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Do you think it is more effective to mail a resume in response to an ad, if it says you can mail OR e-mail your resume, but it doesnt give a preference? is sending a resume by mail a thing of the past? I woud think that it is easier for hiring managers to delete e-mail but with something coming in the mail, I figured they would at least open it first and they have a physical hard copy that they can look over.
Is mailing a resume more effective when you are sending it "cold"? (not in response to an ad or opening, but when you are trying to tap into the so called 'hidden' job market everyone talks about?)
P.S.--Is it ok to send a resume and cover letter in a regular sized envelope--postage is expensive, ya know? or does it HAVE to be sent unfolded in one of those big 10X12 brown envelopes? Just wondering if there is certain etiquette when mailing a resume.
Last question, is it possible to get an interview by sending in your resume by mail (or e-mail for that matter), when there is no opening for the position you want? I need to try to get my foot in the door somehow because I have had a BS in Marketing for two yrs with no offers for jobs and not many interviews, but I have no experience either.
Do you think it is more effective to mail a resume in response to an ad, if it says you can mail OR e-mail your resume, but it doesnt give a preference? is sending a resume by mail a thing of the past? I woud think that it is easier for hiring managers to delete e-mail but with something coming in the mail, I figured they would at least open it first and they have a physical hard copy that they can look over.
Is mailing a resume more effective when you are sending it "cold"? (not in response to an ad or opening, but when you are trying to tap into the so called 'hidden' job market everyone talks about?)
P.S.--Is it ok to send a resume and cover letter in a regular sized envelope--postage is expensive, ya know? or does it HAVE to be sent unfolded in one of those big 10X12 brown envelopes? Just wondering if there is certain etiquette when mailing a resume.
Last question, is it possible to get an interview by sending in your resume by mail (or e-mail for that matter), when there is no opening for the position you want? I need to try to get my foot in the door somehow because I have had a BS in Marketing for two yrs with no offers for jobs and not many interviews, but I have no experience either.
Mailing vs emailing depends on the hiring manager's preferences. In my particular case, if my company puts out an ad that says either method of submission is ok, I would throw away all the mailed resumes unopened. To me, email is a vastly superior method of communication, allowing me to save resumes to a folder, quickly reply to the sender via reply email, and does not require me to build a folder in a cabinet, which I then have to keep under lock and key because it is an HR related document.
Overall, a mailed resume says that you are interested in old style form, rather than substance or efficiency, and you will not be a productive employee.
I automatically destroy all unsolicited resumes. If I have a job available, I post it.
Mailing vs emailing depends on the hiring manager's preferences. In my particular case, if my company puts out an ad that says either method of submission is ok, I would throw away all the mailed resumes unopened. To me, email is a vastly superior method of communication, allowing me to save resumes to a folder, quickly reply to the sender via reply email, and does not require me to build a folder in a cabinet, which I then have to keep under lock and key because it is an HR related document.
Overall, a mailed resume says that you are interested in old style form, rather than substance or efficiency, and you will not be a productive employee.
I automatically destroy all unsolicited resumes. If I have a job available, I post it.
1. If I were the owner of a company whose want ad specifically said that both email and regularly mailed applications were accepted and I discovered that my employee was arbitrarily throwing out all all the latter, that employee would be unemployed very quickly.
I work for a company that ONLY takes email resumes. I work for a newspaper...but we are a paperless company. LOL!
I think the feeling of accomplishment for sending resumes for any job is worth it mentally. You won't know unless you try. If you send them in, at least you won't be second guessing yourself all the time.
If most of them don't answer or throw it away.....big deal. All you need is ONE to say YES! It may be a numbers game, but you won't win unless you play.
I've been trying to mail resumes here and there recently. I think it's worth a shot. Too much talk about cyber holes with e-mailing. It's always about trying to think of things that other people (that you are competing with applying) aren't doing (or not enough of), and that's what gets you noticed to that next step. Most people are cheap like me and don't want to waste stamps and the snail mail delay of sending things out all the time due to how easy it is to just click a couple of mouse buttons, but things like that might make you stand out.
1. If I were the owner of a company whose want ad specifically said that both email and regularly mailed applications were accepted and I discovered that my employee was arbitrarily throwing out all all the latter, that employee would be unemployed very quickly.
2. That is a preposterous assumption.
Good think that I have control over job postings then. I don't actually have to worry about accepting paper resumes.
