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How to Get More Responses to your Resume

The job market is improving but there are still more individuals looking for a job than there are open jobs to fill. When an employer posts a position, they are receiving more resumes than they can possibly read.

As a recruiter, I typically see over a hundred resumes a day. Obviously I can’t thoroughly read all those resumes and call all those people personally. Recently a very unique cover letter caught my eye and after talking with the individual who sent it, he was kind enough to share with me the resource he used and I’d like to pass that on to you as well.

The concept of this cover letter is that you are specifically comparing the skills an employer has asked for to the skills you actually have. The format allows an employer (or a recruiter) to quickly see that you have the requirements they outlined in the job and that you are a person they need to speak with.

I would recommend choosing the top 3 to 5 criteria the employer lists in their job posting and listing them in the order you think might be most important based on some research of the company. Take the time to visit the company website and review not only what they do but also some of the job postings they may have on the site to give you additional insight into the types of people they hire. Doing some further research on the Internet (using sites like www.hoovers.com or a search for the company name on www.google.com) may help you as well. Only choose criteria where you meet or exceed the requirements they are requesting. The letter’s suggested format uses a chart style for this and keeps the remainder of the letter extremely brief. Resist the urge to add more to the letter. You want the employer to focus on reading the chart portion.

Although this approach obviously takes more time than doing a mass mailing of a “standard” resume and cover letter, I believe this approach will result in more responses from potential employers and a better chance at landing an interview (and ultimately a new job!)

For a sample of the letter visit: http://www.markystein.com/pages/26/index.htm