Alison Doyle has a blog post titled How To Avoid the Resume Black Hole. She has practical job search tips to help you in your job search, all things you should do.
I’m going on a different path from her post, though.
The resume black hole is one of the most frustrating things a job seeker experiences. I define the resume black hole as this: you apply to jobs, send your resume in, and never, ever, ever hear back.
It is disrespectful and discouraging. Job seekers from all levels, whether they want to earn minimum wage or hundreds of thousands of dollars, are beyond frustrated by the breakdowns in the process. People are shocked that there is very little contact to job seekers after applying, or even interviewing, and feel that it is a sign of kicking you aside, even if you seem to be qualified “to a t.”
What can you do about the resume black hole? Here’s my answer:
NOT MUCH.
The system is BROKEN. The people getting hundreds and thousands of resumes have broken processes, poor tools and bad training.
You can get madder and madder, but I suggest you do something else.
If the strategy you employ in your job search isn’t working (you aren’t hearing anything back), DO SOMETHING ELSE.
Stop sending your resume in.
Maybe, just maybe, the resume is a tool.
Here’s a simple analogy. Let’s say you are ready to build a house. I get you a gift: A hammer.
Can you build a house with just a hammer? Even if this hammer was the very best that money could buy?
No – you need more tools. You need training. You need a lot more than just a hammer!
Same thing in your job search. You need more than a resume. You need other tools, and many job seekers need training.
More on this concept in the next post.
