Five Tips To Get Your Resume Noticed Online

After three months and nearly 100 resumes later, she is weary in her job search and worried if she will ever land the right job.

We hear this far too often.

"I felt like I was throwing my resume into a black hole," one job seeker recently wrote.  "I would respond to a job posting and nothing happened. Never would I hear what the outcome would be. I would attempt follow up and never did I get a response from that either. And this is after spending the money to be professionally coached to create a strong resume!"

A survey of job seekers recently revealed that 90 percent of all resumes sent online never get a response.

Lots of Fishes In The Sea

The cut-and-paste technology of the Internet has made sending a resume faster and more convenient than ever. Job seekers have taken to it in a big way. At monster.com, a popular Internet job board, the tally of online resumes stands at well over a million.

Companies like the idea too.  Development Dimensions International released a study this month indicating that 76 percent of employers are using the Internet to recruit.

This embracing of technology has lead to an explosion of online sources for posting jobs and resumes.  According to Computer Economics, it is estimated that online resumes will balloon to more than 16 million by 2002.

How does the job seeker get noticed in all the madness?  Send seven more resumes?

Job seekers must have a crafted strategy for the job hunt.  Listed below are specific actions that job seekers can take online to make their resumes have a greater impact online.

~ Tip #1 - Drive The Superhighway ~

The Internet is changing some fundamental habits. Fewer people are writing letters on paper and going to stores to buy things. But the one true benefit of the Internet is the one habit the job seekers need to master: researching information.

According to the United States Internet Council, there are more than 1.5 billion web pages on the Internet. Job seekers have more information available to them in researching a company and a career field than ever before. Researching an opportunity before submitting a resume for it will cut down on the number of resumes that need to be sent.

A human resources professional recently wrote: "I can't handle the amount of resumes I get from the Internet. One major problem for me is dealing with those that have no business sending me a resume. They don`t qualify and can't qualify any time soon. But they send their resume anyway and I have to deal with them."

~ Tip #2 - Connect With Employers ~

As companies transition their business to the Internet they make use of several interactive venues such as discussion forums and chat rooms. Job seekers can use these venues to make connections within a company. We call this internetworking.

There is great power in the principles of internetworking. By making an online connection and being able to "link" through e-mail, web pages, and online portfolios a job seeker can demonstrate skills long before a resume is ever sent.

Company connections are everywhere on the Internet. Many companies have their own web page.  Some partner with major web portals like Yahoo to sponsor forums or clubs.   Others provide leadership in their industry in newsgroup discussions or via free electronic newsletters.

The research a job seeker takes the time to do on a company will reveal ample opportunities to find companies interacting online.

~ Tip #3 - Give Them What They Ask For ~

Many people view the resume as a travelogue or a brief biography.  Most job seekers create a resume once and then duplicate it for every job opening that interests them.   Many use an "objective statement" that serves only the job seeker's interest.  This is a critical error.

The resume is a marketing piece.  It is supposed to answer an advertisement.  It is an inducement to buy.  If an ad says "I want to buy a Mustang!", you would not respond by sending a picture of a minivan.  But that is in essence what many people do.

The resume needs to be restructured to meet the needs of every employer that receives it.   If they are advertising for a "Sales Manager" then that is the positioning statement put at the top of the resume.  A hiring manager is more likely to read the resume that says "Sales Manager" than the one that says "seeking employment with a progressive, growth oriented company."

~ Tip #4 - Go Low Tech! ~

As target employers are identified, job seekers need to find the names of hiring authorities and get on the phone. This old fashioned approach is simple and surprisingly effective.  Some job seekers work under the mistaken assumption that people are unwilling to be bothered on the phone.  But the job seeker working with a professional approach can arrange for connecting meetings with a hiring manager by simply asking for information.

The Development Dimensions International study provides a crucial clue for job seekers.   They say that while employers are expanding their budgets to locate a bigger variety of candidates, more than 80 percent of employers prefer connecting with job seekers by referral.

Referrals come from people that have taken the time to help you.  Holding connecting meetings with employees of target companies or members of associations can be a great way to get the attention of someone who would rather not go through the traditional process of finding a new hire.

For the job seeker looking to be more effective with their online resumes it will be necessary to find ways to connect with employers the old fashioned way - by actually talking to them!

~ Tip #5 - Manage E-mail Religiously ~

The world moves pretty fast.  The Internet moves even faster.

When a job seeker receives an e-mail as a result of a submitted resume there needs to be a timely response.  Perceptions online are far less forgiving than they are offline. People demand instantaneous results.

Critical care needs to be taken in the format and protocol of e-mail.  If you are an active user of the Internet it may be wise to set up an e-mail address specifically for use in the job search. This will avoid messages getting caught up in the clutter of other online activity.

When opportunities present themselves for e-mail contact with a hiring manager, be certain to include and invite offline contact information.

It is easy to get overwhelmed and out of control in a point and click environment.   If a job seeker is new to the software being used then careful attention needs to be made that things don`t get out of hand.
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In a job search, it is critical to track every contact and to manage correspondence with them. Nothing is more embarrassing than to get a return call on a resume that you cannot even remember sending!

The online resume - like an offline resume - is only a tool. There is no substitute for getting the job seeker in front of a hiring manager.  But resumes sent to a targeted audience with an appropriate message have a far greater chance of success.

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