Looking for a needle in a haystack

Think you have problems? Pity the poor soul at company X who is actually looking to hire -- and gets an avalanche of responses. That's the situation today, according to CNNMoney.com, which reports that in some cases, one job opening can draw in excess of 3,000 inquiries. Worst of all, many resumes received are largely rubbish: Since people are bordering on desperate, they'll apply for anything, even if they don't have the necessary experience or skills.

Still, that's not likely to get them through the door. One IT manager CNNMoney.com contacted said that out of 100 responses, he brought five people in to interview -- but a full 90% were woefully unqualified. Paul Forster, CEO at Indeed.com (a search site that showed traffic up more than 25% last quarter, and a jump of almost 100% over the course of 2008), had some familiar suggestions for those ready to take on anything with some sort of paycheck attached. Forster advised against the "shotgun approach" as a waste of time for all parties, and urged job hunters to do their research, tailor cover letters to the addressee (see yesterday's post on the importance of good clean writing), and catch the recruiter's eye through solid experience that matches the job requirements.

--Posted by Todd Obolsky, Vault News & Commentary