bits and bytes, scattered across the ether
I had a guy call me once looking for SysAdmin/Networking work. I asked him to send me a resume and offered my email address so he could send it to me.
“Uh, how about fax?”
“No, I’d like you to email it.”
“How about mail?”
“No, I need an electronic copy.”
I’m not sure why he resisted sending me an email, but I insist on electronic resumes for a couple of reasons.
First there’s the practical reason. I’m terrible with paperwork. If I have one paper copy of resume, I will lose it. I’m not strong on the paper filing, but I’m much better with digital file management. If I have a digital file, I can print as many paper copies as I need, and if I lose one, I just make another.
Second, there’s a very basic test in play here: If you can’t get me an electronic copy of your resume, I don’t think much of you as an IT person. Just moved and your internet access hasn’t been restored yet? Take a CD to Kinko’s. Take a laptop to any Starbucks and use the T-mobile Hotspot- usually you can get a free trial for a day. Any self-respecting IT professional either has Internet access at home, or at least has enough problem-solving skills to get it elsewhere for the 10 minutes it takes to email a resume.
March 1st, 2006 at 2:59 pm
March 2nd, 2006 at 10:36 am
E-mail is overrated…
Tiffany at Magic Pot of Jobs suggest that IT candidates who don’t use e-mail might want to take the IT out of their job descriptions. David Perry suggest the use of the fax to make yourself look good. Back in the days when I was a recruiter, I preferr…
March 17th, 2006 at 5:17 pm
Hey, keep up the good work on here! As far as IT types not being able to get resumes sent electronically I agree with you, however there is one caveate to be aware of I think. I deal with this personally myself since I run my own web/mail server. Basically, its a problem of spam filters. I have my personal email server setup with some very……shall we say soup-nazi-esqe restrictions on what email servers are allowed to even talk to my own server. Most of the things I restrict to my server are standards based and ensure that an email server is configured properly, however youd be surprised at how many email servers even from legit companies dont know how to do this correctly so I end up having to give out my secondary Gmail address and telling the company how their mail server is misconfigured.
BTW, I’d be curious to see what you thought of my own resume. Its linked off my blog in one of the nav tabs. I’m not in the market right now since I’m working to complete my degree at UCI but I am curious if there is anything I can do to polish it further.
March 26th, 2006 at 8:35 pm
Excuse my ignorance, but could it just be that the individual did not trust you with an electronic copy? I mean, how often do recruiters distribute resume’s to clients or colleagues without permission? I dont distribute my own information to anyone that asks, and some correspondence I use is purposely not sent by email for this reason.
March 26th, 2006 at 8:53 pm
It wasn’t the case in this instance, but the rule still stands. You’re welcome to not send me your resume electronically, but then I don’t help you find a job.