In tight job markets, such as we are experiencing here at the end of the new millennium's first decade, it helps to have every possible advantage when applying for a position. There are some things you can do to get an edge, to stand out from the crowd, that have to do with your resume, cover letter, choice of references and so on. These are strategic considerations - that is, the creative thinking goes into planning and preparing your methods - as well as tactical ones, which involve how you take certain actions. One tactical method that can work for all job applicants is job searching with online faxing.
With an online fax, you don't have to bother with a fax machine, paper rolls, toner or ink, phone lines or anything else. You get a number with which you can send and receive faxes directly from your computer or from a specially designed Web site form. Either way, you save time, trouble, money and exasperation by having your fax capability always a mere mouse click or two away. How exactly can an online fax help you? There are a number of ways.
Customized submissions
Since you don't have to print anything out for faxing with a regular fax machine, or (worse yet) mailing in an envelope, you can easily keep an assortment of customized resumes and cover letters on your computer. You can make different cover-letter-and-resume documents - one page for each is best - and have them ready to send to different kinds of companies. If you are an accountant, for example, you can highlight your tax preparation skills for a resume intended for tax firms, your banking experience for financial institutions, your teaching expertise for business schools and so forth.
You can do the same thing with your list of references, which ideally should fit at the bottom of your resume. Depending on the job being applied for, you can use different employers, colleagues, clients and friends, and not have to print any of the various documents you create. Since you will be faxing them, all you have to do is save a version in the appropriate folder on your hard drive and you will be ready to respond to any job ad for any kind of firm.
Top-of-pile means top-of-mind
Job postings on the Internet, in particular, give multiple addresses for sending in applications. Although e-mail addresses are showing up with greater frequency, there is almost always a fax number given. Depending on your strategy again, you may use one, two or all of these contact addresses to send your resume. Unless the job poster specifically requests one over another, there is no reason not to use them all. However, many people are starting to use only the e-mail addresses for their replies, which opens up a window of opportunity for those using online faxing.
While e-mails can pile up, unseen, in the computer of a human resources (HR) clerk, your faxed application will print out of a fax machine. If the fax machine is on that clerk's desk, so much the better, but even if the machine is in a central office location, the fax will likely be delivered to the right in-basket and be handled before an e-mail. Even if a truly efficient HR employee is on top of both e-mail and faxes, having a print-out on the right desk is definitely better than having a subject line listed with a hundred others in an e-mail program.
Other fax advantages
Not all job openings are advertised. This is one of the real secrets of the job searching pros. Only about one of seven open positions gets advertised in the newspaper, online or other publicly available ways. Many jobs are filled by word of mouth, referrals and, of course, luck. Since luck is really just "preparation meeting opportunity," it would behoove job searchers to integrate online faxing into their job search tactics.
Fax numbers are listed far more frequently in corporate listings - whether in the Yellow Pages, the local Chamber of Commerce or online - so you can easily develop a list of numbers for sending job letters and resumes. There are some firms that do not like receiving unsolicited job applications, whereas other (perhaps more enlightened) companies and HR professionals see such acts as indicating ambition, creativity and a real desire to work. There is no harm whatever in getting fax numbers from your colleagues, friends and relatives, either, and asking those companies about openings in your field.
Job searches are tough enough without waiting for someone to "do you a favor." Do yourself a favor by taking advantage of every opportunity to present yourself to a likely employer. Use discretion and common sense, of course, but add in a dash of daring, as well. Nothing ventured, nothing gained!
Source: http://www.ArticlePros.com/author.php?Chris Haycox
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