I'm filling a couple of positions (quite a departure from a few months ago when we were on the brink), and I had a few observations to share with job-seekers on how I sift through:
1. If your salary expectations differ from the ones on the job posting, don't even bother. This will get you ****-canned immediately. Especially in this market, the job pays what it pays. Perhaps in hiring environments where there is a worker shortage, it could go the other way. Nowadays? Putting in salary expectations that don't match up to the job will immediately disqualify you.
2. A well-written resume will get a longer look than a bad-looking one. If the resume is well-organized and neat, I will read it. In this particular search, the criteria I listed said that Quickbooks was required. I was immediately canning those resumes that didn't list QB experience. Thing is, I looked longer at some resumes than others. One candidate had a great looking resume, but no QB. However, I noticed that she had Great Plains. So, she got an interview. However, if her resume had been a chore to read, I wouldn't have bothered looking long enough to see the Great Plains experience on there.
3. Although it's an annoyance to me, there really isn't much of a penalty for submitting a resume that just totally doesn't fit. In this age of electronic submission, you can spam the universe with your resume. Is there a penalty for it? Only in a small number of cases. As an example, I have two positions posted. One of them is for a production person, one is for an office person. One candidate submitted a resume to both. When I e-mailed to ask if he had quickbooks experience, he didn't respond. Since it was obvious that he was applying to jobs indiscriminately, he also didn't get a callback on the production job. He WOULD have gotten the callback, but I immediately dismissed him as a flake who has no idea what he's applying for. So, although you can spam a job posting and there aren't many consequences, it will cost you if the hiring manager remembers that you wasted his time before.
4. The cover letter? If it's generic, don't bother. However, if you tailor it to the specific job listing, it WILL cause me to look extra close at your resume. That tells me that you're not just spamming. It tells me that you are interested in the job and took the time to look over the job posting.
Those are just general observations I had as I sifted through 50 resumes for 2 part-time positions. It's brutal out there. However, if you're looking for work, stay encouraged. Keep trying. You never know when a company will be looking for somebody with EXACTLY your skills. I think that may have just happened with one candidate who is coming in Monday. For most jobs out there, she would have not had a very good fit, but her resume looks like she was born to work in this company.
