Well, I finally received one too many destructive criticisms for my previous post about following instructions for submitting your resume in response to a job posting so I thought I would point out to the naysayers what some other Web sites have to say on the topic:
http://resume.monster.com/articles/email/
Some employers provide instructions for emailing a resume -- follow these precisely.
http://resumedoctor.com/JobPostingSurvey.htm
Additional complaints included:
- Majority of resumes do not match the job description. [71%]
- Job seekers “blasting out” unsolicited resumes. [63%]
- Job seekers fail to follow specific resume submission instructions found in job post. [34%]
http://jobsearch.about.com/od/jobapplications/a/jobapplication.htm
The most important rule to remember when applying for jobs is to follow the directions. If the employer tells you to apply in person, don't call. If the job posting says to mail your resume, do not send it via email. When the job listings says apply via a form on the company web site, don't email your application directly to Human Resources. There is not much more annoying to hiring managers than job seekers who don't follow the rules!
http://www.journalism.co.uk/features/story1334.shtml
Another point to remember when applying for jobs by email is to use a relevant subject line... In the worst case scenario, the wrong subject line may result in your application being trashed before anyone has read it...
Follow instructions: if they ask you not to phone, don't phone!
http://www.dallascityhall.com/dallas/eng/html/employment.html
SPECIFY THE POSTION IN THE SUBJECT LINE OF YOUR EMAIL by typing "JOB TITLE:" followed by the title listed in the job posting. Failure to do so may delay the processing of your application.
http://www.bernco.gov/live/jobs.asp
Emailing your application: To submit your job application by email, download the form from the "download applications" tab on the front page of the County web site. Follow the instructions on that page for saving the file to your computer. When your form is complete and ready to send in, YOU MUST rename the file. The following example shows first name_last name_application date. Please use the format example: jane_doe_09_09_04.doc (name and date of submission with underscores in between). Attach your file and submit to: apply@bernco.gov
http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/humanresources/jobs/
Include the competition number only in the email subject line.
http://www.fastweb.com/fastweb/resources/articles/index/103810?id=
Is it preferable to send resume by email or by postal mail when applying for a job?
Answer:
There is no "right" answer to your question because different employers have different preferences and requirements. The best thing you can do is to follow the instructions each employer provides and send your resume in the format they request.
http://www.rileyguide.com/eresume.html
If responding to an advertisement, read the application instructions and follow them. Failing to follow application instructions not only delays your resume, it labels you as someone who doesn't take direction well. It's the Trash bin for you. They might specify an email address and job code to use. They might even actually ask you to send your resume as a Word attachment. Whatever they want, you do.
Update: I was surprised by the destructive / mean-spirited criticism in response to this post. I have posted a follow up and removed a couple of comments that were unwarranted and a bit too personal to leave on my own blog. My apologies for the censorship - it is not a common practice for me and I agonized over doing it at all but in the end I realized that this is my blog and I have the right to remove mean-spirited comments.
In the past year or two I have posted job ads for software developers on Monster, this blog, www.ardentdev.com, and the CanadaEast virtual job fair. Every single time I explicitly ask for resumes to be sent by email with a specific keyword in the subject line. And yet I continue to receive phone calls, in-person resume deliveries, and emails without the requested subject line.
I know this is well-intentioned and learned behaviour taught by guidance counsellors and job seeking guides. Maybe it works well for some types of jobs but it sure bothers me. Three reasons:
- Software development involves translating requirements into unambiguous designs. Failure to observe and follow simple, unambiguous instructions for submitting a resume shows a lack of appreciation for the importance of attending to details.
- The procedure for submitting a resume is the first thing an employer asks you to do. Ignoring the first process you are asked to follow should be an obvious no-no.
- Calling or showing up unannounced at a small company is rude. We small company folks wear a lot of hats and on any given day we might be against a deadline, generating invoices, dealing with customers, coding (!), working on company strategy, or interviewing other job candidates. I have not made time in that day to interview walk-ins. It's not like I'm impressed that you can find our office. And your resume is not with the electronic copies of all the other resumes so it may get overlooked. Furthermore, if you show up unannounced at a larger company you will probably get stonewalled by a receptionist and your resume may not even get to a decision maker since you failed to follow procedure.
Today I had a walk-in with resume in hand. He had seen a job posting but had not sent in his resume by email. He got about 45 seconds of my time and clear instructions to email in his resume. The paper copy he handed me went straight in the shredder (after he left - I'm not heartless). If he is reading this post: I got your email copy and it will be reviewed along with all other submissions.
When the ribbon UI was introduced at the Microsoft PDC 2005 I was a bit concerned about the relearning required for end users and the cursor travel distance from a tab on the left side of the screen all the way over to a feature on the right side of the screen (Fitt's law). But today I'm writing some vision and spec documents in Word and I find myself wishing I had that nice Writing ribbon that contains 80% of the most common functionality right there in plain sight. I recently repaved my desktop machine and haven't customized Word the way I like it yet. I didn't know I had gotten so crotchety, but it seems that Word's default layout really bugs me today.