Job Search Strategy: Focus on QUALITY NOT QUANTITY of your job applications

Author: Kirk Podawiltz

If you focus on quality of your application (resume and cover letter) and apply for positions that you actually have a chance of being considered for you should see a better return on your investment.

With over 15 years of experience in the corporate recruiting industry, the number one complaint from recruiters is that a majority of the candidates (resumes) do not match the job requirements. In parallel the second biggest complaint from recruiters is job seekers who blast out unsolicited resumes or apply for countless number of jobs within the same company. Job seekers that blast out unsolicited resumes or apply for multiple jobs within the same company, many which you aren't even remotely close of being qualified, are doing more harm than good. Many applicant tracking systems utilized by corporations will show how many jobs that you have applied for within that company. If a recruiter sees that you have applied for many positions across different functional areas the integrity of your career objective is at question; therefore reducing the chances of the company ever even contacting you.

In my own experience, I would say over roughly 95% of all resumes received from a job posting aren't qualified for the position and roughly 92% of all resumes that aren't qualified for the position don't have skills or experience that are relevant for any position within the company. Stop wasting your time and stop wasting companies' time and focus on quality of your application.

Some may argue that finding a job is a numbers game, more positions you apply for the better chance you have at landing a job. This is true but only if the following conditions apply; first, apply for positions which you have the experience and skills stated in the job description. This includes functional requirements, soft skills, hard skills, educational requirements, and even industry specific experience Second, customize your resume (customize not lie) to highlight areas of responsibilities and skills you posses that are related to the job for which you are applying. In addition, make sure you write a cover letter that addresses the need of the employer and highlight the relevant skills and experience you possess, which are specific to that position. At minimum, if you have a career objective on your resume, make sure you at least change it so it is consistent with the job for which you are applying. With the job marketing becoming even more increasingly competitive and the number of responses recruiters are receiving from job postings are increasing, the lack of preparation by most job seekers presents a grand opportunity for savvy resume writers.

Look at your job search from the perspective of the company and fulfill their needs. Make it apparent and obvious that you have the experience and skills by customizing your resume and writing a cover letter that is specific for each job you apply for. This might be more time consuming and will limit the amount of positions you apply for but if you focus on the quality of submitting your resume and cover letter you should start seeing the results.

http://jobhuntingsurvivalskills.blogspot.com/

About the Author:

Kirk Podawiltz has over 15 years of corporate staffing leadership and executive recruiting experience; working in corporate staffing leadership positions with companies such as Nortel Network, Lucent Technologies, Google, and Merrill Lynch. He has also spent many years working as in-house and external executive recruiter. Some of his in-house engagements have been with Apple, Intuit, and CSAA where he has successfully executed recruiting strategies and developed leadership assessment guide for almost every search he conducted to hire top executives for his clients. These leadership assessment guides were developed so there would be structure, consistency, and reduce subjectivity in the hiring decision. Kirk’s last full time position as Vice President of Staffing & Retention with Merrill Lynch, where he had a broad scope of responsibilities; developed his strategic business plan centered around retention and quality of hires; which resulted in developing and implementing “Hiring Right from the Start. This initiative consisted of developing structured interview programs for key areas of the business; focusing on a structured process, relevant questions asked consistently to each candidate interviewing for the same functional positions, and in some areas assessment tests, and role play scenarios. One key area of the business was for Sales/Financial Executives that his staff hired for branch location throughout the United States. After implementation of Hire Right From the Start, the company saw a reduction in first year attrition by 12%. Kirk currently maintains a blog to assist job seekers with best practices in their job search.

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