Vanquish the Vortex

Anyone who’s been on the job hunt lately can tell you, you’re not in Kansas anymore.

The job market’s not what it used to be. Forget walking into Mr. Jacobs’ dime store and getting a job on the spot. Today, Mr. Jacobs will check your LinkedIn profile and cross-check it with your required online application. If his preset algorithms catch enough keywords, your resume ends up with the other 100 applicants who’ve applied since he posted the ad that morning.

Welcome to the resume vortex, that place in the sky where resumes vanish somewhere between you and the receiving company à la sock-monster in your dryer.

With the rise of the internet (and decline of human interaction), it’s rare to see a help wanted ad read, “Bring your resume to. . . .” Most likely, you get, “Email your resume. . . .” True: email makes sending your resume quick and easy. Also true: email makes it quick and easy for 1,000 other job-hunters, too. Hence, the vortex.

So, how do keep your resume from getting sucked into the oblivion? Here are some tips from David Perry and Kevin Donlin, authors of Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters, that might help:

1.Meet someone on the inside. Knowing an employee of the company can get you the hiring manager’s name, specifics on the position, or maybe a first-hand recommendation. You don’t have to be Facebook friends, but LinkedIn comes in handy here. You can also score contacts from the company’s competitors or clients.
2.Hand in multiple resumes. If an emailed resume’s requested, email one in. But go old-school, too, and walk a hardcopy into the office. If you can, hand it personally to the hiring manager. And if possible, hand it in the same day you email it in.
3.Quote testimonials on your resume. Recommendations taken from letters or online profiles, dealing with the job you’re applying for, can add validity to your qualifications. Testimonials let the employer see others’ opinions of you, and notice you’re not the only one who’s willing to toot your horn.
4.Write a PS on your cover letter. Everyone reads a PS. It’s an afterthought—short, simple, to the point. One last plug for your work ethic. One last proof of your qualifications. One last thank you. One last feed to your resume.

If you really want that job at Mr. Jacobs’ dime store, play by his rules. Email your resume. Fill out the online application. But don’t be afraid to follow these tips to pull your resume out of the grasps of that sock-monster-vortex that sucks everything into its infinite depths.

For Perry and Donlin’s full interview, click here.

--Posted by Russell Shaffer, Vault Content Intern