ajcjobs > BlogBreak > Archives > 2006 > October > 10
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
The Resume Abyss
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
So, you’ve spent hours and hours poring over your resume. After 15 major revisions, you’ve finally settled on a crisp, concise one-page masterpiece. This is the perfect resume!
Now it’s time to navigate the online application process of ABC Widget Corporation. It takes you 30 minutes to complete and when you’re finished you walk away hoping that this resume doesn’t go in to the Human Resources Black Hole; the land where resumes languish in a kind of cyber-purgatory waiting to be seen by a hiring official.
Alas, after weeks of no response, you check the company website again to see that the job posting is gone. Your hopes are dashed as you realize that the position has probably been filled, but at the same time you’re annoyed because you’re sure you had the exact experience that the job description called for!
So what happened to your resume? Well, chances are that it’s still stored in the database, should you be a match for another position within the company. And there’s always the possibility that the person who was originally selected to fill the position might not work out and the company could re-open the search. And of course, yes, it is possible that your resume will never be seen by human eyes.
While it’s true that the Internet has made job searching easier, what it does not do is make it easier for you to get a job. Only your qualifications can do that. The Internet can help you to identify and apply for more job opportunities in a shorter period of time. It can provide you with sample resumes and job search tips within seconds and it drastically reduces the amount of time a job seeker spends researching a company.
Since hiring decisions are still very human functions, your resume ultimately has to be seen by human eyes in order to get an interview. The online convenience that helps you (the qualified applicant) apply to many jobs in an afternoon is the very thing that allows thousands of completely unqualified applicants to clutter up the recruiter’s electronic inbox, making it much more difficult for the hiring official to find the masterpiece that is your resume!
Electronic resume submission may not be the perfect solution for job seekers. However, it does help hiring officials manage the vast influx of resumes they receive by allowing them to screen out candidates who have absolutely no relevant experience, so that they may instead focus their attention on resumes from more qualified applicants.
