This strengthening economy has convinced you it is time to look for a new job. You reviewed the basics of resume formatting and feel confident you are ready to put yourself out there. The days of a sifting through the help wanted section of your local newspaper are gone. You probably visited several jobs boards like Monster, Indeed, or Simply Hired. Maybe you have the perfect position, title, and pay rate in mind. Maybe you are geographically bound to your city or planning to relocate. The job posting aggregator sites allow us to explore all the possibilities.

Stay focused.

When you get to the search bar, know what you want because these sites scour the internet for postings as well as solicit advertisements from hundreds of thousands of potential employers. Depending on your source, a job posting can be a vague prospect or a super-detailed description that seems to describe only one human on the planet. You should know how to proceed no matter what you find.

1. Super short advertisement that contain a too good to be true statement such as “Make $2500 per week, no experience necessary” is probably not the route you want to go unless you are willing to risk kidnapping or 5 days without sleep.
2. Job postings that are vague but link to the company site to fill out the application and submit your hot-off-the-press remixed resume. These are great in that you can explore the company site and get a feel for whether you should invest the time to apply.
3. Detailed job postings requested 10 or more attributes from any applicants.
4. The gray area in between.

Be effective with your time.

No matter what you find, it is important to really investigate the job posting. Applying for a job takes time, and contrary to popular belief the “shotgun approach” is not good.  You send your new resume out to 15 jobs that fit 2 or more of your required characteristics. Some have the right title and the right city. Some have the right pay rate and the right hours. However, you have just sent out the same resume for 15 different employers and 15 different jobs. Because you did look for a smaller number of better fitting jobs for you, you spent time filling out online applications. This time could have been used to specifically improve your resume for the 2 jobs that you really wanted-the two jobs that fit all of your desired characteristics.

Use the right tool for the job.

Using your generic resume will likely get you moved to the pile of electronic irrelevance because most online positions get many applicants (see “shotgun approach” above). Employers use filters to remove resumes that do not reflect the list of desired characteristics in the posting. These applicant tracking systems save the HR manager hours of resume reviews. Specifically edit your resume for the job.  Now, you know.

What should you be looking for in a job posting?  Is the position a good fit for your goals? Find out in tomorrow’s post.