Poor Hedda may have hunted her last head, or lost hers, but the point is critical: hearing about career opportunities quickly means your resume must be well greased when sent to a recruiter-in a form creating the least resistance to, and thereby sliding best into, the database. By "resistance" I mean the time, labor, and attention required to translate your resume into KWS database form. Without a really hot position that you would fit immediately, rarely will a head-hunter take the time, with the onslaught of resumes pouring in, to call you and request that you re-send your resume in a better form. This is especially true if you are a marginally placeable candidate (less placeable based on specialty, background, etc.). However, resumes presented in the form of least resistance, even if marginally useful, will often make it into the database simply because they are so easy to include-just in case something for those people arises. Always consider this resistance factor in presenting your information to a recruiter: lower resistance = quicker potential results.
Recruiters want a form that goes into the database easily, but they also need a nice-look mg, presentable version to show their clients. Therefore, a head your resume in addition to having it in the database. It's good, if possible, to provide both forms: an easily transferable one, and a nice-looking one. Simply attach a separate "file" of your resume, formatted, say, in Microsoft Word (Word), to your e-mailed text version which can then be printed and held as a nice hardcopy.
There's another reason to e-mail your information both ways, standard text e-mail and in an attachment. E-mailing only an attached file, with no actual resume visible, creates a lag because the recruiter has to open the file just to get a sense of what you are about. When poring through e-mails, he would rather not keep switching between his browser and another program to open the attachment. Rather than view an attached file immediately, he will save it to his computer's hard drive to view later, so as not to interrupt the flow getting through all those e-mails. Unfortunately for you, the candidate, this means a delay in getting your resume seen. To be noticed as quickly as possible, the ideal form of resume submission is, again, to have it contained within the body of the e-mail for immediate perusal as well as in an attached file at the bottom of the same e-mail for clean, hardcopy purposes. (Note: remember this when signing up with resume "blasting" services-investigate their end product.) This way, a recruiter can tell immediately if you are someone to get into his database and can save your information appropriately. If you fit anything currently hot on his desk, he has a nice hardcopy to use right away.
- E-mail the resume itself. Don't send a headhunter searching for it by simply referencing your Web site or otherwise "posted" resume-lay it out clearly for her. The Web version often won't print well, needs a password for access, or is just too "cute" to use effectively. When candidates refer me to their resume elsewhere, invariably I e-mail them a reply requesting a direct submission. This adds more time to your information being seen by the recruiter and getting into the database.
- When responding to a recruiter-posted opportunity on the Internet, refer to the position title in your e-mail, fax, or letter, not a job ID number (which is often randomly assigned by the posting site, not the recruiter). State the specific job title you are applying for, even if the site's e- mail reply automatically includes the ID number contacted regardless of changes in employer or residence.
- Because e-mail can get warped, stretched, and word-wrapped in the sending process-and an "attached" file can often, inadvertently, not get attached-it's always a good idea to test your e-mail to see if what you are sending out has any problems. E-mail yourself: you won't go blind!
