Safeguarding Your Resume

You might think that distributing your resume far and wide would help your job search, but in fact there are good reasons for keeping your resume safe from people whom you don't want to see it. Here are a few good reasons why you should keep your resume firmly under your own control.

When you apply for a job, you should tailor your resume so that it presents you as the ideal candidate for that position. The more you indiscriminately post your resume online, the greater the chance that an employer will see a version of your resume that is not tailored for the vacancy in the employer's organization. This could harm your job search as it prevents you from presenting yourself in the most attractive way possible to potential employers.

Posting your resume on every online job board can also make you look desperate to potential employers, which can seriously harm your job search. Candidates who submit their resumes in response to every online job posting can look as though they don't care what jobs they get. When you apply for a job, you should aim to give the impression that you passionately want the specific job for which you are applying. This is why job search experts advise job seekers to tailor their resumes for each application.

Letting your resume out of your control also creates a risk that recruitment agencies will submit it to employers without your consent. While a reputable recruitment agency always asks for a candidate's consent before sending out a resume, some less scrupulous agents can be less committed to keeping your resume safe. This could result in your resume being submitted in response to job postings in which you have no interest. You could end up receiving unwanted calls and other types of communication from employers you have no interest in hearing from.

Rather than sending your resume out indiscriminately or posting it on every online job board, keep tighter control over it by sending it only to the employers who most interest you. Every time you send out your resume as part of your job search, you should tailor it to match the specific job posting. For example, if you are applying for a job as an administrative assistant, you should highlight your experience in administrative or clerical work, while putting less focus on your retail experience. Customizing your resume in this way can help to improve your chance of success in your job search.

Safeguarding your resume is just as important as sending out your resume during your job search. To safeguard your resume, be careful about which recruitment agencies you work with, and only post your resume to job boards if they are relevant to your industry.

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