Blast Your Resume to the Moon or Target Your Mark?

If you do what all the large job banks and resume distributors suggest, you’ll upload your resume on their sites so they can blast your resume to all the jobs in their database that fit your profile, according to information you provide. Get your resume in front of 100s or 1,000s of employers, they’ll tell you.

But, I’ve heard from recruiters themselves, as recently as this week, that they receive too many resumes that are totally inappropriate or that come with a generic cover letter. That tells them instantly that these candidates didn’t target them and they didn’t do any research about the employer or the job.

You might as well blast your resume to the moon!

When I was in a hiring position, I often received well over 100 resumes for a job in my department. Here is how I sorted them out:

Instant Trash Bin Candidates:
Resumes with generic cover letters, no cover letter at all or letters addressed to the wrong employer
Resumes with errors

The Maybe Pile:
Resumes with some potential but maybe not quite on the mark

The Yes, I Need to Read These Again Pile:
Resumes that show relevant experience and accomplishments
Resumes with cover letters that address the job description and my organization

Robo resumes are about as popular with recruiters and hiring managers as robo calls are with voters, and they are probably less productive, if they do you any good at all. My advice is: don't do it.