As an Indianapolis recruiter for Accounting and Finance professionals, one of the most common complaints I hear is when candidates apply to positions 
and never hear back. Many fear technology has hurt their chances of getting an interview to showcase their skill level. After pondering this over the past week and spending several hours on CareerBuilder sorting through candidates that applied to our Accounting and Finance positions for Indianapolis based companies, I came up with the following tips to help you land in the "To call" pile versus the on the other end of the delete button.
- This may sound insignificant, but first impressions count. Make sure that your name is capitalized in the right places. It’s not a text message so you should capitalize your first and last name. This means you have to set your account up correctly. Under account settings you will be able to see how your name appears on the job posting you apply to.
- Double check the email address on your account settings as well. This is the same email that your CareerBuilder updates come to and should also be your login. Be careful that it’s a professional name because that email appears when you apply for a position even if you have the professional one on your resume it does not look good to have "BabyMama123 or Thuglife4ever" as one of the email addresses on your application. I would also make the suggestion that you go with a national email account versus the home Internet branded one. If you change from cable/Internet providers then your email address will change again.
- Apply only to the positions you qualify for! I know this seems like a no brainer, but if you are applying to 5 different positions within the same company then most likely the same recruiter or HR staff member is looking at those resumes and you lose credibility if you are applying for positions you aren’t qualified for. Or if you are inundating their inbox with your resume daily.
- Verify that you have updated your most recent work experience under the application portion of CareerBuilder. This shows up as a summary for the person reviewing resumes on the job posting and if it’s out of date then they may just delete your application without ever looking the resume because the job title is very different from the position they are recruiting for (and it’s your job title from 3 years ago). Also, pay attention to the dates of employment as employers are paying closer attention to the length of employment or as noted in a previous TGHR blog post the length of unemployment for applicants.
- Phone numbers should be up to date!! I bet I call four resumes a day that only have one number listed and it’s been disconnected. You have to change the number on your account settings as well, not just on your resume.
- Always answer the screener questions honestly. It doesn’t mean they won’t call you if you don’t have everything they are looking for but I can tell you that if you exaggerate your skills and experience or your capabilities, it will come out during the phone screen or interview and you will look bad. I’ve never brought in an applicant that answered the screener questions inaccurately. It’s a matter of integrity.
- If you are moving to the area and looking for a job, address this in your cover letter along with the approximate date of arrival. Answer any concerns they may have about how quickly you can move to the area, whether you looking for an employer to pay for your move or why you want to be in the area. This information lends creditability to the decision. Otherwise, recruiters just assume you selected the wrong state while doing your search and will delete your application without fully reviewing it.
Follow these simple steps to help ensure you aren’t getting passed over for reasons other than your background isn’t what they are seeking at the present time.
