The government reports that more than 600,000 people lost their jobs last month. There were that many or more the month before. There are more than 8% of the population unemployed and those are the ones that are reported, that have applied for unemployment. There are probably that many more that are unemployed and have either depleted their unemployment or didn't work for an organization that was a part of that system. (A friend of mine worked for a ministry. He has been unemployed for nine months with no unemployment because the ministry didn't participate in that system.)
Companies receive more resumes than they can read for an opening. There was a school in Ohio that ran an ad for a janitor position and had more than 700 resumes in response. There were people with degrees and who had experience at a management level that applied.
The competition for jobs is greater than ever and there are fewer jobs to fight for. Companies are laying off and cutting back. Everyone is aware of the condition of our economy.
So, is the strategy of placing your resume on Monster.com, CareerBuilder.com or other job boards a smart strategy in times like these? The answer is, It doesn't matter. The people who get jobs from that strategy are few and far between. If you think the 700:1 odds in that Ohio janitor position were bad you should hear about the competition for the real jobs, the ones you want on those job boards. It's astronomical.
It's a waste of time to put your resume on Monster.com, CareerBuilder.com and the other job boards. It's an exercise in futility. But, if it makes you feel better go ahead and place it there. If you need to feel that you have done something then go for it. But, don't sit back and hold your breath waiting for the phone to ring or your email inbox to fill up with offers. Your inbox will fill up but with junk mail and offers of selling insurance and the like. But, the real jobs, the ones you want are not going to come running after you.
The job boards such as the ones we have mentioned are still used by Human Resources in many companies because it shows they are doing something. These people are most often process oriented people who feel like they have accomplished something because they have listed the position and are getting massive amounts of responses to the position listing. Results are measured by the volume of response not the length of time it takes to get someone hired. And, you get caught in the middle.
There are many other strategies for finding just the right job. You can go to my website, www.paraklete.net and to my blog there for a blog on the steps to take to find your next job. It includes valuable information that will help you to find and land your next job and it will be the right one.
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