Anybody else had this resume experience??

Sunny Posted: Apr 02, 2003 09:42 PM

Anybody else had this resume experience??

Please tell me I am not the only one who paid all this money for pretty resume paper that 'stands out', and has a pile of it sitting on the floor because the ink ran, I got the address wrong, etc..
Why is each resume taking me 20 minutes, 8 sheets of paper, and 6 envelopes?

WithThisRing Posted: Apr 02, 2003 09:45 PM

Re: Anybody else had this resume experience??

sorry nope. I refuse to buy the pretty paper because half the resumes I send out get faxed or emailed. Only a handful I mail out and I use regular paper because my resume is going to be put in a pile with 100's of other resumes and I am convinced the type of paper used is not going to weigh on a decision. I think companies look for what is written on the paper rather then the paper itself.

LisaT Posted: Apr 02, 2003 09:49 PM

Re: Anybody else had this resume experience??

99% of the resumes I send out are electronic copies. But I did just pick up some nice linen paper so I could have some high quality copies for a job fair and to give out on interviews.

I like having something a little more substantial when handing out my resume. But Chippatrid is right - whats on the paper is much more important.

Sunny Posted: Apr 02, 2003 09:49 PM

Re: Anybody else had this resume experience??

I agreed with you, but everyone insisted I have this great paper. Pretty ridiculous, if you ask me. I am confident about what is on it, but still have no job lined up. Maybe I should just take the summer off.......
That would be nice...

WithThisRing Posted: Apr 02, 2003 09:57 PM

Re: Anybody else had this resume experience??

I have no job lined up either. I've been out of work for a while and doing temp work just to make ends meet.

I go on Monster.com and I join in on the chats and on the boards and what I have learned is its a very tough world out there.

I applied to a job in October, went on the interview in November and here it is April and the job opening is still available. (They just keep updating the post date) Companies are just being real jerks. They know people are desperate for a job and will do anything and take any salary offered to them. Knowing all of that if they tell you to stand on your head and juggle if you want the job then you do it.

I have gone on interviews where they have asked me the most craziest questions, kept me waiting for an hour, one guy took a phone call in front of me and was on the phone for 30 minutes. The most recent interview the person figured out what my salary was in front of me. She asked what I made hourly doing temp and right in front of me took out the calculater and figured out what my salary was.

The best thing to do is just keep sending out resumes. Companies get over 100 resumes a day for 1 position so they can be very picky (but believe me fancy paper means nothing)

Also what a lot of companies do is they pay headhunters to accept all the resumes and weed through it, then send them the top 5 candidates (this way the company doesnt have to do the work and can pay someone to do it for them)

What I do is, if the company has a fax number, email address and regular address I send my resume to all 3. You have to be persistant.

THe one thing I learned is never give up and dont get discouraged. I would get very discouraged. Just keep sending them out. I have sent out over 200 resumes. Just keep them going. Dont give up

Sunny Posted: Apr 02, 2003 10:13 PM

Re: Anybody else had this resume experience??

What do you do? What kind of job are you looking for? I am graduating in may, and need to find something!

WithThisRing Posted: Apr 02, 2003 10:15 PM

Re: Anybody else had this resume experience??

I am an admin assistant.

I am really looking to be a coordinator or an analyst as I've been an admin for 6 1/2 years and I want to move up (its very very hard to break the admin mold. When you apply for something above people only look at you as an admin and nothing more)

But since I am having such a hard time looking above I've been applying to admin postings and hoping to get into a company I can quickly move up in

Sunny Posted: Apr 02, 2003 10:17 PM

Re: Anybody else had this resume experience??

Good luck to you! I hope you find something! I know I can get a job, it is just the KIND of job that I want or do not want. I am still in the 'applying for the job I want only' stage. I feel like I worked so hard to get my grad degree- I want a job that requires one.

allure Posted: Apr 02, 2003 10:20 PM

Re: Anybody else had this resume experience??

Good Luck ladies i am in insurance looking to move forward I am getting a resume ready for Met Life in Manhattan my dream location for work

WithThisRing Posted: Apr 02, 2003 10:22 PM

Re: Anybody else had this resume experience??

Best of luck. Just stay positve. Also apply to things you wouldnt give a second glance too because sometimes learning more about the position in person can be rewarding. It may turn out to be a job you are interested in.

Sunny Posted: Apr 02, 2003 10:22 PM

Re: Anybody else had this resume experience??

Allure- beware of fancy, expensive resume paper!!! The printer knows- it ruins it on purpose!

allure Posted: Apr 02, 2003 10:24 PM

Re: Anybody else had this resume experience??

Thanks Ladies

WithThisRing Posted: Apr 02, 2003 10:29 PM

Re: Anybody else had this resume experience??

definatly check out monster.com for the message boards and chats. They are really helpful. (Not as addicting as LIW but if you ever need to know something for an interview or resume or even just vent about job searching, everyone there is great)

Sunny Posted: Apr 02, 2003 10:30 PM

Re: Anybody else had this resume experience??

I will try monster.com! Thank you!

alina Posted: Apr 02, 2003 11:00 PM

Re: Anybody else had this resume experience??

Allure, I don't mean to break your dreams of moving into at Manhattan building of Metlife, but it is my understanding (from having worked there and having former coworkers that still do) that Metlife has sold its Pan Am building and has fully leased its Madison Ave. building ot CSFB... Most of the people who are working at Metlife in the City work in Long Island City, and there is also an Investment Management Office in NJ.

Edited for spelling

alina Posted: Apr 02, 2003 11:04 PM

Re: Anybody else had this resume experience??

For the girls looking for admin positions, have you tried looking through the websites of the companies directly? I know for a fact that my bank has some openings, and they are posted on both the internal and external career sites... If you're interested, you can try to FM for the name of my bank and go from there. I got my most recent job this way (but not admin)

WithThisRing Posted: Apr 02, 2003 11:05 PM

Re: Anybody else had this resume experience??

Thanks Alina, that I have done. Still no luck

IrishTracy Posted: Apr 02, 2003 11:05 PM

Re: Anybody else had this resume experience??

Nope! What ever paper is in the printer works for me!!

Sunny Posted: Apr 02, 2003 11:07 PM

Re: Anybody else had this resume experience??

You must have a good printer. I thought I did, too.

alina Posted: Apr 02, 2003 11:19 PM

Re: Anybody else had this resume experience??

As to the paper, I haven't recruited myself, but I would be highly turned off by regular paper resume if it was mailed (does not apply to faxes or emails).

So to me, I would think a candidate has to stand out by a lot from someone else to get an interview from a plain paper... I would perceive a plain paper resume to be coming from a person who does not care much about appearance, b/c after all resume is the first impression that an employer gets from you.

I am not a big fan of monster, but most of the search engines that I have used in the past have been finance oriented (Bloomberg, FT, a specifically finance oriented recruiting firm whose name I can't remember now, but its pretty large in scope).