This may be the biggest “Blow-off” ever, or is it? Everyone who has ever looked for a job shares this feeling. The preverbal black hole. However, you can improve your results if you understand its inner workings.
Stand-out with a powerful subject line. Give recruiters a reason to open your email while skipping over other people. Does your subject line make recruiters want to open your email over someone else’s email? “5 Reasons Why I Should Be Your Next Employee” is better than “Resume you requested.”
Include Key Words from their job posting. In your “5 Reasons” email and accompanying resume, include keywords from their job posting. These keywords will be the ones the recruiter will search by to determine which email to read.
Know the process. Understand the game. Resumes and applications are collected, entered into a database, and retrieved for consideration when they have enough selection to make a choice. This means your online application or resume must include the keywords recruiters will use in a search to retrieve qualifying applicants. Next, they will look for information in your application or resume that relates to the keywords in their job requirements. Again, think keywords. In which jobs did you use the skills they want to see? Where and for how long?
Lastly, you must outshine your competition. Yes, landing a job is a competition. So, where possible, the information you submit should better reflect or address their job requirements than your competition does. You may have fewer skills but present them better, making your skills easier to find, and you win! Use the company’s own language and keywords where they match your experience. Make it look like you were made for their job.
Companies are three times more willing to hire remote workers. It is a good thing? 
With the trend of more companies hiring remote workers, many employees are thrilled. However, it is not all good. While 36% percent say they are willing to hire 100% remote workers, they don’t care from where around the globe. That’s up from 12%. These numbers reflect a recent survey of more than 330 million resource executives. If you don’t have to be in the office, you don’t have to be in the area.
Before COVID craziness, 52% of companies were willing to hire at least some remote workers. Now those companies are willing to transition up to 88% of their workforce to remote workers. Of those, only half said they would prefer remote workers from their community. The other half said they would hire from anywhere around the world. Remote does not place a premium on a worker’s origin. The issue then becomes where is the cheapest area in the US or the world to find competent people. Bottom line, companies are discovering remote employees demand less wages for the luxury of working from home.
The result of the government mandated restrictions on commerce and selective business shutdowns has forced companies to restructure their processes and workforce to just stay afloat. While the effectiveness of these mandates is questionable, the one certainty is the government has been extremely successful in forcing businesses to revamp the way they do business. One such change includes the adoption of hiring remote workers in place of onsite employees.
Remember snail mail, slow and expensive? Next, we had faxes. Fast, reliable, but still a two-step operation. Then came email. Not only cheap, but fast, easy, and could be done from your desk! What could go wrong? Plenty.
Email made its impact felt in both our personal and business life. However, it is just black letters on a white background. It shows no emotion, no body language, and most importantly – no tone for the message is present from the writer. Therein lies its short-comings. There are way too many points to cover everything now, but here are some basics.
How to Make Emails Your Friend
A good subject line increases the likelihood your email will actually be read. Does it entice the reader to open the email? Does the subject line reflect what’s in the body of the email? If you are sending your resume to an employer, what better subject line then, “5 Ways You Can Benefit from Hiring Me.”
The body of the email is where most people fall short. In a nutshell, emails should be kept short, spell and grammar check used, and key points structured separately for clarity. No run-on paragraphs. Emails should be short and easy to read. If necessary, use bullet points to increase clarity and readability.
Your email is a reflection on you, your professionalism, intelligence, and communication skills. Subconsciously, people grade you by your emails so put some effort into the quality of your message.
Emails are best kept short and relay information only. They should not be used for explanations, stories, or apologies. Since the reader will attempt to attach emotions and meaning to the email, as the writer you must use extreme care in the wording.
Finally, emails really shine when used as follow-ups to phone calls and face-to-face meetings. After a phone call or personal visit, a simple “Thank you for your time this afternoon” email goes a long way to raise you above your job-hunting competition.
