What Your Resume Can’t Do

When you’re in a job search, it’s easy to believe that it’s a game of numbers. The more resumes you send out, the more applications you submit, the better your chances, right?

Nope, for two reasons.

The first is that sending out dozens of applications feels desperate and looks desperate. If your goal is quantity over quality, you’re not going to take the time to research the company and the opportunity – who has time for that? Keyword see (senior account manager), keyword send. Change a few lines on the cover document and you’re good to go.

Sounds like a strategy, but it’s really just mindless activity that distracts you from working toward your next meaningful role. You feel busy, but trust me, you’re not making forward progress.

It’s also exhausting and hard to manage. I can’t tell you the number of candidates I’ve called about a position who had no memory of applying. “Wait, what company did you say you were with? Is this about the X job? No? The Y job? Sorry, let me see if I can find my notes here…” Meanwhile, I’m crossing their name off the list slowly with my red glitter pen.

I used to tell my coaching clients that you should never make your resume do the work your network was intended to do. What I meant by that was that one warm, quality referral from someone who know you and your work is more powerful and effective than 50 cold resumes sent to hiring managers who don’t know you.

Gili Malinsky, writing for CNBC online, thinks networking is the most important activity you can focus on in your job search. That’s partly because it’s a two-way conversation. You can ask people in the field questions one-on-one; questions like “What are industry trends that I should be focused on?”

Malinsky cites Jasmine Escalera, career expert at My Perfect Resume, who says you should “home in on the kinds of roles you’re seeking out, then, outside of those applications, have a networking strategy around that job application. That includes reaching out to the hiring manager, the recruitment team, and a team member who will work alongside you.”

Malinsky says you should be able to find the people you’d like to connect with through LinkedIn (you should be following companies you want to work for through the app.) “All of those people will be able to give you unique insights into the company and role that could potentially get you closer to being considered and ultimately hired,” she writes. “Not every person will respond, but personalizing your messages and emphasizing any existing connections can help.”

Linked in Premium allows you to connect with anyone in the application. They offer a month free, then charge jobseekers $29.99 per month. (Recruiters and other professionals pay a higher fee.) That’s a bargain if you’re in a serious job search (or a national one) that requires you to reach many more professionals than your in-person network contains right now. And you get the added benefit of seeing who has viewed your profile and AI boosted messaging to make your connections more effective.

Find out more here.

Published by candacemoody

Candace’s background includes Human Resources, recruiting, training and assessment. She spent several years with a national staffing company, serving employers on both coasts. Her writing on business, career and employment issues has appeared in the Florida Times Union, the Jacksonville Business Journal, the Atlanta Journal Constitution and 904 Magazine, as well as several national publications and websites. Candace is often quoted in the media on local labor market and employment issues.
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