Applying for jobs online...

[Cath!]

Have you ever sent out your resume through email after seeing jobs posted online?

I have been working fulltime since I got hired last summer but they are not in need of casual workers at the moment so I sent out my resume to about 6 hospitals on Sunday. I got one automated response and I just got off the phone with another hospital that asked me to come in for testing TODAY!

 

[Fly_On_Wall]

i've been applying for jobs on and off line for almost 2 years now.

most jobs I apply for say to e-mail your resume I think it's normal to apply online now a days.

i've goten responses from about 70% of them some saying they weren't interested oters asking me to come in for an interview.
i've not gotten past the goddamn interviews though.

good luck with your testing, hope it works out.

 

[MissTaken]

I have thought about posting my resume, but in this area, whether or not I am looking for work could turn into a political fuck fest.

So, I resort to the age old method of sending resumes on 24 lb. stationary via snail mail.

Congradulations, Cath! I hope it is all that you were looking for.

 

[MizTabby]

Re: jobs on line

I've been applying for about 2 months now, and submitted my Resumé so many times, I get tired plus I got only one automated reply and, not receiving responses from all those other places, I was beginning to wonder if they're for real.
Now that I've seen both Cath and Fly_on_Wall's posts, at least I feel more reassured that I could still probably get an answer. Thanks!

 

[plasticman33]

Have you ever sent out your resume through email after seeing jobs posted online?

I have been working fulltime since I got hired last summer but they are not in need of casual workers at the moment so I sent out my resume to about 6 hospitals on Sunday. I got one automated response and I just got off the phone with another hospital that asked me to come in for testing TODAY!

Good for you, sweetheart!

 

[GuyJD]

I've had a resume online on about 3 different websites. But my best results came from Monster.com. I used to email my resume daily. Unfortunately, I never attended many of the job interviews because I wasn't sure if I wanted to quit my job at the department store that I had to drive 65 miles to. (Long story) On the one job interview that I did attend, I didn't get the job. I only got a runaround.

 

[quilesed]

i sent my resume online and all responded, i went to the interviews and chose one and thats where I work at the moment. Online submission really works.

 

[Shy Tall Guy]

Have you ever sent out your resume through email after seeing jobs posted online?

That is about the only way that I have sought jobs for some years, except for the ocassional "high-tech" job fair which I now ignore as it is just as easy and effective to get the email addys of the employers from the sponsors, and then send my resume via email.

Most companies, especially in my field (software engineering) now rely almost solely on emailed resumes and contact.

When I finished college my father did not understand how I could seriously be looking for a job if I wasn't actually going out to camp on the employer's doorstep. I tried to explain to him that this just annoys employers for the most part, but I don't think he believed me until after I got a job.

The exceptions are the lower paying jobs, such as flipping burgers, etc., but I have heard of people having to submit resumes for a gas station attendant job.

The jobs I hate applying for are the government jobs where they still require you to fill out some forms (usually an application that just requires you to repeat, in very small handwritten print, what you stated on your resume), etc. - and I rarely bother with them unless I am very desparate.

As for posting resumes online - many people do that regardless of whether they are looking for another job. My resume is online several places, but it doesn't have to be viewable to everybody; only to those you give the URL to. But having it online doesn't really get you a job in this market - you have to send it via mail, either snail mail or email. Sending it via email is going to be just as secure and private as snail mail if you don't send it from work.

 

[JennyOmanHill]

Re: Re: jobs on line

I've been applying for about 2 months now, and submitted my Resumé so many times, I get tired plus I got only one automated reply and, not receiving responses from all those other places, I was beginning to wonder if they're for real.
Now that I've seen both Cath and Fly_on_Wall's posts, at least I feel more reassured that I could still probably get an answer. Thanks!

I have been applying weekly for 6 months now, but have only received responses a few times, all to tell me "not now; maybe later". I am very glad to hear that others have been more successful, especially since I'm scraping the barrel now!

It is tiring, but it still appears to be the best introduction in today's working environment.

Are you sure anyone won't pay for posting at Lit?? (Guess we'd all be rich then, huh?)

 

[YogiBare]

Yes, it really does work! A recruiter for Citicorp pickedup on my resume on Monster.com and is trying to recruit me. Seems like a very interesting possibility and so I am talking with them. good luck!

 

[Pechorin]

I get made redundant at the end of the month and have been applying online for about 3 weeks with little success. On the one hand it's good to hear there are people in the same boat as me, but on the other I'm pissed I've had no responses.

I'll just have to keep tweaking those CV's. Thank god for cut and paste!

