Quick Tips to Help You Move Ahead

Escape the resume black hole

How many times have you submitted your resume and never heard anything back? Exactly! Sometimes organizations post job openings out of necessity and already have a candidate in mind or they give priority to prequalified sources, such as external recruiters or employee referrals. They often do not have the energy or manpower to do a deeper dive on the resumes beyond the 10-second scan. Where does your resume end up? In this deep, dark, black hole never to be reviewed again. Here are some tips on avoiding the black hole.

Connect through more differentiated channels

Make an effort to reach out to hiring managers and decision makers through other channels. This might be networking events and follow up emails; it works. For example, Passion Analytics founder, Ann Guo, reached out directly to a fellow alum for advice following one such event. Six months after meeting, she needed to put her startup on pause and return to the workforce for a bit. One follow-up phone call later, this Chief Scientist forwarded her resume along to a team within the software company where he worked, and the rest is history. <make this an anonymous>

Not only did Ann stay out of the resume shuffle, that company opened up an opportunity where there was not one available at the time. This can easily happen for you.

Other ways you can bypass traditional search methods:

• <ADD/EDIT THIS: networking whether live or other > Start with professional networking/internal people in the company who would be willing to forward your resume  –  Meet people, exchange information, make enough of an impression so people will remember who they are, so you don’t get stuck in the black hole phenomenon. Key to networking (LI, alumni) to make the impression (asking intelligent questions), send email and ask if they can forward resume on to HR or hiring. Do your research up front about the company or industry and engage them. For students this is ok. For mid-career or folks who are your industry peers, ask about things they know and find that common ground. — What if they ignore your LinkedIn request or contact? This should be a LinkedIn message follow-up. There are ways to help increase that chance – -> successful people can give back this way.
• Reach out to CEOs, VPs, Directors, etc. who would likely forward your resume on to others.  Receiving a resume from leadership carries weight in most companies. <Tie this in to the above note for recruiting – – the higher up the person is, the better your chances unless you know someone who can vouch for you. carries more weight with internal recruiting. Assume we have already met these people, for those in mid to early career level>
• <Tie in to LinkedIn follow-up: Get creative and have something to offer, this is the way to overcome possibility of never getting a reply> Make the connection to alumni and propose a highly leveraged way for them to give back. It’s a win-win. Successful people want to do this anyway – – the greater the reach, the better. For example, propose featuring their insider tips and insight in a campus opinion article or invite them to speak at your organization’s function. You do the legwork, create value for them and others and form a more personal contact for your future.
• <EDIT or ABSORB/FUTURE VIDEO> Reach out to alumni who would be Find an inside person Recruiting at financial services  . . . Founder forwarded a resume to her out of the blue for a candidate. Candidate did not fit, but she reached out to him anyway

Let the opportunities find you

How can you do this? Take a on a project you are super passionate about, make it short but meaningful and broadcast the results to your network. Now you have a much wider audience of fans and potential recruiters who can brag about you to others. Learn more about this. <link to video to come>

If you use these tips as ways to funnel opportunities to you, you’ll see a return and never have to search for jobs again.