You can think my assumption preposterous. But it is no more a reach than the stories you hear about hiring managers throwing out resumes because of typos, or any other arbitrary criteria.
Computer skills are necessary in the world today. Effective decisionmaking is similarly necessary. A person who makes a conscious decision to avoid using a computer to the fullest extent possible is making decisions that I would need to correct. I would rather interview and hire from a pool that starts off on the right foot.
Good think (sic) that I have control over job postings then. I don't actually have to worry about accepting paper resumes.
You can think my assumption preposterous. But it is no more a reach than the stories you hear about hiring managers throwing out resumes because of typos, or any other arbitrary criteria.
Computer skills are necessary in the world today. Effective decisionmaking is similarly necessary. A person who makes a conscious decision to avoid using a computer to the fullest extent possible is making decisions that I would need to correct. I would rather interview and hire from a pool that starts off on the right foot.
You said in your post, "In my particular case, if my company puts out an ad that says either method of submission is ok, I would throw away all the mailed resumes unopened, which indicated that you weren't the owner of the company but an employee, which is why I commented as I did.
If you do in fact (as is now intimated) own the company and set policy where job ads are concerned then why would you even put in an ad that says either method of submission is ok? That makes no sense at all if you're simply going to dump any applications which come in via regular mail.
"To me, email is a vastly superior method of communication, allowing me to save resumes to a folder, quickly reply to the sender via reply email, and does not require me to build a folder in a cabinet, which I then have to keep under lock and key because it is an HR related document."
This made me laugh long and hard as someone who was brought up learning how to properly file paper documents. It must be SUCH a chore for the younger generation, actually having to physically cross-reference documents, put them into folders and, God forbid - LOCK THE FILE CABINET WHICH CONTAINS SENSITIVE DOCUMENTS!
I'm sorry you find the old systems so horribly archaic and us oldtimers so out of touch but when a major crisis occurs whether it be the result of a natural disaster or a terrorist attack which cripples the technological grid, I guarantee that those of us who know the basics will be on our feet in a heartbeat while the rest of you will be stumbling around beating your breasts and vainly trying to reach your IT wizard.
Nobody is denying that computer skills are a necessity in this day and age but for you to trash the application of anyone who sends in a regularly mailed resume when an ad clearly states that this is an option, is, well, preposterous. Cheers!
I do not currently own my own business, although I have done so in the past.
I am sufficiently senior that I have autonomy in hiring however. The bottom line is that I am held responsible for results, both my own and for those who report to me. How I make my hiring decisions is not questioned by my employer, so long as I do not violate EEOC regulations.
Is making a judgement on somebody based upon the method of submitting their resume so different from judging them based upon interview presentation or cover letter content?
As for the "old systems", they have their uses. But it is inefficient to work both methods, electronic and paper. It is double work, to no benefit. Use one or the other, but not both to accomplish the same task. I choose to go electronic.
I do not currently own my own business, although I have done so in the past.
I am sufficiently senior that I have autonomy in hiring however. The bottom line is that I am held responsible for results, both my own and for those who report to me. How I make my hiring decisions is not questioned by my employer, so long as I do not violate EEOC regulations.
Is making a judgement on somebody based upon the method of submitting their resume so different from judging them based upon interview presentation or cover letter content?
As for the "old systems", they have their uses. But it is inefficient to work both methods, electronic and paper. It is double work, to no benefit. Use one or the other, but not both to accomplish the same task. I choose to go electronic.
So does your employer know that, even though the job ads specifically say that both email and hard copy mailed job applications are accepted you are summarily dumping without even opening those that come in via regular mail? It's a simple enough question which you seem to prefer to evade.
As far as your second question is concerned, yes indeed. It would seem from your posture that you will read (and probably summarily delete) an email employment application which is poorly written, unintelligible or irrelevant while a well-written application which may well meet all the applicable criteria but comes by regular mail isn't even opened, solely because YOU (the employee) think the method of presentation is obsolete even though the advertisement for the job clearly states that applications can be submitted either electronically or via regular mail.
Your argument makes no sense at all. How could you even know what the cover letter comprises when you don't even read it? And an interview comes AFTER an application has been submitted and reviewed.
If you represent the new face of HR, no wonder so many businesses are in such a mess. Oh, and in case you didn't know, just a few years ago someone in your position was known as a Personnel Officer. Along the same lines that a garbage collector became known as a Sanitation Engineer.
My apologies to the OP for going rather off topic but this poster's illogical and condescending stance has simply irritated me. Cheers!
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