An 18 inch cockroach is the best resume I’ve seen. A friend of mine was applying for a job as a programmer of railroad simulators. He knew that many programmers could do the technical part. He also knew that the artistic part was just as important. Drawing is difficult, but sculpture is even tougher. He sent a giant cockroach sculpted in great detail as his resume. He got a call back, the interview and the job.
A good resume gets you an interview. Electronic, paper, CD, metal, cloth, or clay. If it gets you an interview, it is a success.
Sometimes I hate success. Every time I get a paper resume I like, I have to ask for an electronic one. I hate it. Those few paper resumes are successes. They get a call from me. I hate those successes. The candidates love them because they work.
Should you send out paper resumes? That depends. Some places automatically trash paper resumes. At those companies paper is a waste. How about a multimedia CD? I get the resume off and then throw them away. I don’t like those either. But that isn’t the criteria. Does it get you an interview? If it does, it is a great resume. And notice I said I get the resume off the CD’s. That means I had to browse them.
I suggest you send paper or CD resumes out in small quantities only. Target your recipient. Follow up closely in case they require a different format.
Some people strongly disagree. They will ask you to pay them a few thousand dollars to send out a huge postal or email blast of resumes for you. I just heard sending out thousands of resumes called “carpet bombing.” Some services carpet bomb recruiters. Others carpet bomb companies. I receive carpet bomb resumes every day. I’ve never made a placement from one, but I will admit I at least glance at them whether they are paper, faxed, or by email.
I do think ResumeRabbit is a good way to get your resume on a lot of internet job boards, if you really want broad exposure and know the downside. There is no other carpet bombing/resume blasting service in paper, electronic or fax media that I recommend. Before I would spend money on that, I’d spend it on getting another certification to help my job search. But I’m not you. Just be careful with your money.
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Something To Do Today
Go through the list of companies you sent a resume to. Are there some that really should have contacted you but didn’t? Can you do anything to your resume to get a call back from them?
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Next: Certifications – gold and lead
Later: Recruiter motivation