I ran into an acquaintance the other day who lost her job last February and is still pounding the pavement. In discussing her search, she estimated she’s sent a few thousand resumes-to-date – yet she’s had just two serious interviews. With a smile, she referred to herself as a “serial resume sender.”
That moniker has been kicked around a bit this recession.
Every time I’ve seen or heard it used, it’s been in the context of someone who’s dropped gazillions of copies of his or her resume around town – but remains unemployed.
That’s because the “helicopter drop” strategy is ineffective.
That woman who smiled as she descibed herself as a serial resume sender knew it. Yet she continues…as do many others.
Why? Who knows….it could be convention, or force of habit, or wanting to feel busy, or not really knowing how else to proceed.
It all boils down to this: do you want to land a job?
Because if you’re really serious, you need to target your search. And if you’re targeting your search, you won’t be sending out thousands of resumes. As a matter of fact, you may not send very many resumes at all.
Your leads will be qualified. You’ll be sending your information to specific individuals.
Taking the time to do your research, gather information, work your circle of acquaintances, and tap the hidden job market means your chances of scoring an interview will be exponentially greater than the guy who responds to anything and everything.
There isn’t some sort of magic equation (500 resumes submitted = 1 interview).
I’m sure you’ve heard this classic Einstein quote: the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
Hmmm.
If sending thousands of copies of your resume has been your primary search strategy and it hasn’t worked for you, perhaps it’s time to try something different.
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