- Job Search Tip of the Week, by Brian Krueger, author of "College Grad Job Hunter," the #1 book for entry level job search:
"What Actually Happens To Your Resume"
OK, so you’ve submitted your resume. Now what?
I want to trace through the typical process of what actually happens to your resume once it has left your control and been submitted, either to an Internet-based resume database or directly to a potential employer.
First of all, let’s cover the resume database process. When you enter your resume into a resume database, it is stored in digital format, often with hundreds of thousands or even millions of other resumes. Almost all resume databases are designed to be keyword search driven. You need to have your resume written with industry and job appropriate keywords if you ever want to be picked out of the mountain. Is it worth it? Yes. Especially at a site like CollegeGrad.com, where you’re not lost in the sea of experienced resumes. But don’t expect it to produce automatic results all by itself. View it as just one more way to get your information out there where it can be potentially be found by prospective employers. Then it’s time for you to move on other forms of direct employer contact.
So what happens when you send your resume directly to an employer or responded to an online job posting? Now we’re getting closer to a real live person. But don’t assume that you’re there yet. Most direct resume submittals are reviewed by a human, but many are not. More and more companies are dealing with the “resume onslaught” by pushing all resumes directly into their applicant tracking system (ATS). This is most often the case when employers are requesting candidates to respond directly at their corporate site. For example, when you respond to a job posting at CollegeGrad.com, your resume goes directly to the e-mail inbox of the person at the employer who posted the position (usually the hiring manager or the recruiter for the position). But when employers ask you to respond through their Web site, it is usually to help facilitate the automatic process of pushing your information into their ATS.
An ATS is simply another type of resume database, but this one is internal to the specific employer. And it usually includes additional tools to track activities and track resumes to specific job openings (or internal requisitions).
So why do many employers want the information entered direct at their Web site? Because it usually requires no human involvement for populating the information into their ATS. So it can often produce the same type of passive response as an Internet database. You could be languishing lost among the thousands or hundreds of thousands. I know of an employer who recently changed ATS providers because of the limitation of their current ATS system at 200,000 resumes. And this is an employer which hires less than 1,000 people per year. Think about it. The odds are not very high that you’ll find your way out of that mountain.
So my recommendation is to NOT enter your information at the employer site unless you are absolutely required to do so (although some employers, such as IBM, will require this, there are relatively few). It also cuts you off from almost any avenue for further contact and follow-up.
When responding directly to a job posting at CollegeGrad.com, the employer gets an immediate e-mail, as well as targeted tracking of your resume in the employer interface at our site for the specific job you responded to. So you now have two ways of being actively noticed (and contacted) by employers.
When you send an e-mail with your resume either included in the body of the e-mail or as an attachment, it typically (although not always) requires human intervention before entering into an ATS. However, more recently some employers (often those with generic “careers@” or “jobs@” e-mail addresses) are now loading e-mail responses directly into the ATS. But you will still typically have a higher probability of human review (your main objective with any resume submission) when sending your resume as an e-mail. It’s interesting to note that some ATS systems were built around scanning and character recognition technology. I know of several employers who (believe it or not) will print out your resume, then scan it into the ATS (either directly or via fax), then use the character recognition software to digitize it again. Digital to analog to digital. And a lot can be lost in the translation. But most current ATS’s allow for direct import of a softcopy resume.
And there you are, left waiting for a response. Make sure you always follow up proactively with direct contact. The Internet is a tool to be used, but it should not be used as a crutch to replace solid job search techniques and tactics. Use the Internet as an extension and a tool to further enhance and extend your job search.
Do you know of someone who can benefit from the information in this newsletter? Simply forward this e-mail to them and tell them to subscribe at http://www.CollegeGrad.com/newsletter. Thanks for spreading the good word!
There are at least two other entry level Web sites that offer books on job searching, proclaming that they will tell you everything you need to know about entry level job search.
However, there is a very important point about these books they don't mention up front: they cost money.
At CollegeGrad.com, we give you two things they don't:
1. The #1 entry level job search book ("College Grad Job Hunter").
2. It's free.
It's that simple. So don't buy the hype. Read the real information you need for FREE:
Don't ever pay for books or reports or resources of lower quality when you can access the very best quality information for free.
P.S. Yes, you can buy "College Grad Job Hunter" in hardcopy format as well at Amazon.com for $15 (actually, 30% off that price), but the online version is better. Why? Because the version at Amazon.com (the 2003 edition) is being continually updated at CollegeGrad.com. So the most current version of the book is actually the online, free version.
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