Should you post your resume, or should you blast it?

First, let me warn you. Do NOT think that resume posting or blasting will get you a job. The only reason to do it is just in case it helps.

Most employers don't make a significant number of hires from Monster.com or other job boards. Most recruiters don't like sorting through hundreds of resumes delivered to their inboxes. Posting and blasting is a low-probability strategy.

That said, getting more exposure can help, especially if you need a job fast. So go ahead and post and blast, but be smart about it.

I don't want to insult your intelligence, so I'll insult mine. I used to think posting and blasting were essentially the same. Nope! So let's start by defining terms.

Resume posting is putting your resume on a job site like Monster.com.

Most online resume posting services post your resume to over 75 top job sites in 5 minutes or so for a moderate price. Posting to all those sites yourself could take at least 30 minutes per site, or almost a full work week. Likely longer. Then you have to maintain all your memberships at those sites. Frankly, you shouldn't waste time doing all that.

With resume posting services, you usually have to set up and account and fill out a form to post your resume. Then recruiters and employers can search the database to find you as a candidate.

When you post your resume, make sure it's excellent. Also make sure it contains the important keywords that'll excite potential employers when they're searching resumes in the job site's database. There easily will be tens of thousands of resumes in there. Standing out in a crowd that size can be tough.

Resume blasting is sending your resume (and cover letter too) to potentially thousands of recruiters and potential employers in a database usually maintained by a company that can blast your resume for you.

Resume blasting services generally let you deliver your resume automatically to the the email inboxes of a subset of thousands of recruiters targeted by disciplines (meaning job competencies) and geography.

To blast your resume, you usually have to sign up with a blasting service and give them a resume (and ideally a cover letter) to send out. Most I've seen have you fill out a form to get that done, or send a resume in Word format.

When you blast your resume, make sure both your resume and cover letter are enticing enough for recruiters to read them. Recruiters in the database are genuinely interested in getting your resume, but you must make it easy for a recruiter to read and understand your resume. If it presents them with problems (such as a font that's too small), they'll likely pass you by. You have seconds to make your impression.

You also want to make sure you choose a reputable blaster that won't spam every recruiter on the planet with your resume. Recruiters hate that! And it does you little good.

If you're going to use this "just in case it works" approach, you want to post your resume, AND blast your resume as a small part of a broader strategy to get hired quickly. But you want to be smart about it.

Remember that you want your job search to be targeted, and you want to impress. If you post a solid resume and cover letter, and you blast them to targeted recruiters, you should be able to maximize your exposure. That may shorten the time it takes to get hired, although I don't recommend holding your breath.

Post and blast, then get busy networking and targeting employers.

Roy Miller
http://www.Job-Search-Guidepost.com