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Once your resume is sent to employers, the anticipation can begin to build. The urge to call an employer may begin to build; however, patience gives you the best chance of getting the interview. In my experience, I’ve witnessed people taking them out of consideration by their actions after sending in a resume.
Most large companies will send a confirmation e-mail when they receive your resume. If you didn’t receive a confirmation from the employer, it is fine to call and ask if your resume was received (unless the job advertisement states “no calls”). However, asking too many questions can annoy a busy recruiter, so try not to take up too much of an employer’s time. Simply ask if they received your resume, and thank the recruiter for their time.
I’ve had candidates call wanting to know when interviews are taking place, ask if I can look through their resume while on the phone, and ask if I can tell them if I think they will be called for an interview. I find all of the above questions to be rude and inappropriate. One thing to remember is that a recruiter is busy, but will eventually complete the hiring process. If your resume is written well and you meet the qualifications of a position better than other applicants, you will be selected for an interview. So calling a recruiter and asking questions like the ones mentioned above insinuate to a recruiter that you don’t think they are properly doing their job. All you need to know is that an employer received your resume; if so, you have to leave the rest in the capable hands of the recruiter.
The key is not to be a pest to the recruiter. I once interviewed person and received a call the following day to see if a hiring decision had been made. I said, “typically, a hiring decision takes several days or a week to make since references are sometimes hard to get a hold of. A decision has not been made at this point in time. All interviewed candidates will be notified in one week of the hiring decision, regardless if they are successful or not.” The man thanked me for my time and hung up. The following day, I received another call from the same person asking if I had made a hiring decision. This person ended up calling me every day until I informed him that he was not the successful candidate. The reason this person was not successful was because of the phone calls. I had contacted the manager of the vacant position, and informed him of the abundance of phone calls. The manager and I both agreed these phone calls displayed poor listening skills, and decided that person was not suitable for the position.
If you haven’t heard from the employer to schedule an interview, take a second look at your resume and the job posting you applied for. Did your resume and cover letter do a good job explaining why you met all the job qualifications? A job posting states exactly what the candidate needs in order to be contacted for an interview. Now honestly ask yourself; “does my resume convey to the reader that I meet and exceed the qualifications?” If the answer is “no”, then you’re unlikely to get called for an interview.
If you’ve sent many resumes to employers; only to hear nothing from the employers, it may be time to hire a professional resume writer. A professional resume writer will look at your resume from a different perspective, and can give an honest opinion as to why your resume isn’t soliciting any bites.
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