Playing the Lottery
// January 29th, 2010 // Job Search, Job Tips, Resume, Submitting Resumes Online
Take a minute to answer this question.
If you had kids, would you tell them the best way to make a living is to play the lottery?
Of course not. Statistically it is a waste of time and money.
So is applying for jobs online.
Submitting your resume online to get a job is a lot like playing the lottery. Sure you’ve heard of people winning the lottery (I do know one guy), but it doesn’t mean you should go out and play. The same goes with submitting your resume online. The truth is that 3 out of 100 people get a job through online resume and cover letter submission and the average job posting on Monster receives 200 resumes.
At work I watch our HR database fill up with resumes everyday. From our perspective you are a faceless number on an endless spreadsheet of resumes. Nobody knows who you are, and it is hard to stand out from the herd. Remember recruiters are people too. They are overwhelmed with how many candidates they have to go through. Why not make their job easier and go above and beyond what the 100 other candidates did?
Don’t you like when someone makes your job easier?
Take Away
YES – submit your resume online. BUT make sure you include a cover letter and follow up with a phone call and e-mail. Clicking “submit your resume” is something any lazy bum can do. The market is too competitive to stand out from the 100 other people who can click a button. (yes a majority of Americans can click a button)
Every company wants to hire people with initiative. Unfortunately 99 out of 100 people don’t have it (or don’t show it)
Quit playing the lottery and making excuses. Start taking extra steps to stand out from the herd.
3 Responses to “Playing the Lottery”
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- Brandon Croke said: Great question Jordan, thanks for the comment. ...
- Jordan Shirkman said: It's crazy how many people think that posting thei...
It’s crazy how many people think that posting their resume all over the web will get them a job.
How long do you think you should wait to call after you submit a resume, from an HR perspective?
Great question Jordan, thanks for the comment.
My advice is there is never a bad time to pick up the phone. ESPECIALLY if you are looking for a sales job. You can even pick up the phone before you submit the resume (not recommended but it would still work)
For all you know the job you just applied for could be already filled or perhaps they have just started scheduling their phone screens. If it’s already filled, you can now move on. If they have just started the phone screening process, guess who just got on the schedule?
It is only going to make the recruiter’s job easier to reach out by phone. In turn, its going to make your job search easier.
Never hesitate to pick up a phone. Easy to say, hard to do.
[...] distracting someone from their work not adding value emailing without permission sending a resume without a phone call contacting someone without a required action follow up or providing useful information [...]