 

[Shy Tall Guy]

I get made redundant at the end of the month and have been applying online for about 3 weeks with little success. On the one hand it's good to hear there are people in the same boat as me, but on the other I'm pissed I've had no responses.

A lot depends on where you are geographically and what your area of expertise is.

Before the dot-com fallout there was a lot of demand for software engineers with Java experience, about as much as there was for experience with C++, but now it is about 10:1 C++ to Java because the dot-com fallout put a lot of Java engineers on the market at a time when a lot of the Java jobs went away. Also, the lower paying jobs are easier to come by.

 

[Marxist]

I'm not going to say that any of you are wasting your time applying online but the best way I've found to get the job you want at the salary you want is to use your own recruiter.

They get paid for you to succeed, so it takes a lot of the stress off of everyone involved.

Management Recruiters International is a great place to start.

 

[VanB]

Online applications work very well when you apply using the right resume.

One of the biggest problems with applying for jobs online is that there are large numbers of people who do for just about *every* single job. If you want to be noticed your resume has to stand out from the crowd.

It is unforgiveable that you get no response at all but I would be unsurprised to hear of people well qualified for a job getting a brush off response because their resume doesn't stand out.

There are lots of tips around to help make your application more appealing and I would recommend reading and implimenting them ifven if you think they're crap.

BTW if you wonder why I'm saying this I have to choose folk from circa 200 resume's a day and I know why I reject the ones I do

 

[Shy Tall Guy]

I'm not going to say that any of you are wasting your time applying online but the best way I've found to get the job you want at the salary you want is to use your own recruiter.

They get paid for you to succeed, so it takes a lot of the stress off of everyone involved.

Management Recruiters International is a great place to start.

In my experience and field, recruiters are sometimes helpful to employers in that they will act as headhunters doing cold calls, and use their contacts, etc. to dig out the people that some employers need. I have yet to experience the reverse in an economy such as we have now, where the recruiter digs for the prospective employee. This is because most recruiters are paid by the employers and that is to whom they owe their loyalty.

Either way, the only value of a recruiter is their contacts, and those are usually fairly poor. I would rather get my resume directly to an HR person than try to make it go through the additional filter of a recruiter. Recruiters usually don't know shit about a hi-tech field anyway; I had to explain to one what enterprise development was.

A really good recruiter/headhunter who knows their stuff and how to dig for what the employer is looking for by spreading the word amongst their contacts can be helpful but in todays market I consider them a hinderance and bypass whenever possible.

The last job I tried for I sent my resume and cover letter by email, had them reply and setup an interview by email, had them setup a second interview by email, and just today got a "sorry, but no thank you" email. Oh well, try again.

 

[Cath!]

I got responses from 5/6 of those resumes I sent out...

the job I am testing for today holds GREAT possibilities...it is a .5 position (which means part-time) with full benefits AND it is only 10 minutes from my house...with NO bridges to cross!

*keeping my fingers crossed*

 

[plasticman33]

You'll do fine honey! You've got everything going for you! Beauty, intelligence and skill!

 

[Cath!]

lol...well, I am glad one of us believes in me!

 

[Marxist]

In my experience and field, recruiters are sometimes helpful to employers in that they will act as headhunters doing cold calls, and use their contacts, etc. to dig out the people that some employers need. I have yet to experience the reverse in an economy such as we have now, where the recruiter digs for the prospective employee. This is because most recruiters are paid by the employers and that is to whom they owe their loyalty.

Either way, the only value of a recruiter is their contacts, and those are usually fairly poor. I would rather get my resume directly to an HR person than try to make it go through the additional filter of a recruiter. Recruiters usually don't know shit about a hi-tech field anyway; I had to explain to one what enterprise development was.

I'm glad someone brough this thread back up. You're right STG, in your field of expertise some recruiters have turned out to be less than helpful in a technology slumping economy.

However, Cath! is looking for a job in a field in which recruiters are fundamental to the employer and the H.R. department.

The recruiter who helped me find my job was direct referral for EVERYONE with less than 2 years experience in our region. Quite simply, if you didn't talk to that particular recruiter you missed out on a job. This isn't unusual. Several corporations lean on recruiters to do the job of initial interview. By the way, that same recruiter got my friend, an X-ray tech., a job clear across the state within 2 weeks.

If a job market is depressed like tech. is right now, recruiters aren't going to be scowering the market with the same verve they once were. That just makes sense. But in the case of hospital, pharm, and medical workers it's always a case of finding the right man or woman for the job. And recruiters are a shortcut for everyone.