How to Get Your Resume Noticed
Tory Johnson of Women for Hire is one of the country's foremost career experts. She recently wrote an article for Yahoo! in which she listed 12 great ways to get your resume noticed by prospective employers:
- Find job postings on job boards such as CollegeRecruiter.com and corporate employment web sites and print out the postings of interest to you.
- Highlight the keywords and industry language used to describe the requirements and responsibilities.
- Compare those words and phrases to the language that appears in your current resume.
- Add the most relevant keywords to your resume. Remember that applicant tracking systems -- the software employers use to house and search for resumes which have been submitted to them -- will search for keyword matches so the more matches, the more likely a recruiter will actually look at your resume.
- Once your resume reflects a strong match, submit it online.
- If the system requests a cover letter, write a short one that expresses why you're a strong match and why you'd like to join the organization. Make sure it is customized to the organization and the opportunity to which you're applying.
- Never submit a generic, one-size-fits-all resume or cover letter.
- Find an internal referral to make a personal introduction using sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Note that when you apply to jobs on CollegeRecruiter.com we automatically show you the people that you may know within the organization through our partnership with LinkedIn. Also get active in industry associations to establish those connections and re-connect with your friends from school and people you know through your family and "regular" friends.
- Follow-up with a call or email to the recruiter responsible for filling the position. Make sure they received your resume but, more importantly, give them your pre-rehearsed 30 second elevator pitch.
- Get your resume into the hands of a decisionmaker. If you don't know who that is, find out by calling the company and asking the operator to put you through. If that doesn't work, do a Web search on the term "recruiter" or "HR director" along with the name of your employer of choice. The results may reveal the name you're trying to find. LinkedIn is another resource to find the correct name.
- Stay top of mind. Every recruiter is different so be prepared to work with each differently.
- If the employer doesn't tell you when to follow-up then ask, "what's the best way to keep in touch?"
Very good summary, and an area where I've had much recent experience since being "furloughed" by my employer due to the economic crisis.
As one who follows each of those recommendations almost religiously, I would add that in some situations, anonymous job postings on sites such as Craigslist are at times so devoid of meaningful information about the job, that all you have to go on is the title of the job post. With only a title to go on and an anonymous reply, what should one do?
If the title is fairly unique in its wording, I will always try to search against the title. "Marketing Strategy Manager," for example, might stand out on a site that aggregates job postings. If the ad at least told you the city location, refining your search by adding the city can also help you in narrowing the field down if multiple returns do come up.
If that fails, write a good cover letter in replying to your anonymous job poster. Mention with your apologies that had you more details about the job, you would have customized your resume and cover letter to better reflect the needs of the position. Commenting to your strengths in relation to the title of the position and its location (if you have it), use your words as best you can to convey your experience, leadership qualities, hands-on capabilities and self motivation.
If your words are all you have in making an impression, make it the right one. Proof and double-proof before sending out your reply, and edit your introduction of yourself to be compelling and accessible. It may make all the difference.