Are They Even Reading My Resume? 5 Reasons Resumes End Up In The Trash

If you are going to take the time to apply for a job, make sure that your resume doesn't end up in the trash can.

When you are looking for a new job, one of the most frustrating things is sending in resume after resume, and not hearing anything back from any of the companies you applied with. It has happened to me more times than I care to remember. It feels like I'm emailing cover letters and resumes to a black hole, because I don't hear anything back.

With the tough job market, not only are you having to compete against a large pool of candidates but employers and recruiters are being overwhelmed by the sheer number of applicants for every job opening.

For them, the goal is to find the best qualified person at the best price. In order to achieve that goal in the most effective way, they have to sort through the stack of resumes they've received and toss out the ones that don't look promising.

It might sound cruel and while there is a chance that they could be throwing out several diamonds in the rough, the truth is that they just don't have the time to go through all of them.

In order to keep your resume from being overlooked, here are 5 of the most common reasons why a resume ends up in the trash:

1. No subject line – Especially if you are submitting your resume to a recruiter, it's important to reference the job title in the subject line of your email. Recruiters are generally very busy people and have several job searches going on at the same time. If they can't tell which job you are applying for, they can't do anything with your resume.
   
   
2. You didn't include a cover letter – Cover letters are really important. No matter what you may hear or read, they are always worth the effort. Maybe you don't have to have one, but they certainly don't hurt. They take a little bit of time, but when you are asking someone to give you a job, it's worth the extra work.
   
   
3. Your cover letter is too long – Think short and sweet here. You don't need a two page cover letter. The ideal cover letter is 3 paragraphs long. The first paragraph is a brief introduction, the second says why you think you are a good fit and touches on your qualifications and the third simply closes the letter.
   
   
4. You don't live near the job – If you don't live within a reasonable commuting distance from the job, you probably won't be considered for it. If you are planning to move to a new town and are applying for jobs before you move, include that information in your cover letter. Just a quick sentence that gives the employer an idea of when you are moving can make a huge difference. Otherwise, they probably won't even read your resume.
   
   
5. Your resume is hard to understand – If they have to think too hard to figure out what you are trying to say in your resume, they will probably just toss it. If you are having trouble making your resume easy to read, then get help. Professional resume writers can make a big difference.

Don't let your resume end up being deleted or thrown away without being read. Before you apply for another job, make sure that you are giving yourself the best chance to shine.

If you are a hiring manager, what other things can cause you to throw out a resume without even reading it? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer for PhillyJobsBlog, along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.

Top Business Email Mistakes

Today, more and more of us rely on email as a means of communication for work related activities. As such, unfortunately individuals sometimes make email mistakes – let us take a look at some of the more common email errors:

Not Reading Your Email Before Hitting the Send Button

This problem is a common one as people are often in a rush to reply to all of their emails at work. However, if you do not double-check your email, you are more susceptible of sending emails that can be confusing to the recipient. Further, emails that are ridden with grammar and spelling mistakes can look unprofessional.

Not Getting to the Point

When you are sending an email to someone, you should try your best to make that email as concise and to the point as you can. After all, you do not want to waste the recipient’s time and possibly even confuse the recipient. Conversely, you do not want to send emails that are “too short” as these types of emails may be read as “rude” by the recipient – and/or may not provide an adequate explanation.

Sending Emotional Emails

Sometimes, when you are upset about something for instance, you may be tempted to reply to emails. However, do not send emails when you are feeling this way as in most cases, you will regret it. Instead, you should only think about answering emails when you are more clear-headed.

Sending Emails to the Wrong Recipient

As some email programs automatically fill in email addresses for you, it is in your best interest to always ensure that your email is going to the proper person or people. After all, you do not want to send confidential company information to your cousin Frank for instance.

Being too Dependent on Email

While it is true that email can be a convenient form of communication, relying on email as your only method of communication is a big mistake. After all, there are times when you may need a reply right away and of course, not everyone is checking their email 24/7. In addition, relying too much on email can be a tad impersonal – sometimes it is better to actually talk to the people at your company versus only emailing them.

While there are many errors that you can make when you communicate via email, with a little care, you can readily avoid these email mistakes.

Larisa Redins is a full time writer and editor with degrees in both Arts and Biological Science. She writes about career issues for PhillyJobsBlog.com and other topics for a variety of international websites and magazines. Please visit her other blogs at PhillyJobsBlog.com and view job postings at PhillyJobs.com.

