The One Thing You Can Do to Make Your Resume Stand Out

The Wall Street Journal tells us how the hiring process really works. But the part I really noticed were their comments on the one thing you can do to get your resume out of the slush pile. The summary:

What’s more, recruiters will only review applications that show a person meets a job’s basic qualifications, based on screening questions, she says.

One common exception many firms make: A job hunter who is referred by an employee or other trusted source. A referred candidate may be given immediate attention, potentially speeding them to the interview stage. Michelle Vasquez, 43, says she landed a phone interview for a senior marketing job last month thanks to a referral from a friend of the hiring manager. Ms. Vasquez, who has been out of work for the past year and a half, was later invited to interview with several of the company’s senior managers, though she later found out she didn’t get the job. “I didn’t have out to fill an online application,” she says. “I went straight into the interview pool.”

Yes, yes, yes! Networking again leads to job success!

Let’s face it, when most companies have an open position, they receive a TON of resumes. Even if you’re the perfect candidate, it’s often hard to get noticed simply because of the sheer quantity of applicants. But if you’ve networked properly, your resume circumvents the slush pile and goes straight to the hiring manager. How does this happen? Because you give it to someone you know in the company (or someone you know that knows someone in the company) who hand delivers it to the right person.

I know you can’t do this for every resume you send (after all, it’s hard to know someone in every company you may want to work for), but the bigger your network is, the better chance you have of finding someone who knows someone who knows someone (and on and on) that can help you out. That’s why you need to develop and work a networking plan and regularly evaluate your progress. It’s something you do now that can pay off in the future in case you find yourself wanting to make a job change or are fired/laid off for some reason. I can speak from experience — networking works!!!!