Resumes / Cover Letters and the Non-Sense

[WildWolf]

I've personally had no luck with Job Agencies and I applied many times to one. I've had equal luck with online applications as with in-person which was very small. And phoning for employment brought me to either having to apply online or come in with your resume. The resume is on the same level as applications if you ask me. It lists what you know, what education you may have and what you are presently doing or were doing, why does an employer need a resume ? If they have applications can I just fill that out hand it back, most insist on a Resume, when it's the same stuff on two pieces of paper, arrghh.

Depending on the type of job you are applying for, you are expected to send a thank you note if you don't get hired which I have never done. I find doing this, to be blunt, stupid. You can agrue against me and tell me and tell me for yourself it has put you on the sugar plum train to success, personally I would never do it. You didn't hire me so therefore why should I thank you, makes sense to me, again feel free to argue against, SOPA didn't pass we still have internet freedom (I hope it never does, back to the topic).

Cover letters seem awkward, you know a summery of the skills I have, you know how much or how little education I have, you know where I have worked, what am I suppose to say on the cover letter, didn't the resume cover this detail ? You are expected to bore the employer with random stuff about yourself, write about my dreams, my fantasies, what I do when there is nothing to do, I think it's more paper for an employer to bypass their time with and throw it in the trash after reading never to hear from them, I like to keep it simple. Resume. Done.

The rest is all fluff in my personal opinion, fluff that was brought into the Job world to confuse people, to stress people out, to make looking for a Job, not just a full-time job but a slave to get a Job, you'll never get. Are there certain industries that rely on a specific route to employ people ? I know a few people who have told me that the tradional "who you know" route is loosing it's strength. Someone I know told me he has had his friends try to get a job for him, but the employer never hired. I personally don't agree with the 'who you know' route, because their are alot of smart people who know no body but can't get a chance because Jill or Peter have a friend who wants a job and they want to get them into the position before it's possible filled with an outsider. The whole problem with following the 'who you know' route is what if the persons friend, doesn't care about the job, because, well, they didn't have to apply themself to get it, they just walked in apply and say they know jill/peter.

[Mark77]

What's your point?

At some level you need to communicate your interest and qualifications. For most of us, that ends up being in the form of a resume and a cover letter.

With some positions receiving hundreds, sometimes thousands of resumes for each position (ie: what you would find in Electrical/Computer Engineering), it may seem in vain. But unless you can communicate your interest for a position to someone who actually will read it and take it seriously, your chances of getting a position are zero.

[volan]

Cover letters seem awkward, you know a summery of the skills I have, you know how much or how little education I have, you know where I have worked, what am I suppose to say on the cover letter, didn't the resume cover this detail ? You are expected to bore the employer with random stuff about yourself, write about my dreams, my fantasies, what I do when there is nothing to do, I think it's more paper for an employer to bypass their time with and throw it in the trash after reading never to hear from them, I like to keep it simple. Resume. Done.

If you're looking for a job in a profession you absolutely need a cover letter. Hiring managers are busy, they need a quick executive summary of your skills, that comes in the form of the cover letter. Many times the hiring manager won't even make it to the resume it just gets tossed based on the cover letter. The cover letter is your first communication with the hiring manager and he/she will form an opinion about you based on what's in there. The hiring manager will be looking to see that you are able to communicate well and express yourself.

[Firebot]

Depending on the type of job you are applying for, you are expected to send a thank you note if you don't get hired which I have never done. I find doing this, to be blunt, stupid. You can agrue against me and tell me and tell me for yourself it has put you on the sugar plum train to success, personally I would never do it. You didn't hire me so therefore why should I thank you, makes sense to me, again feel free to argue against, SOPA didn't pass we still have internet freedom (I hope it never does, back to the topic).

What the heck are you talking about?

[rageguy]

You have no clue how many job applications are sent to a hiring manager's mailbox. The majority of resumes are all the same. In order to save me time, I scan cover letters and look for keywords, and to catch shotgunners (generic covers). If the letter was crafted nicely, then I'll give the resume 1 minute. If the letter did not past the initial test, it's rejected.

[BananaHunter]

You very likely need all of the above to land a job if you don't have connections. It's not like you have a choice. You want to use all 4 (and maybe some other methods as well) to maximize your chances.

-In-person is almost never feasible for many jobs. You can't just walk in and ask to see the hiring manager. Walk-in is only feasible for customer service jobs.
-Online application is common and easy to do. Most people without connections use the internet to job hunt nowadays
-Employment agencies give you that extra reach when everything fails. Lets face it, a lot of them have repeat clients that would not normally post a job ad themselves.
-Phone is the same as in-person. It's not likely you'll reach the hiring manager unless it's a very small company.

[CouponWarriorTURBO]

Your poll should have an option of "having an in with the organization/knowing people on the inside" because quite sincerely this is how most jobs (beside very entry level things like WAL*MART janitor or something) are decided upon.

[damnos]

The rest is all fluff in my personal opinion,

And your opinion got you where with job hunting?

[WildWolf]

The poll is about you or your experiences with how you got employed, or how others you know got employed.

[TodayHello]

OP sounds mad.

[hashjax]

is this thread for real or a joke? OP what were you smoking ... whatever it is get off it! :p

[nalababe]

The cover letter is in many ways similar to an abstract for a paper: a lot of information in a very short amount of time. It can also be the place where you can get an idea about a person (and no it need not be fluff) and yes, you can tell a lot by the way a person writes or the way that talks on the phone. Many would not use these to hire, but might to exclude.

As far as keeping in touch if you don't get hired. This is a good move...expecially if it isn't some 500 people applying entry position. We have had many difficult decisions before and 3 months, 6 months or even 2 years later we called up the previous candidate...In some cases they were happy where they were, in others, they were eager to jump.

Who you know helps to a point. But for jobs that require certain skills and competencies, this will not be overcome.

And applications are often not the same as a resume...maybe for a junior position, but less so as you move up. A resume is also important for proof of competency (and yes, it implies that you did not lie). During a Health Canada audit, it is my resume and training records that prove that I am qualified to do what I am doing.