Time to read the MPOJ Inbox
I suppose back in the day I would have called this the “Mailbag” feature. Heh.
Anyway, reader Gordy asked me to comment on an eWeek article about how to tweak your resume.
The advice it contains is actually very good, but I would make just a couple of changes in nuance:
YES, keywords are important because the Applicant Tracking System is, for better or worse, the way of the immediate future. But don’t just write your resume for a machine to read- eventually, the idea is that a human being will read it, and there’s nothing more obnoxious than trying to pick through some applicant’s gratuitous and completely inappropriate use of keywords. Obvious attempts to game the ATS just to get your resume read is tantamount to spamming, and it will quickly land your stuff in the “Do Not Call. Ever,” pile.
And while I can see the wisdom of point 9, “Go old school,” please DO NOT EVER FAX YOUR RESUME. Unsolicited faxes, again, are spam. Pieces of paper get lost. We have our electronic resume submission processes for a reason- do not assume that you know better than we do. When resumes are faxed to my office, we THROW THEM AWAY. If you insist on submitting your resume via paper, you had better have also submitted it through the normal channels, or you’re going to anger someone for trying to circumvent their process. Do not use the application process to demonstrate to me how poorly you follow directions.
Am I the only one who hates cheesy attempts to “stand out?” You know what will make you stand out? A well-written, appropriately detailed resume with consistent formatting and correct spelling and grammar, demonstrating progressively responsible experience and a decent range of skills. Follow-up phone calls that aren’t so frequent that you sound like a stalker, and politeness to my coworkers when they tell you I’m unavailable to take the call.
July 6th, 2006 at 9:54 pm
YES YES YES!!! You are definitely getting linked
July 7th, 2006 at 3:05 pm
Hooray, thanks for the comments.