How To Ensure Your Resume Gets You Hired

Having a good resume that details your qualifications and experience and one that is free of errors and spelling mistakes, is essential to getting the job you really want. However, if you are applying for a job where there are dozens, hundreds or even thousands of other job applicants, your resume will become a needle in a stack of needles and there is a good chance all the hard work you put into creating it and making it a masterpiece will go unnoticed and unappreciated.

Like I discuss in my article how to get any job you want, you must make yourself stand out from any and all other competition. The reality is, there are millions of people out of work worldwide who are desperate to find a job. Unfortunately, the majority of them will settle and take jobs that are really not what they want, but they need something to pay the bills. In the meantime however, these millions of unemployed workers are constantly e-mailing and mailing their resume to hundreds and even thousands of different employers hoping to get noticed and to get a job, (including any jobs you are applying for).

The purpose of your resume is to get you noticed so the perspective employer can learn that you are just as awesome in person as your resume makes you out to be. So how do you get past the secretaries, receptionists, human resource people, administrative assistants, etc. so they take your resume and put it at the top of the most highly qualified applicants to be reviewed by the decision-maker, or person who will make the decision to hire you? You have to stand out. Think about it this way, if you are already busy as hell in your job and your employer asks you to sort through hundreds of resumes that came in over the weekend and sort it down to maybe a dozen or so of the best candidates, you’re going to want to get it done as fast as possible.

Before you e-mail, mail, fax, etc. your resume to any employer, you should have first called to find out who to send it to. You need to call and find out the name of the person who is the decision-maker. You will address your resume to the decision-maker. You must also get the gatekeeper, or person who controls access to the decision-maker on your side. Remember, the gatekeeper has plenty of other things to do in their job and they usually want to get the resume thing handled ASAP. If you make an impression on the gatekeeper, that gatekeeper can then become an advocate for you and persuade or put a good word in that you really sounded impressive on the phone and encourage the decision-maker to schedule you for an interview.

How you package your resume up, will determine whether or not you stand out from all of the rest of the other applicants. As an employer, I want to be impressed when I am reading a resume. People who don’t even take the time to proofread or spell-check their resume communicate to me that they are lazy and do not have a very careful attention to detail. Those resumes go straight to the trash.

Your résumé packaging should be related to the industry that you are applying for. When I was in the construction industry and going after some companies I was interested in working for, I mailed my resume to the decision-maker in a plan tube, which was normally used for sending architectural plans and drawings. I would call the decision-maker’s office the day after it was delivered. I sent out 30 or 40 resumes and I got four or five responses, not all companies were hiring, but the way in way which my resume was delivered caused it to stand out from the rest and showed that I was different and not like everyone else. Everyone remembered the resume in the plan tube when I called. I got three job offers and therefore I had my choice as to which company I wanted to work for.

I had a friend who after graduating college and working a bunch of BS jobs that were not in his major for several years, who had decided that he wanted to become a production assistant in the movie or television industry. So I recommended that he buy some old surplus film tins. We then glued his resume to the insides of of these large film tins. He then mailed about 30 to 40 of these resumes to all of the firms he had interest in working for. Several of these companies decision-makers called my friend to tell him that even though they were not looking for or hiring anyone right now, that he would be the first person on their list that they called when they did need someone in the future because they loved the idea of how he put his resume in a film tin to get noticed. One of them remarked that anyone who could come up with that idea would have to be a great person to have working for them. The film tins did the trick.

The following is an e-mail I got from a reader in Honduras. My comments are (in bold brackets like this) in the body of her e-mail:

Good afternoon Mr. Wayne,

I follow you in Twitter and recently read your article “How to get any job you want“. It´s very good and so true. I believe that has gotten me where I am at my actual job. I have been working in the same company for 12 years and have been promoted several times now and feel very thankful and blessed. It´s very rewarding to feel you are trusted.

I´m writing because I know I can do what you recommend… but how can you do it when you are applying to a job in another country and you are doing it via email (send an overnight package with your resume to the decision maker. If you just keep emailing resumes you will most likely never hear from anyone)?  How can I get the job I want if it involves a visa sponsor (only apply to companies that hire people from other countries on a work visa)? I live in Honduras, Central America and I´m planning to relocate in NYC, looking to expand my horizons, professional growth and for a new learning experience. 

I´m very aware that there is a job crisis, but I firmly believe that in every crisis there is a opportunity. I´m also religious and believe that with God everything is possible (true! However, you need a good plan and strategy to follow).

When I send my resume, I tell the person that I  would appreciate the opportunity to discuss it with them and that I can make a trip to provide further information on my candidacy (everyone says that).  I´m also sincere in telling them that I need the permission to work in the United States but I tell them that I’m willing to pay the expenses of this process and of my relocation (only apply to companies who hire people on a work visa on a regular basis. Applying to companies who have never done this or trying to get a company to do it for the first time is a futile effort and a bad plan). 

I believe that there might be someone who needs the fresh experience and knowledge from someone who has lived in Latin America recently (I am sure there are).  Since I have a MBA and a B.S. in Marketing, I have recently been searching and applying to Advertising Agencies that target the Hispanic community. But have received no answer (Well, if you are a marketing person, you should be able to come up with some really cool packaging to make your resume stand out. You could make a YouTube video and enclose a DVD version that you can send along with your package, etc. Your package should be related to something the company does that you are applying to. Use your marketing skills to market you!).

What do you recommend? I understand it´s kind of difficult, but what would you do… if while you got a email inquiring about a job opportunity like mine? What do you think I need to include/add? (You need to stand out by creatively packaging your resume. Make sure you only spend time and money applying to companies that hire foreign nationals and companies where you can talk to a human being. You need to create rapport on the inside with someone who is already working there. Be creative! Wow them with what you come up with! I would also recommend you purchase a phone coaching session with me personally by clicking here so we can delve deeper into this and so I can learn more about you and your talents to help you craft a plan that gets you the job working for a company you are excited to work for instead of spinning your wheels).

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Marisol Hernandez

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” ~ Confucius