The Life of a Resume

CNNMoney recently submitted an article about the life of a resume that I thought was good. After hearing repeated complaints from job seekers about their job applications disappearing into the void, they decided to examine how a company fills a job posting.

They tracked the search for a civil engineer at Siemens. Siemens has 80 recruiters sifting through around 65,000 resumes each month. A month and a half after the initial job posting they had hired an individual out of 186 other applicants. I wanted to pull out a couple points from the article and provide you with some of my insights:

Create a Solid Resume
Article: Since it's tough to review every single resume, the recruiters depend on technology that allows them to search for applications that meet the requirements of the job.

Doug: Most companies these days use software to help them filter/rank resumes. Resumes can be filtered based on several things like keyword matches on the posted job, prescreening answers, and assessment scores. Recruiters sift through many resumes and probably spend less than a minute reviewing a resume. It is important to be aware of this and craft a good resume, that is selling you, based on a 1 minute review.

Apply Quickly
Article: By early April, another 36 people had sent in resumes, too late to be considered.

Doug: Timing does matter! You could be the best hire for the job but if you submit your resume on the job once the interview process has concluded, you will most likely be out of luck. Don't miss out on future opportunities by applying late. Make sure you sign up for a job alert on Talent Exchange so you are first to know about new job postings.

Email Acknowledgment
Article: As for all the others? They get an email acknowledging their application was received. That could be the last they hear from the company if they aren't a good match. But they remain in Siemens' database, so they might be surprised with a call months later, if they turn out to be a good fit for another position.

Doug: Most companies should be getting back to you with more than just an email acknowledgment that they received your application. The best practice is to get back to the job seeker when there is a status change in their application, be it good or bad. If you receive a bad response, keep your head up, there may be another job that opens up that the recruiter places you on.