Have you ever gone past a series of modern windmills? I just did recently-they were amazing. At first, they don’t look real. Then as you get closer, they begin to loom in jaw-dropping proportions because they are huge. These gigantic pinwheels are carefully placed to catch the wind in the best spots available. A lot of study goes into how tall they need to be, where they should be located, and which direction they should face. This is because they are very expensive to manufacture and install so they need to be where they will catch the most wind and generate the most power. Why would anybody put this expensive piece of technology in a random spot because it is easier? No matter how well the windmill is constructed, it will not do what it’s designed to do if it’s not in the right place.
A well-crafted resume is the result of a similar type of investment. Just like the modern windmill, they are carefully designed and can be expensive to create. So why distribute that resume in a random pattern because it is easier? If your resume is not being put in the right place, it will not be able to do what it’s designed to do.
Professional Resume Services has the ability to put your resume in the place where it will be most effective through our Recruiter Resume Distributions. Since we maintain a database that is updated weekly, we know which recruiters are working in the various industries out there and we can specifically target your unique preferences and project parameters. We will only put your resume where it will act like one of those high-tech pinwheels and generate the most energy for your career goals.
There are many experts analyzing the numbers to figure out the trends in the job market. One example from CareerBuilder has published their 2014 U.S. Job Forecast and it has both good news and bad news. Good news — the economy is improving and unemployment is at a five year low point. Bad news — Washington’s debt issues probably will keep hiring at a slow pace.
Of course, the experts are looking at huge amounts of data and the overall picture of the job market. They are crunching the numbers from every industry and profession to get the numbers on the charts and graphs that illustrate what they predict. But you are not looking for a job in every industry and profession, right? You want to know how all this data boils down to something that will help you get your next job.
This is where an expert who looks at the big picture but is being paid to distribute your resume focuses on those things that will do exactly that. I’m not talking about someone who does a canned blast to all the headhunters. That really doesn’t work all that well. What does work is a resume distribution that starts out by asking you –their customer– for 6 to 10 industry/positions/salary targets. Then a letter targeted to recruiters who meet your preferences and requirements is sent out in MS Word format to each one. After that, you get a Microsoft Excel file with the contact information on every recruiter who got that letter. This gives you the ability to follow up, track activities, etc. In fact, it’d be good to have the ability to send out that letter again within a month to keep you in the forefront of consideration.
This is exactly what Professional Resume Services’ Resume Distribution Service does. It is like getting out the magnifying glass and looking past the trends to find the job you are interested in.
Good News! Some Job Search Expenses Are Deductible!
Sometimes it might feel like all the money you spend trying to find a job just blows away in the wind. But that really isn’t true if your money was being invested in your future career because that investment will bring a return eventually. Until then, you might want to check out what the IRS says about deductions for individuals: under “Job Search Expenses,” there are some that can help. Of course, there are restrictions, and you will have to do your homework to see if you qualify.
The IRS does not allow deductions for first-time job seekers, those who have been long-unemployed, or those switching career fields. You have to be looking for a new job in your current occupation. For example, if you have been a carpenter, there will be no deductions for your search to be a pastry chef, but there might be if you are looking for better-paying carpentry jobs.
If you qualify, you can deduct these things:
Employment and outplacement agency fees — unless your employer pays you back or pays the agency
Resume costs — if you are looking for a new job in your present occupation, you can deduct the amounts spent on preparing and distribution
Travel expenses — this gets tricky because it depends on the amount of time your trip is devoted to your job search, but there will be some deductions in most cases
If you aren’t in the habit of keeping receipts for tax deduction purposes, you lose the chance to do it. Careful record keeping of your job search and employment expenses can keep some of that money from just blowing away in the wind. Itemized deductions need to be proven and need to be accurate for the current tax rules, so talking to an expert about your individual return is a good idea.
You have carefully crafted your resume, reading all the tips and compiling your information before editing and polishing your presentation to be the best snapshot of the assets you bring to the hiring interview.How do you get that resume distributed so it gets read? It isn’t enough to go through the paper and send envelopes out to any address you find, hoping you get a response. A lot of companies will now ask you to apply online even though they advertise in that newspaper. It’s a good idea to learn how to work with online applications and attach your resume electronically.This is pretty much standard, and not knowing how to do it limits you. It’s also a good job skill so you don’t have an excuse for ignoring that whole technology thing. The next step after writing a resume – distribution – trips a lot of job-seekers up.They don’t really know how to distribute their resume and aren’t honestly aware of all the potential openings available to them. When you employ a hit-or-miss method to looking for a job, you are going to miss a lot of the job openings in your field. A “resume blast” indiscriminately blanketing the job market often is ignored or seen as spam. If you are serious about distributing your resume effectively, consider working with a recruiter.This is a professional whose career is connecting companies and potential employees. They know exactly how to get your resume into the hands of someone who will want to call you in for an interview. Recruiters often specialize in certain industries or areas. You can do the research yourself, hoping you find the right match, or you can do this: Professional Resume Services can connect you with the recruiters who fit your search.Instead of that resume blast or scattered attempts, the database of almost 16,000 recruiters is searched for the best options for you. This database is updated quarterly and has major recruiting firms, contingency and retained recruiters, and more. Once the recruiter is identified, a targeted letter in PDF and MSWord format is sent to each one. Then you get an Excel file with the contact information for every recruiter your resume was sent to.
