Any job seeker applying for an opening through Monster, Careerbuilder, or a company's corporate website has wondered if their resume will stand out or, gasp, get lost in the endless abyss of applicants.
Indeed, the reports of recruiters overwhelmed by job-seekers, and companies removing job postings after one day due to resume flooding, seem to be regular anthems on the nightly news. It is enough to keep even the sanist job-hunter up late brainstorming for a publicity stunt to get noticed. Remember the man who walked the streets of New York handing out resumes and using a sandwich board to announce his availability?
If you are not quite ready to stand out in the rain on Yamhill shouting your abilities from the street, we'll focus this week on a few, easy actions you can take to help your application say, "Pick me!, Pick me!"
"Pick Me" Tip # 1 - Human Intervention
The essence of this tip is to contact someone in the company via email or phone in a non-aggressive, polite manner and ask them to point you in the right direction for more information. It is better, in fact, if you contact someone that is NOT the hiring manager or is NOT related to hiring for the position in any way as they have likely been bombarded with calls and resumes.
If you know someone who works at the company, you already have a leg up! If not, you will have to do some research. The quickest way to find a valid contact is to look through the management or employee profiles on the corporate website. Often, these profiles will list the person's email address and/or phone number. If you find a contact in the department that oversees the position in which you are interested, even better! Another great techniuqe is to find an employee at the company with a title similar to the position you are seeking.
The email or phone message you leave for this person will sound similar to this: "Hello, my name is Jane Doe. I am interested in working at your company, and especially in the Financial Analyst position. I realize you may not be the right person to ask, but I was hoping you could point me in the right direction. I did submit my resume through the company website, but I wanted to find out more information about the position. I can be reached via phone at XXX-XXX-XXXX or email at janedoe@doe.com. Thank you very much for your time."
Should the company's website come up empty, you can also find a contact through networking sites like Linked In. While some profiles on Linked In are not open to receiving emails unless you upgrade your account , typically at least one person within the company is able to receive "free" messages. If the user is open to receiving these emails, the "Send a message" option will be available on their profile. Once you have a name, you can also phone the person using the company's main phone number. Side note: If you do not have a Linked In account, get one set up as soon as humanly possible. (Look for tips on using your Linked In account in a future article.)
In the ideal scenario, your phone call or email will result in speaking with a live human being. Prior to making the call or sending the email, you will want to have information prepared on the company along with a few questions about the position (think tasks, responsibilities, or technical qualifications). You will also want to make sure that your resume is written for the requirements of the position and includes references to each task mentioned in the job description. Remember that your ultimate goal is to find out how you can submit your resume directly to the hiring manager or if your contact may be able to forward it to the right person. Therefore, your resume will need to be perfectly tailored for this company and the role.
Each time I have used this method, I have received a call or an email back from my contact letting me know that they are forwarding my resume to the appropriate person, and I also obtained at least a phone intereview for each position.
The possibility does exist that you will not hear from your contact in any way. Your best option, if you do not hear anything wthin a week is to repeat the process and find a new person in the company. Ultimately, if you achieve no response, it will be best to move on and leave your application in the hands of the universe.
Keep me informed on how this technique works for you!
Next time, we'll focus on branding yourself to get noticed (and not the kind of branding that requires a hot iron rod).
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