waiting for replies on apps 2

[jayken]

starting in mid december i started sending my apps out, and ive applied to almost 20 companies of interest (although at least half were just putting my resume/CL in their database)... no one has bit yet and im assuming its because of the holiday season. Is there anything I can be doing in the meantime to improve my chances of a hire at a company I'd enjoy working for? Or am I expecting the process to go faster than is reality?

 

[TheTick]

Holiday season can definitely be slow. January picks up FAAAAST!

Times are hard. Many companies are freezing hireing. Unfortunately, many times positions still get advertised and apps accepted even though hiring is frozen. You can't know.

If it suits you, follow up and politely to ask if applications/resumes/CV's were received.

 

[vesselfab]

times are hard?

booming on the gulf coast.

everyone is hiring and stealing employees

 

[jmw]

If you want an answer you will often have to ask for it, if you wait then iyou will wait forever.

Sadly, replying to applications for employment does not appear to be an action covered in the HR book of rules and calls for more initiative than they can sometimes muster.

I'd suggest you should not write "Attention: HR" but do some research and get a name, any name. Ring reception and ask for the HR manager.

Write for the attention of that person then, when you don't hear, ring them.
They either did nothing, filed vertically or passed it on.
Did nothing? your call, repeated later as often as necessary, will get them to do something with it.
Filed vertically? well they'll probably say it didn't get there or it has gone astray. Resend and chase on a shorter lead time. It'll get passed on.
Passed on? Get the name.
You now follow the chain to a decision taker.

JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[corus]

I'd disagree with jmw as I've found HR to be as much use as an ashtray on a motorbike. You're much better off finding the name of the manager of a department you want to work for and write directly to him/her. In the letter say you'll call next week (if it's convenient) to discuss opportunities there. The personal touch will work wonders and you'll have more success that way than simply writing to HR and joining the rest of the riff-raff who write in, and who usually end up in the rubbish bin.

corus

 

[PEDARRIN2]

Though they can be a pain sometimes, HR, if the company has a HR department or person, is responsible for the hiring of people. That's their job.

I tried corus' approach with a company and was highly recommended by the manager of the engineering department, only to be shot down by HR because the manager did not follow policy. It was a branch office and HR was in another state.

I have found that the engineering manager, if he has time to look at resumes, will typically give HR a heads up about who he thinks is qualified and then HR does their thing about scheduling interviews. If he doesn't involve HR, that typically means there is some type of office politics that you may not want to get into.

I usually do an internet search on the companies I wanted to work for and if they gave a name I sent it to them but usually it just said to write "ATTN: HR" or "Personnel".

That is how I landed my latest job, which I have been at for four years now. HR did not do the best job at getting things rolling, but they were the ones to do it.

Just my $0.02 worth.

 

[mshimko]

The problem with replying to submitted resumes is two-fold:
1 - Volume, and
2 - Many, many candidate's resumes are not even close to meeting the stated requirements of the vacancy. As an engineering and hiring manager, well over 90% of the resumes I review for vacancies fall into this category (I need a mechanical engineer with propulsion systems experience, and I get many resumes from IT and EE candidates, for example).

That said, I will look further into a candidate that (a) made a legitimate attempt to actually READ the vacancy requirements, and (b) asks legitimate question. I occasionally correspond directly with candidates in an unofficial manner when the pose legitimate questions, even if my company isn't the "place for them".

 

[corus]

Mshimko,
On occasions I have sent off a CV (resume) when I've noticed companies are on a general recruitment drive. Your CV may not be applicable to that particular post but if it looks interesting enough then your CV can be sent on to a relevant department for consideration, even if they aren't officially recruiting at that time. That's how I got my present job. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, as they say.

corus

 

[PeterStock]

Sending out 20 resumes is basicly just getting started. You need to send out many more. I notice from your other posts that you are a recent graduate. Work with your schools placement office and faculty of your department to get names and companies that have hired students in the past. When I have been actively looking (as opposed to just testing the waters), I send out close to a hundred of resumes. Yes you only need one job, but you do not know what job will be the right one.

I do agree that you should send your resume to the engineering manager or department head you wish to work for if you know who that is.

Peter Stockhausen
Pollak Switching Products

 

[Sideswiper]

Nothing is worse than job hunting, especially for the first job.

So many companies force you to simply put your resume in their database. With 0 years of experience, it just rots in there, without any attention from HR or engineering managers.

BUT you just gotta keep trying, a little every day. Send out resumes, try to get actual names, find smaller companies, go to IEEE meetings and events, and eventually you'll find a job (in the last place you look!).

 

[Eleceng01]

It is too late for this situation, but I assume you did not intern/co-op anywhere. I have always told young engineers that co-oping is great (experience and usually that first job offer)!

