Ricki:
I can sympathize with you. Job hunting is so different now in this electronic age. I have been both a job seeker and an employer looking to hire within the recent past, so I understand.
I see that you are in CT. I'm in southeastern CT, which has been hit hard and job growth is non-existent. When I finally found jobs, I had to travel outside of the county, as there was nothing here.
When I was hiring, I received a lot of resumes that were just thrown together and did not make the applicant stand out from the pool. It seemed as if many of the applications were submitted just to meet eligibility requirements for unemployment compensation. Do you tailor your resume and cover letter to the position for which you are applying? It takes time to do this, but it shows a clear interest on the applicant's part. When there are more than 100 candidates for a position, the employer needs a way to filter the selection.
I did tailor both my resume and cover letter and was generally successful in getting interviews and going onto the next round of interviews.
Some suggestions for you:
- When tailoring your resume, be sure to address the experience requirements in the job listing.When hiring, I ranked the skills on a resume based on our position description. If the applicant did not address a skill, I rated it a zero.
- Do use a cover letter. Show that you know something about the company hiring and your interest in being an employee of that particular company. Make sure to proofread your cover letter; I received some generic cover letters where the wrong company name was used! Ooops...those applicants were thrown out.
- Your cover letter should also highlight some career accomplishments that make you a good fit for the job. Again, this shows interest on your part and sets you apart from the pool of applicants. I had asked for this in the application and if it was not addressed, the applicant lost points. If you can't tell me what it good about you, why should I hire you?
Unless it is a very small business, I would say that most employers do use some kind of applicant ranking system so that age does not become a factor. Employers do not want to face any kind of discrimination charges. Employers are more concerned about work history and want to understand gaps in employment or brief periods of employment.
I do understand that sometimes it can be difficult to even find openings. If you send me a PM, I can try to give you some suggestions based on where you are and the type of work you seek.
lease: