Now you are patiently waiting for the mails asking you to report for the interview to come pouring in. Yet you are confronted with baffling silence. Your anxiety deepens. One day passes, another does too. It's almost a month since you mailed those resumes, and yet there is no response forthcoming. Why is nothing happening you wonder?
Well let me tell you. There won't be mail in your mailbox. That phone will remain quiet. You sent your resume to job postings that you assessed from various sources. That was, yes, a beginning but it hardly means anything, in an employment world that is heavily loaded in favor of the employers. It gratifies the employers' requirements, you don't count. Sad but that's true.
Let us assume that you are the ideal person for the job where you posted your resume. Yet you will have to be in the queue that is really long. By getting you to send your resume to them the employers have entrapped you and forced you to play the waiting game, on their terms.
While you interminably wait, another more resourceful candidate sneaks in by way of a referral or a well-placed call that gets him an interview and possibly the job. All this happened, whilst you in your innocent ignorance twiddled your thumbs, waited by the phone and the mailman's footsteps, for the elusive invite that never came. Your excellently crafted resume, sat lost in reams of paper, only to be consigned to the shredder or the dust bin.
So what is to be done? How can you get your foot in the door and ensure that your resume is not simply a piece of paper, but a valuable entry document to your dream job?
After mailing your resume along with that introductory letter, make a follow-up call. The one-to-one conversation is going to get you the interview. This is how you make the phone call that will land you the interview.
What Is The Need For A Follow Up?
You are not the only one applying for this job. There could be more than a 100 resumes sent in response to the job posting. Your resume, is lying along with 100 other resumes. Imagine the scenario in your mind. It may never get noticed. Now assume that two or three days later you make a call to the hiring department.
It could turn out that you are the only one to have made that call. Not many are known to do so. You steal an advantage over them. The hiring manager is impressed. Here's someone who has passion for the job, he thinks. Your conversation may lead him to scheduling an interview with you and present you with an opportunity to better present your case and get the job. Don't feel timid or shy, go for that phone.
Whom Shall I Call?
I'll first tell you, who not to call. That is as important as whom to call. Never call human resources or an in-house recruiter. They have no reason why they would be interested in talking to you. They would take it as an intrusion in their work and either simply brush you off or misguide you into believing that they will consider your request.
Since being hired is your intention, it makes sense to talk to the actual hiring manager, irrespective of who he is, a project supervisor or vice-president of some department, he is the one who matters and he it will have to be.
It is easy to find out the name and numbers of the hiring manager. In fact you should have his name and details even before you post your resume. The company's website will probably has his name, on the About Us page, you can ask the company's receptionist and request for the information or as a last resort subscribing to a corporate research service like Hoovers, ThomasNetor or Lead411.
Why is looking for a job called a search or a job hunt? Simply put, it is called so, because it is just that. So go ahead with zeal and passion and make it your job search, the operative word being 'your.' Don't play by rules set by others, make your own. Don't wait for them to take the initiative. Send a resume follow it up with a call.
