Is It Possible to Have Too Many Resumes Out There?

Some job seekers live by the rule that the more resumes they send out to potential employers, the greater their chances for obtaining an interview and landing a job. However, this correlation is not accurate, as experts argue that job seekers who send fewer resumes that are well written and specific have a higher rate of effectiveness than those who send a large batch of subpar resumes.

According to Phil Rosenberg, the president of career coaching website reCareered, it is more effective for job seekers to send out an average of five resumes per day. Rosenberg advises his clients to seek out positions that perfectly match their skills and qualifications and spend time crafting a quality resume that fits the position. When you send fewer resumes, you focus your efforts on the individual position and tailor your resume to the employer's needs. More time is spent focusing on the wording, format, style and bullets of the resume. Rosenberg also explains that job seekers who send fewer resumes spend more time researching the company and the position they are seeking. He contends that a resume that is customized for a particular employer and position can have a "hit ratio" of 25 to 50 percent. Rosenberg calculates hit ratios by dividing the number of interviews or telephone screenings a client receives by the total number of resumes sent out to potential employers.

Sending out countless resumes and receiving no response from employers can become discouraging for anxious job seekers, but there are also improvements that can be made to tailor your resume that allow you to send fewer resumes while still getting a response from reputable employers. Since many employers use resume-scanning software to screen resumes, it is important to update the keywords in your resume to match each position. Read the job posting, and use the same words the employer uses. It also helps to perform a keyword search for the industry and garner keywords from sample resumes.

No two resumes should look alike; each should be customized for the job for which you are applying. Most employers automatically reject any resumes that look like a template. Before crafting your resume, read and study the job posting, and determine why you are a good fit for the position. Next, write your resume with these points in mind, and sell yourself to the employer. List educational and job experiences that fall in line with the qualifications the employer is seeking. Highlight relevant experiences and skills so the employer can clearly see that you are a perfect fit.

Two keys to job hunting include sending fewer resumes and tailoring your resume to suit each position for which you apply. When sending out fewer resumes, quality is proven to be more important than quantity. Sending several personalized and well-written resumes that match the potential employer's needs yields greater results than sending 100 carbon-copy resumes.

"GTD, Moleskine & Resume" by Elliot P licensed by CC BY-SA 2.0