Job Search: Is It a Numbers Game?
Unfortunately, job search can be a "numbers game".
When the Internet first came on the job search scene it was a
great differentiator. Candidates who found jobs advertised on
the Internet and submitted their resumes via email often went to
the front of the line. They were competing with other job
searchers who were still combing the Sunday Classifieds and
faxing or mailing their resumes to HR departments.
My, how times have changed! Now, the online job boards (Monster,
DICE, HotJobs, CareerBuilder, etc.) have replaced the
Classifieds as the "matchmaker" for candidates and jobs.
Companies that use the job boards have built entire
infrastructures around posting jobs and receiving, sorting, and
sifting resumes. Staffing specialists in companies are often
nameless, hiding behind an anonymous email id that obviously
does not belong to a person. How do you get your resume read?
How do you get it into the hands of the individual that will
make the decision on whom to interview?
Well, unless you have an "inside connection", it can be a
"numbers game". How long will it take you to submit your resume
to enough Recruiters and Hiring Managers to find the one that
will actually read your resume and contact you to discuss an
opportunity? Anyone who has been in the job market in the last
4-5 years knows the answer... it can take a long time! No matter
how qualified you may be, no matter how many late nights you
spend combing the job boards and responding to postings, it's
going to be a frustrating experience!
And most of those "blaster" services will get your resume
distributed to a large audience, but it will get dropped right
into an automated resume system without a recruiter even looking
at it. It's going to be there to be searched against in the
future, not to be read now! Why does that happen? ... because
your resume isn't personal. It gets recognized by receiving
email systems as a "blasted" resume and gets filed for later
use. That's fine if you are looking for a job later. And you can
pay $69, $99, $129, or more for these services. Do they get you
an edge on the market? Not if your resume is once again just
lost in the pack, one of hundreds of indistinguishable other
candidates.
Executive Compass is a company offering a low-cost resume
distribution service (SendMyResume) that avoids the "blasted"
resume look of so many of the other resume distribution
websites. Executive Compass allows you to craft a personal cover
letter and choose the subject line for your email. Your resume
is sent directly to hiring managers and recruiters from your own
email address. The service is priced very affordably, at less
than one cent per contact. You receive a confirmation page with
a complete list of all names, email addresses, companies, and
locations to which your resume was been sent.
Job search may be a "numbers game", but games are made to be
won!