{"id":84194,"date":"2015-06-19T12:00:05","date_gmt":"2015-06-19T17:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=84194"},"modified":"2015-06-19T11:55:26","modified_gmt":"2015-06-19T16:55:26","slug":"avoiding-the-resume-black-hole","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=84194","title":{"rendered":"Avoiding the Resume Black Hole"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Rebecca Kluberdanz, former Senior Editor
\npreviously published 11\/11\/14
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Avoiding the Resume Black Hole<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"REBECCA_KLUBERDANZ_NYS\"<\/a>As job seekers in an increasing technological world we are all familiar with the dreaded online\u00a0job application. You\u2019re asked to fill about everything you could ever know about yourself, insert\u00a0your resume in five different places, take a questionnaire that lasts 24 hours and to thank\u00a0you for your efforts you get a lovely automated message back two seconds later thanking you\u00a0for your soul. However, despite all the effort that we put into these applications, we often\u00a0never hear back from these employers. Our resumes are sucked into the black hole that is the\u00a0company\u2019s human resources department.<\/p>\n

This online application process does have to some perks in that you can easily complete these\u00a0applications while, say, lounging in bed while still wearing your pajamas, but unfortunately, a lot\u00a0of other people are doing the same thing! Employers are inundated with applications so more\u00a0often than not we never hear a word from them beyond that automated message I mentioned\u00a0earlier. That is why it is EXTREMELY important to make sure your cover letter and resume stand\u00a0out and always head to the top of the virtual pile. Here are some suggestions on how to do just\u00a0that:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Use keywords:<\/strong> Take a look at that job posting and see what language they use.\u00a0Obviously there are skills listed that employers would prefer applicants to have. If you\u00a0have those skills make sure they are mentioned in your resume. In some cover letters I\u00a0have literally copied and pasted things directly from a job posting to explain why I have\u00a0those skills.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Keep it simple:<\/strong> Unless you are applying for some sort of creative position where you\u00a0need to showcase your work there is no reason to clog your resume or cover letter up\u00a0with graphics and strange layouts. Just keep it simple and clean. Don\u2019t make it easy to\u00a0toss your resume aside because it is just too much to look at.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Have someone proofread your materials:<\/strong> I cannot stress how important it is to have\u00a0some proofread your application materials. Sometimes, even after reading your resume\u00a0half a dozen times, you can miss silly typos. I also suggest reading everything out loud.\u00a0It might sounds right in your head or when you are writing it down but when you read\u00a0something out loud you catch a lot more.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Network:<\/strong> Use your connections! The desire the get a job or even an interview on your\u00a0own merit is admirable but, unfortunately, not everyone else feels that way. If you know\u00a0someone working at the library or institution that you are seeking a job in, shoot him or\u00a0her an email! I don\u2019t suggest hounding them but a quick check in never hurts. Make it\u00a0casual, ask them more about the institution or if they know anything about the position\u00a0and the day to day. It certainly doesn\u2019t hurt to learn more about the position you are\u00a0interested in interviewing for.<\/p>\n

I know the resume black hole is a scary place but hopefully but tailoring your resume and cover\u00a0letter to a position and using language to help it stand out your resume won\u2019t spend too long\u00a0there!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Rebecca Kluberdanz, former Senior Editor previously published 11\/11\/14 Avoiding the Resume Black Hole As job seekers in an increasing technological world we are all familiar with the dreaded online\u00a0job application. You\u2019re asked to fill about everything you could ever know about yourself, insert\u00a0your resume in five different places, take a questionnaire that lasts 24…<\/p>\n

Read more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":74188,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[145],"tags":[69,3592,3625,3787,3610,3599,3632,3635,3631,4538,6659,6255,112,111],"class_list":["post-84194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-article","tag-blog","tag-inalj-montana","tag-inalj-nebraska","tag-inalj-nevada","tag-inalj-new-hampshire","tag-inalj-new-jersey","tag-inalj-new-mexico","tag-inalj-wyoming","tag-job-application","tag-online-job-application","tag-rebecca-kluberdanz","tag-resume","tag-tips"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/REBECCA_KLUBERDANZ_NYS.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1WoMK-lTY","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=84194"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84194\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/74188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=84194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=84194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=84194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}