Applying Electronically

Browsing through the classified ads one Sunday, you come across the perfect job listing: A position at a facility just minutes away from home, serving the patient population you are most familiar with, offering full benefits and a generous salary. Excited by the possibility of shaving minutes off of your morning commute and treating a patient population that's geared toward your background (not to mention substantially bolstering your income), you sit down at your computer, type a concise but eloquent cover letter, print out a copy of your resume, and prepare to mail these to the director of human resources.

At the exact moment you drop your resume into the mailbox, an equally qualified candidate for the same job clicks her mouse, instantly sending her cover letter and resume to the computer of the recruiter. By the time your letter arrives, the recruiter has already looked over the resumes of your competition, and your e-mail-savvy rival has already made a personal connection by following up her resume with a phone call. Who do you think has the edge on this position? "When we place an ad for a specific job in the paper, we have a set number of applicants in mind that we'll consider, and that's usually a handful, about three or four," said Michele Wilkinson, vice president of human resources for Gardner-Manzella Inc., a rehab recruitment company based in Sherman Oaks, CA. "And since jobs are offered on a first-come, first-served basis, getting your resume to us first and then following up later with a phone call is really key to getting the job." And considering that most of your competition will rely on e-mail during their job searches, applying electronically is no longer an option-it's a must. E-mailing Your Resume According to Wilkinson, the lion's share of job applicants at her company first contact her via e-mail, her preferred means of corresponding. "Over the past few years, I've had an incredible number of applicants contact me via e-mail-I'd say more than 90 percent of all the resumes I receive. E-mail is obviously much quicker than mailing your resume," she said. "It's also just easier for me to deal with e-mail because the resumes are already on my computer, and I'm able to scan [applicants'] qualifications much easier." Job seekers may wonder, however, what recruiters like Wilkinson are looking for in an e-mailed application. For the most part, she said, the same information that would appear in a mailed application: A detailed resume including the applicant's relevant experience, and a cover letter that more specifically explains what the applicant can bring to the position and why he's interested in the job. The main difference is that this information should be arranged in a way that makes the e-mail easiest for recruiters to digest. According to Wilkinson, the resume itself should be sent as an attachment to the e-mail, with an emphasis on pertinent information over fancy fonts or a particular format. "I'll occasionally receive resumes that are 15 to 20 pages in length. That's not [appropriate] for any resume. But there's no particular format that I prefer," she said. "Resumes are usually sent as a Microsoft Word attachment, and that's fine. It doesn't matter to me what the resume looks like, as long as it states the person's qualifications and the type of position and location they're looking for." Wilkinson said that applicants should also include a brief cover letter in the body of the e-mail that expands on the information included in the resume, and explains why they are applying for this job in particular. "There are so many different job listings out there, and some people will send their resume out to dozens of places just to get their resume in circulation," she said. "But with a cover letter, you can show [the recruiter] that you've read the recruitment listing and understand what the position [entails]. It takes more time than just mass mailing your resume, and it shows me that the applicant is really interested in the particular job I'm offering." Avoiding E-mail Pitfalls Even better, Wilkinson added, is when applicants follow up the e-mail a few days later by phone. A follow-up phone call not only gives applicants a chance to talk in more depth about the position and (hopefully) make a favorable impression with the recruiter, but they can also make sure that their resumes were actually received. "This doesn't happen often, but on occasion people will call and ask if I've received their e-mail when, in fact, I haven't received it," she said. "So calling lets me know that [applicants] are truly interested in the job, and it also [assures] them that I've received their e-mail." Prior to sending their resume, however, applicants should also check the e-mail attachment for computer viruses, another pitfall of electronic messaging. A number of computer programs will automatically scan for viruses and alert you of a problem, but for a quick, downloadable version available for single use, visit www.macafee.com. Also, be sure to update any virus-scanning program periodically, since new, more complicated computer viruses emerge all the time. There's no surer way to extinguish your chances of landing a job than by accidentally sabotaging the recruiter's computer. On a final note, job seekers should never send their resume to prospective employers from an e-mail address based at their current place of employment. According to Job Searching Online for Dummies (1998, Indianapolis: IDG Books Worldwide), employers not only have the right to filter and scan all of their employees' incoming and outgoing e-mail, but it is also legal to fire employees who use work-based e-mail systems to search for a new job. Job seekers would be much better served by opening an e-mail address from their home computer; www.juno.com and www.hotmail.com are two popular providers that offer free e-mail accounts. Mike Le Postollec was formerly on staff at ADVANCE.