 

[Henneshoe]

I have to disagree with PeterStock, I have found that when looking for a job the quality of your application not the quantity of applications you file determines your success. I follow 2 rules when narrowing my search field.

First, applying to a company without a current opening is probably just a waste of time. Second, applying for openings that you are obviously unqualified for is a waste of time. The hiring manager will realize you are not qualified and you will not hear back from them. By following those 2 rules, you will cut your potential search field down to a reasonable number. (Hopefully about 1-3 new openings per week).

By cutting your potential search field to 1-3 you give yourself the ability to personalize each application. This means you should read the requirements of the position. The body of your email should state examples of things you have done to meet these requirements in the past. As a recent graduate, you probably have a broad range of experience but little depth in any specific area. Therefore, it makes sense to tailor your resume for each job as well to accentuate your applicable experience. Keep a local copy of any tailored emails/resumes for future use and so you know what you sent each company when they contact you.

As far as follow up goes. I tend to politely email the company recruiters about once a week until I hear from them. In my follow up emails I mention my original email and how interested I am in the position. I also attach my resume again and re-iterate the examples in my original email. This shows I have a real interest in the position and am not just canvasing the web; also, keeps your information fresh in the recruiters head. I have found it only take 2-3 "reminder" emails to get a response.

That's just the method to my madness; I graduated in '05 and secured my first job before graduation and more recently secured a new job after 1.5 months of searching.

 

[jayken]

thanks for the replies everyone... from this ive simply gathered that I need to get in touch with the HR directors more directly, contacting them at regular intervals, and making sure my applications are taylored to each company.

It seems though that most companies employ online application processes with "candidate profiles"... you submit a resume/CL to store it in a database, and you can apply online to job positions... there is no way to contact HR directly, or the manager of the position you apply for. Is there any way to break through this? Sometimes they will provide a physical addy by which I've sent out letters.

 

[JStephen]

Once when I was job hunting, I sent a resume to a company that I felt would be a good match. No response. Then about a month later, this company runs an ad for an engineer. So I send my resume again. No response. Finally, I accept a job that requires me to move out of the area, and after doing so, get a phone call from the other company asking me if I can come in for an interview. So that's how it works.

Another company looked to be one of the few in my area that did anything like what I was doing, so I sent them a resume. No response. A month or so later, I saw an ad that looked like it fit me to a tee, but didn't include a company name, so I faxed a resume to the listed fax number. No response. Upon using reverse lookup, I discovered it was the same company I'd already contacted. As best I could figure, I was the best qualified person in the whole state for that job, and couldn't even get an interview with them. So it goes. Don't give up, keep sending stuff out and be patient. There's probably not a lot you can do to spur along the ones you've already contacted.

 

[MikeHalloran]

I often respond to ads by email, with a nice resume attached to a 'cover letter' that features a two-column table.

One column contains a bullet point entry for every requirement advertised.

For each bullet point, the corresponding cell in the other column contains a brief explanation of how I meet and exceed that particular requirement.

It seems silly, i.e. anyone should be able to read the resume and match the requirements, etc... BUT the pre- screener who is the first to see your resume has roughly 20 seconds to decide whether to pass it on, or to pass on it. Said pre-screener also typically has a mountain of resumes to process, so (s)he is _not_ going to read your entire resume, or even all of the first page, before making a decision.



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[rmw]

If you can find any contacts within the company that you are trying to get a job with, they can often give you the name of the appropriate HR person. Once I had applied to a very large company by submitting resumes to their internet "black hole" for resumes for several of a type of job that fit me to a tee. Nothing. Then while on a plant construction site for the job that I had at the time I run into an old contact from a previous life who was with that company and upon telling him my sage, he places one call to a co-worker who gives him the name and phone number of the HR person for that department right from his memory.

Upon calling her, and dropping the name of the guy who had given her name out, and the name of my contact, she said fax over a resume. When she got it she called right back within minutes and said (and I will never forget it) "you have the experience we are looking for." She called back the next day and wanted me over (several states away) within 2 days to interview. I had to put her off a couple due to prior committments but even at that they had me over in less than the 'one week' advance purchase for airline tickets that would have saved them money on airfare.

Now, where were all those resumes that I had posted for that and similar positions within that company? Who knows, she certainly didn't. I guess they are still lost in the corporate black hole.

rmw

 

[mshimko]

NETWORKING is often the key to finding the useful contact in a company, and finding the useful contact is often the key to talking face-to-face with the boss, which is the key to getting hired.

As one example, my company's Engineer of the Year. My boss met him at a society meeting, and then at another meeting a few months later the candidate mentioned he was seeking new employment. We hired him a month later.