Online Resume Posting - The Numbers Game

© David Alan Carter
All Rights Reserved

Job search at a standstill? Not sure what to do next?

Well, if you’ve got your resume up to speed, you’re halfway home. But the best resume in the world isn’t going to snag that job interview if it doesn’t first catch the eye of a hiring official.

To a large extent, job hunting is a numbers game. To be successful, it helps to be in all the right places at all the right times. That’s a daunting task if it’s just you and your inkjet printer and a book of stamps.

Now, it goes without saying that you're going to forward your resume to appropriate job opportunities - when you find them. But did you know that many jobs are filled before they’re even posted? It’s a fact: there are employers looking this minute to fill jobs they haven’t yet advertised.

Online Resume Posting - It’s A New World Out There

The Internet has changed the way jobs are advertised and positions filled. A majority of employers today use the Internet - to one extent or the other - to fill job openings. One avenue many choose: searching resumes on a favorite job bank before advertising a job listing. The idea is to cherry pick from existing candidates before opening the floodgates to unqualified applicants. That’s where an online resume posting service can be of value. These are one-stop shops where you can upload your resume once, and have it subsequently posted to dozens of online job banks and job search engines within hours.

Online Resume Posting - Let’s Not Kid Ourselves

As we mentioned earlier, job hunting is a numbers game. And the numbers are against you. If you’re responding to a listed job opening, rest assured your resume will be one of hundreds or even thousands received. Likewise, if an employer has a mind to check out a popular job bank for resumes reflecting a particular set of qualifications, that employer will likely find dozens if not hundreds of competing candidates. So it’s still a challenging environment out there for the job seeker. So what’s the argument in favor of posting to job banks? If it’s a numbers game, you need to be among the numbers, or your odds are effectively zero.

Online Resume Posting - You Can Do It Yourself, But...

Here’s some more straight talk: you can post your resume yourself to these job banks, and save yourself the money of having someone else do it for you. And we’re big believers in saving money. But there is a caveat. Posting to online job banks takes some time. You have to first identify those job banks that are appropriate to your goals. You have to set up account at each one. You have to learn the procedures for each site. You have to upload files and make myriad decisions that affect the posting - from requesting confidentiality to setting up email forwarding. Multiple that by the number of job banks out there, and you’re going to need some serious hours hunched over the computer.

Online Resume Posting - Tick Tock

To sum it up, time really is money. If you're between jobs, you know the clock is ticking and time is of the essence in landing interviews that will lead to offers. An online resume posting service can save you a good chunk of that precious time. And if you're still employed, finding the hours to slog your resume 'out there' in the kind of numbers necessary to improve your odds is just as challenging.

Online Resume Posting - Insist On The Following

Yes, there are lots of pros to online resume posting services, but you still have to be cautious. There’s a lot of snake oil out there, and everybody’s looking to take your money. But not every service is worthy of the price they charge. Before you spend your hard-earned cash, make sure you can answer "yes" to each of the following:

• Does the company provide a list of all the job banks they work with, and can you see that list before you’re asked to pay a dime?
• Are they serious job banks, like Monster.com, HotJobs, Career Builder, Dice and more?
• Are you, the client, given a choice of whether to have your information submitted only to "general" job banks, or to include more targeted, industry-specific job banks?
• Is there a option for keeping your postings confidential, so your current boss doesn’t stumble across your resume on the Internet?
• Does the company have a good reputation?

FYI, we asked former recruiter David Alan Carter to evaluate some of the leading online resume posting services on the web. He came back with a grand total of one that he was willing to recommend. See details below.

Is your resume as good as it can be? If not, here's help from a former recruiter finding good Online Resume Writers.