Ultimate Resumes eNews
JUNE 2006

You've had a great career, you have recently updated your resume, and you are ready for a new job. Now what? Do you post your resume on a major online job board like Monster.com? Do you email your resume to recruiting firms? What about networking? Why don't recruiters call when you email your resume to them? Never fear, I have a few insights about how the recruiting process works along with some helpful tips to get your job search off the ground.

The internet is a great job search resource if used properly.
The internet, in my opinion, is the greatest tool in the world for doing in-depth research on almost any topic. Jobs included. However, the internet seems to have confused a great many job seekers. Many people, no matter how successful and well-educated, send their resumes out into cyberspace in the hopes that a recruiter will call them about a great job. This strategy is tantamount to asking a magician to wave his magic wand over your resume and to make your dream job appear. The fact of the matter is this: the internet is a great tool but the fundamental process of searching for a job hasn't changed much in the past 15 years.

Job search techniques of the recent past.
In the past, for example, job seekers might network with other professionals to find a job. Or they might utilize job postings at professional associations such as the American Bar Association to find a job. Some job seekers were known to walk into the public library or go back to their alma mater to visit the career center in order to research potential employers and to look for job postings. In the past, college students waited for companies to visit campus and set up interview schedules or host career fairs as a way to recruit top talent. Then, along came the internet. Now almost every company has a website. There are a multitude of websites that list open jobs in every field imaginable. Recruiters have websites. And many companies don't even visit college campuses to recruit fresh talent. Instead recruiters and companies rely heavily on the internet to funnel resumes and other candidate information into the company in a convenient and cost-effective way. In other words companies use the internet as a tool to save them both time and money.

Recruiting before the internet existed.
When I started recruiting for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago back in the early 1990's I remember the mounds of paper that were always stacked on my desk. Stacks and stacks of resumes and cover letters that potential employees printed on expensive paper and mailed in for consideration. I can remember running ads in newspapers when there was a job opening in the bank and receiving as many as 500 - 1000 resumes within the course of a week! The other recruiters and I would do our best to look at every resume and pick the very best candidates for on-site interviews but it was difficult because of the sheer volume. We hired some great people but I am sure that some top talent could have been overlooked for any one of several reasons. They could have been passed over because their resumes were difficult to read or understand. Perhaps their cover letters contained spelling errors. Or maybe we found a few great candidates to interview within the first stack of resumes we read and we just stopped there. Whenever thousands of people apply en-masse for a few job openings the selection process is difficult, labor intensive, time consuming, and fraught with the possibility that great candidates can slip through the cracks. The point is that whether the resume arrives via snail mail or the internet, recruiters are inundated with resumes and it just isn't wise to hang all your hopes on a newspaper ad or an internet job posting.

The internet has made the communication of job openings less expensive and more convenient for employers and job seekers alike. But the internet has also made it so easy to apply for jobs that even more applicants apply to jobs than before. And many of the online job applications jumble up the data from resumes so that the formatting is lost and resumes are extremely difficult to read. So, the point is that if you are relying on internet job posting sites to land your next job you are overlooking some good old fashioned techniques for getting your foot in the door.

Here are a few tips for utilizing the internet to conduct a smart and targeted job search.

1. Network with colleagues, through professional associations, college alumni associations, and with recruiters. Networking never goes out of style and the internet can enhance the networking process. It's easier than ever to peruse online alumni directories, or to utilize online networking tools such as www.linkedin.com. The fundamentals of networking never change though. You have to get out there and spend the time and effort to get to know other people. There are no shortcuts to creating strong interpersonal relationships through work and in social settings. Let folks whom you trust know that you are in the job market so that they can keep you in mind when they hear of a great job. Most people want to be helpful to colleagues who are looking for jobs because they realize that grateful people return favors!

2. Use job posting boards as a way to find out which companies are hiring. Don't worry about the jobs that are actually posted. Just look at the companies that have jobs available and I think you will be surprised at how many companies exist about which you may not have heard! Then go to www.google.com or www.ask.com and type in the company name. Find out more about these companies and look to see if they have a "careers" portion of their site. Some companies list a few jobs on big job boards like Monster.com but have a much larger list of openings on their private website. If there is a job for which you think you are uniquely qualified you can apply via the company website.

3. Use the internet to research companies that interest you. Create personalized application packets for selected companies. If you run across a terrific company for which you think you would be a great cultural fit but you don't see any job openings that are right for you, don't despair! Peruse any information about the company's management team that you can find. Then communicate with your network to find out if you have any links to someone at the company. If so, ask your contact to make an introduction and then politely ask the company contact if you can meet them for a cup of coffee. If your network isn't liked to someone within the company, a second alternative is to create a personalized application package that emphasizes your knowledge of the company, explains your interest, and clearly articulates the value proposition that you bring to the table. Send your personalized packet with a well written cover letter directly to the company president or CEO. The chief executive may not read it but, generally, any letters sent directly to the president are reviewed and considered. If your skill set and experience could benefit the company it is very likely that someone will contact you to set up time to talk. While you may not get a job with the company immediately, you will probably make some good contacts and you may lay the groundwork for landing your dream job.

4. Market yourself! When you are conducting a job search your only job is to sell "You Inc.". Think about all the unique features of You Inc. and come up with a great sales pitch. If you are in a creative field such as advertising, marketing, public relations, or even sales you can create a binder in which you show samples of your work. You could show brochures from programs you managed or collateral material you designed. You can include writing samples or web pages. If you are in sales use lots of numbers to show results. Anything that highlights the skills and accomplishments listed on your resume is fair game for your binder. Sometimes having a binder for "show and tell" really helps to bring your background and skills to life for potential employers.

5. Create a personal website. This tip isn't for everyone. If you are a creative professional, particularly if you have created a large body of creative or written material, a personal website can be a great way to showcase your skills. I have a client who is a star marketing and communications professional. He created a series of binders (see tip #4) which described the myriad of successful programs over which he has presided during the course of his career. He found that sending out binders to numerous potential employers was costly and inconvenient. So, he is creating a website to showcase the materials and in the future he is planning to send a URL to anyone who wants see examples of his accomplishments.

I hope that these tips are useful and help you to land the job of your dreams. Look for some upcoming additions to Ultimate Resumes' service offerings. We will be rolling out a career research service which will help you to locate great career opportunities. Keep an eye on our website in the coming months for information about the Ultimate Career Finder. Happy job hunting!

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