The old job search model was to run down to the store, pick
up all the local newspapers, bring them home and send out a resume and cover
letter for every possible job and then sit around waiting for the phone to
ring. This was a lousy model and had the
great potential to make a person depressed.
With the rise of the internet, job hunters have been able to
take this old model and multiply it a hundred fold. The only trouble is that one hundred times lousy
is still lousy!
How could a person send out so many resumes and not hear
anything back?
A poor generic cover letter could be a problem? Instead of just sending out the same cover
letter to everyone with maybe the salutation changed, I suggest that you do the
research on each company and craft your cover letter for each job. It is better to send out one properly
directed cover letter than 1000 poorly crafted ones. after doing the research on the company, you
may not even want to apply for a job there.
Did I mention that you should have your cover letter and
resume proofed by some English language person.
There is nothing like misspellings to get your application thrown away!
Maybe you give away to much information in your resume? Let's face it, there is age discrimination
out there and if you list a job history of twenty five years or a skill that
hasn't been used in the last three decades, your resume is really shouting
"Old Man or Woman!" The one
exception here is if you are working through a staffing agency then your resume
should have everything.
Every resume cam be changed to reflect the needs of the job
you are applying for. If the job advertisement
has a little different wording for a skill they need then you should change the
wording on the resume to agree with the job advertisement. Many resumes are thrown right in the trash if
the initial screeners can't find the skills they are looking for in the top one
third of your resume!
Wouldn't it be better to be the first person a hiring
manager thinks of when a jobs comes open instead of having your resume try to
stand out among hundreds of other applicants?
In my book "Conquer the Losing Attitude of Job Hunters" I
describe an aerobic approach to job hunting that takes you out of the house contacting
or actually meeting the people in your field that make the decisions on
hiring.
A much better approach to job hunting than sitting at home
getting depressed!
Professor Tom Laurie
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