That’s a lot more effective than circling want ads and hoping you find a job.
Successful job searching is a huge task. And resume distribution is probably the biggest and most difficult part of the whole process. It takes a lot of time and effort, and you will be hit with a lot of rejection and disappointment. With all that pulling you down, it is often hard to keep motivated and continue the search, but you can do it. Here are some simple tips to help you stay motivated and keep your head in the right place as you distribute and search.
Move On Quickly From Rejection: There is nothing more degrading than rejection, but there is no reason to dwell on it. Accept that you were not the right fit and move on to the next place. This will keep you from getting bogged down by multiple rejections.
Take A Resume Distribution “Vacation”: Now, don’t go off to Hawaii on a whim, but it is advisable to take a day off from the job search every once in a while. A day spent doing things for yourself will get you back up to where you want to be to continue your distribution with vigor.
Keep Positive: I know, this sounds nearly impossible, but you can do it. Some people have a mantra they recite to keep them in good spirits, others have a routine they go through that keeps them from thinking about the disappointment too much. Figure out what works for you and if you can’t think of anything, smiling can change your whole attitude and keep you going.
It will not be easy. The important things rarely are. But that does not mean you should give up. You need to keep motivated if you want to be rewarded. Eventually you will succeed and you will land that job that you have been searching for so diligently.
It can seem overwhelming to distribute your resume and get your name out there, but it doesn’t have to be.If you can slow down, think things through, and be confident in your search and distribution, then it will be much easier. Here are some things you should remember and be aware of when choosing where and how to distribute your resume.
Send your resume to more than one place: You will have a better chance at actually getting a job if you have your eggs in more than one basket.
Don’t give your resume to places you wouldn’t commute to: This seems like common sense, but it is something you should keep in mind the whole time you are distributing your resume. If you are not willing to commute daily to a company, then don’t bother wasting your time or theirs by giving them your resume.
Follow up: After spending hours giving your resume to dozens of companies, you want to be able to know what is happening and if your hard work is paying off. But be careful not to become annoying. Follow up after a week or two and be very polite and to the point.
Don’t become discouraged: Know right now that it will take a lot of time for you to get called in for an interview or get the job. You cannot let the long amount of time discourage you from distributing and re-distributing. You need to keep going and you will eventually get the job that you are looking for.
If you are serious about job hunting, then you need to make sure that you approach it from every direction. It is all well and good checking job websites and applying for vacancies, but this isn’t always enough when it comes to finding your perfect job position and resume distribution might be able to help! When firms are looking for people to join their team they don’t always go via job vacancy websites and newspaper adverts. They are often in a rush to find someone or feel that they need someone with the right skills so they tend to go via agencies to find who they need.
Of course, if you are out of work then being head hunted probably won’t happen, which is why you need to make the job vacancy opportunities come to you!
There are companies that specialize in getting your resume out there to the relevant people. This means that when big companies are searching for people, you can ensure that you are at the top of the list. When you contact a company about resume distribution they can usually make sure that your resume gets out there to the right people at the right time. This means that your resume goes to the right industry people and therefore you have the best possible chance of being successful when it comes to your ongoing job hunt. Inquire about targeted distributions, not just distributing to anyone. Our resume distribution process asks for specific industries, desired positions and salary ranges so we can get the most targeted distribution possible. We don’t want to waste your time OR the recruiters time.
Just make sure that the resume distribution service you sign up for has the resources to get your resume out to the right places so that your skills are showcased to the right people!
Did you know that not every job vacancy is advertised through job websites and newspapers? Many companies simply do not have the time and resources to go down the usual job vacancy route of taking applications and offering interviews to people that are successful.
Instead of going down the traditional route of looking for potential employees, many companies rely on job agencies and head hunters to find the people they need. This makes the process that much quicker and easier for them because someone else takes care of a majority of their job hunt for them. If you are serious about finding the job of your dreams, then you need to do what you can to make sure that you are exploring every avenue when it comes to finding a vacancy that suits you and this includes getting in touch with agencies.
The difficulty with this comes when you are new to this whole environment and aren’t sure where to get started. It can be confusing to know who to contact and how to go about it. If this is something that concerns you and you want to go about everything in the right way then you need to look at resume distribution services. Recruitment companies and advisors often know the best people in particular industries to contact about vacancies and have contacts to find out about possible job opportunities before they are officially released. By using a company to distribute your resume to these companies in bulk you have to ensure you have the best possible chance of being successful when it comes to finding a job!
