Heres How to Avoid the Job Search Black Hole

Heres How to Avoid the Job Search Black Hole Heres How to Avoid the Job Search Black Hole Fortunately, there are steps you can take to ensure you don’t sit in radio silence after you submit your application to a prospective new job. We broke it down into a few  simple steps. How to Avoid the Job Search Black Hole Pay attention to what the employer is asking for. Many times a job posting will define exactly what the company would  like to see in an application. If you’re required to fill out an application, fill out as many fields as you possibly can instead of just uploading your resume or cover letter into the “file upload” field. If you’re asked to apply with just a cover letter, spend time crafting one that is unique, thoughtful, and informative. Be sensitive to formatting too, Robin Madell wrote  in a U.S. News   World Report  article.  Extra bells and whistles on your resume like logos, charts and shading are a bad idea with an electronic system, since the ATS may not be able to register them.” Clicking the  â€œauto apply” button and disregarding important application instructions won’t do you any favors when you’re hoping to keep your application from getting sucked into a “black hole.” Customize your resume and cover letter for each job listing. “Use some of the same words and phrases that appear in the job posting in your resume,” Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder.com, said  in an article on Forbes.com. “The computer will then recognize them and move your resume toward the top of the pile because you will be a match. But don’t just cut and paste the job posting into your resume or cover letter. If the computer doesn’t catch it, the hiring manager definitely will, and it could hurt your chances of moving forward with an interview, she said. Besides using technology to get your application to the front of the line, hiring managers will be able to tell that you’ve crafted a thoughtful application and it will increase your chances of being recognized as a great fit. Proofread, proofread, proofread. Triple check that you haven’t made any grammatical or spelling errors- one small mistake could cost your chances of receiving an interview request. To be sure, it’s always best to have a friend or relative proofread your resume and cover letter for you before you send it. Utilize your network. The work doesn’t end after you’ve applied. Having a contact, whether personal or professional, is an important relationship to leverage getting your resume into the right hands. “The best way to make sure your resume is seen is by networking into the company,”  said  Anita Attridge, a Five O’Clock Club career and executive coach, in the Forbes  article. “Let your networking contact know that you have applied for a position, and ask that person if he or she would send your resume to the H.R. department with an endorsement of you as a candidate.  Another way is to try to determine who the hiring manager is and send a resume directly to that person, with a letter asking for an informational interview.” Chances are you may not be the best  fit for the job, but if anything, your contact can let you know how the hiring process is going so you’re not sitting in the dark. Follow up. “I think resumes end up in the resume black hole if the person just responds to a posting or ad and does nothing else,” Attridge told Forbes. Make the extra effort to get in contact with the company’s human resources department or hiring manager. If you found the job posting on LinkedIn, try sending a thoughtful In-Mail to the hiring manager or professional who published the post. Try calling the HR department to see where they are in the hiring/interview process. Mary Elizabeth Bradford, author of The Career Artisan,  told Forbes that taking an aggressive approach can pay off well. “I think it would be futile to call H.R. and leave repeated voice messages, she said in the article. A better way is to contact a key decision maker through hard mail and follow up with a phone call. Go around H.R. That’s provocative, right? Well, it works.” Check Out These Additional Resume Tips