still strong after a few months have passed, again submit another resume and start the process all over again.
Good luck and happy job hunting!
--Kay LaRocca is Vice President Corporate Services for CareerSoar.com. Her email address is kay@careersoar.com.
