Once a help-wanted ad appears, it can result in hundreds of responses. Some simple arithmetic will indicate that your chances of landing that job diminish in direct proportion to the number of people going after it. You can also count on whatever resume and letter you send being screened by an assistant in the personnel department (or human resources department; some use other terms, some haven't changed department designation). Bear in mind that a function of a personnel or human resources department is to screen out those candidates who should not be considered for the job, as opposed to the person who will actually supervise the new employee, whose views might be quite different from those of personnel.
When answering an ad from a newspaper or trade journal, make sure your resume and covering letter are top-notch, or they won't serve to move you up and out of the pack. If the ad presents a job that you are really interred in, and you feel confident that your credentials and experience will make you attractive to the employer, send 'our resume and letter by messenger or by air courier. At east this will gain the employer's attention.
The problem with the way most people answer newspaper ads is that they send in their resume and cover Letter, make careful notes about which ad was answered and when, and then forget about it. That's a mistake. On you've replied to the ad and have given it a decent amount of time-perhaps a week at the most-you must follow up. I recommend a phone call at this point, if was not a blind ad. If it was a blind ad, send another letter asking about when you might expect a response your resume and requesting the opportunity to be interviewed for the position. Include another copy of your resume with the follow-up letter.
A technique that I recommend when you run around an advertisement for a job that seems perfect for you is rewrite your resume specifically for that job, telling the truth, of course, but using more space for the areas you wish to emphasize and less space for items that aren’t directly relevant. Also, clip the ad and attach it to the cover letter if you conform to at least 75 percent of what has been asked for. If not, leave out the clipping.
You should answer most help-wanted ads within week if you fit the job perfectly. A high percentage people wait more than a week to crank out their response to an ad. Some never send it because their resume it's too late. It's never too late, although a prompt reply is, of course, best. If you don't fit the job perfect! I suggest waiting two or three weeks to answer the ad. This way you might stand a better chance because your letter and resume have arrived after the initial flood of responses and thus will be seen and read carefully. You hope in this case, of course, is that the employer has not been pleased with those who answered quickly and appeared to fit the job.
The people who place help-wanted ads-companies and recruiters alike-have their own special jargon. Anyone seeking a better job should read the ads carefully and frequently enough to become familiar with the meaning of job descriptions, titles, etc. Also bear in mind that job descriptions in ads often do not accurately indicate the credentials and experience actually needed for that particular job. If you don't match up precisely to the specs, but feel that what you can bring to that job is roughly in the ball park, by all means respond. Some companies want a PhD with twenty years of experience, but state that they are willing to pay only $25,000. They soon see that they are not likely to find someone with those credentials for that money, and adjust their requirements. That's why going in for the interview and impressing them can pay off in a good job, even though requirements are greater and your credentials less than what's asked for in the ad.
Beware of the "blind ad." These are ads in which only a post office box number is included instead of the company name. The dangers of responding to such an ad should be obvious. Your own company-your own boss, for that matter-may have placed the ad to see who in the company is loyal and who isn't. Your boss may have decided, without informing you, that he intends to hire someone to work alongside you in a similar job. Or a friend of your boss's may have placed the ad and, after receiving your letter and resume, lets your boss know that one of his employees is looking around.
I know someone who worked at a small company for a few years, then saw an ad in the Sunday newspaper for someone to do roughly the same job for an association that represented that industry. She applied. A few days later her boss called her into his office and said quietly, "I have your resume in front of me. I'm on the board of directors of that association. It's a small world, isn't it?" Of course it is, and she should have realized that possibilities. She was fired!
There's a reasonably safe way for you, even though you are employed, to respond to blind ads, and that's getting a friend to answer them on your behalf, without disclosing your name. I call this a third-party response. It certainly not as effective as a traditional response, but is a lot safer. Have your friend write on his or her business letterhead.
Another approach you might consider is to try to guess which company placed the advertisement. You can often narrow down the possibilities by analyzing which companies in the geographical area stated in the ad seem to fit the job description by size or by a niche of the industry if it's mentioned in the ad. Then send a letter-not a resume-without mentioning your present affiliatior. In the letter, give the salient highlights of your back ground. Keep it to one sheet, with wide margins and adequate space between the paragraphs. Address the letter to the person or persons whom you expect you might end up working for. Often, you can find the name by calling each of the companies on your list and asking the telephone operator for the name of, let's say, the corporate controller, if the ad indicated an opening for an assistant controller.
People often wonder whether placing a "situation wanted" ad in newspapers and trade magazines will enhance their possibility of finding a better job. You're no likely to get a better job this way, but it has been known to work. If you're interested in living and working out o town, it may be a useful option to run your box-number ad in local papers, or it may just be used as another way of conducting a strictly confidential job search. Keep in mind, however, that if someone does want to interview you, you may have to travel at your own expense. The same holds true when answering an ad from an out-of-town newspaper.
As I mentioned earlier, answering help-wanted ads does get people jobs. I just feel, however, that the potential problems they cause employed people, added to the mass-appeal aspect of them, should make you think twice before responding to ads not placed by reliable personnel recruiters. Still, help-wanted ads should definitely be an adjunct tool in your search if you happen to be unemployed.