Just How Secure is Your Email Anyways?

As a job hunter, you most likely may send private information almost everyday via email. After all, email is the primary way most people send resumes and communicate with organizations - and individuals - for both business and networking purposes.

Do you realize though that sending any information over the Internet – via email – is similar to sending a postcard *with* a one hundred dollar bill stapled to it? Why? Well, according to Ram Tanamy, the CEO of Simplicato.com – an email hosting and archiving company, when you send and receive emails, these messages pass through the sender, the recipient and the Internet Service Provider (ISP). Further, these messages are saved within the ISPs servers. That said, emails that you thought you deleted months – even years back – may still be available on your ISP’s servers. Further, email messages can be modified while they are in transit – before the email reaches the intended recipient. Of course, there are also the issues of identity theft and general privacy invasion problems that can arise from insecure email.

Additionally, it is important to remember that email security issues are difficult to diagnose. For instance, you will not know that someone is reading and modifying your email until an email security breach has occurred.

This situation does not sound too secure does it?

Well, fortunately, there are steps that you can take to secure your email – so that all of your personal and employment information remains private. In fact, if you implement certain email security strategies, you can upgrade your “useless postcard level email security” to one that is much, much more secure. How can you achieve this level of email security though?

"The most secure way to send email is using public-key encryption, where the sender encrypts the message using the public key of the recipient and the recipient decrypt the message using its own private key”, says Ram Tanamy of Simplicato.com.

“Yet – this method is not unbreakable by brute force with enough computational power and time – but usually only the most devoted hackers will invest the time necessary. Also, the private key should be kept secure and available to the recipient when needed. Otherwise, the recipient will not have access to the message.”

Perhaps then, while email security may not be a topic that you think about on a day-to-day basis, since you are sending personal information via email when you apply for jobs, it may be wise to give this topic more thought.

Ready to supercharge your job search? Visit PhillyJobs.com.



Larisa Redins is a full time writer and editor with degrees in both Arts and Biological Science. She writes about career issues and other topics for a variety of international websites, magazines, and businesses.

Top Seven Email Etiquette Tips

According to a Radicati Group study, over 1.4 billion people used email as a form of communication in 2009. Moreover, the group predicts that this total is expected to rise to 1.9 billion users in 2013. With so many people using email worldwide – for both personal and career purposes, proper email etiquette is more important than ever.

Why is email etiquette important? Well, employees and managers do need to convey a professional image. Further, properly worded emails do allow people to sort through their email more quickly and therefore, proper email etiquette results in overall improved business efficiency. Interested in learning more about proper email etiquette? Read on!

#1 - Write Concise Subject Lines

For maximum efficiency, it is a good idea to ensure that the subject line of your email is relevant to the actual content in the email. In this way, the email recipient can better prioritize his or her email inbox without having to spend time opening the email.

#2 - Make it Personal

You should ensure that you personalize the email to a specific person. Otherwise, the email can end up sounding cold and indifferent on the recipient’s end.

#3 - Be Clear at all Times

Ensure that that the contents of the email are written in a succinct manner. Now is definitely not the time to write that Great American Novel! ;) Breaking the content into smaller paragraphs also makes the email that much easier to read for the recipient. Moreover, the email should answer any questions that were asked in previous emails and provide additional relevant information.

#4 - Remember to Use Spell-check

As most email programs do come equipped with a spell-check feature, it is a good idea to take advantage of this tool. In other words then, there is no excuse for misspellings and improper grammar use.

#5 - Answer all Emails Promptly

As you may already know, emails should be always be answered in a timely manner. For instance, most customers expect a response within a business day or at least within a twenty-four hour time period. If you are not able to send a complete reply, it is courteous to send a note to state that you will be sending a full reply as soon as you can.

#6 - Do not Forward Emails Without Permission

Today, many people forward emails without thinking twice about forwarding an email. However, as many work-related emails may contain sensitive information, it is an excellent idea not to forward any emails without first obtaining permission from the sender.

#7 - Do Not “Cry Wolf”

Only send emails designated as “urgent” when the email is actually a high priority one. For instance, if you always mark your “less than urgent” emails as “urgent”, most people will become desensitized to this designation; thus, when there is a real emergency, people will not treat the email the immediate attention that it deserves.

Well there you go! With these tips, you are well on your way to sending professional – and efficient – emails.

By: Larisa Redins