No Market for Lazy Job Seekers

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AppId is over the quota

Summer is a season to relax, unless you're a job seeker.

Given the steep competition for jobs, people who are energized and organized -- and those who avoid lazy mistakes -- are the likeliest to land a spot.

Tim Goldman

"It's not all down to the economy -- it's often about how productive people are during their job search," says Richard Jordan, a staffing management panel member at the Society for Human Resource Management. "The Internet has made it really easy for people to get a sense of false security about how productive they are."

That means avoiding the "post-and-pray" technique in which job seekers apply to positions online, and then wait for the offers to roll in.

"Just applying through an online job search doesn't do anything other than throw your résumé into a pile with [those of] hundreds, if not thousands, of other job seekers," says Dan Ryan, an executive search consultant based in Nashville.

Another red flag: submitting résumés and cover letters with errors, says Holly Paul, U.S. recruiting leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers, a New York-based accounting and consulting firm.

"I see spelling mistakes, I see punctuation mistakes, I hit delete in two seconds. I don't even bother to continue reading," Ms. Paul says.

Here are five more mistakes to avoid:

Networking lets you tap the hidden job market of positions that are never advertised. To do it effectively, you should be in regular contact with the people in your network.

"The mistake a lot of people make is that the only times their network hears from them is when they have a favor to ask," says Charles Purdy, senior editor at jobs site Monster.com. "They don't think about how they can help the people in their network and build that goodwill."

Mr. Purdy recommends keeping up with the interests and projects of those in your network, and reaching out. "If you find jobs that sound interesting, but aren't quite right for you, don't ignore that job. Think if there is anyone who might be interested," he says. "I always remember very fondly and well the person who said: 'I thought of you when I saw this job posting.' That's a great way to build goodwill in your network."

Résumés need to be tailored to specific positions. "The old method of taking the same résumé and sending it to every job posting doesn't work anymore," Mr. Purdy says. "Customize it to the company you are applying to. Do the research."

But don't expect your résumé to do too much work for you. "It's easy to sit home and bemoan the fact that you are not getting any interviews, but sending out lots of résumés, coming up with one iteration of your résumé after another, writing a cover letter for every ad you see," says John Challenger, chief executive of outplacement consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas in Chicago. If that's how you're spending most of your time, "it's not lazy, but it is misguided."

Job seekers might tweet or post a note on Facebook about looking for a job, but real networking is more involved.

For instance, use social networks to research the industry. "It's about following the companies you are interested in, finding out what problems the company is trying to solve," Mr. Purdy says.

Also, don't use the informal language of social networking in professional communications.

Job seekers can pay for services that distribute their applications for them, but don't go this route.

"You are not doing your own work, or putting your own care into really understanding what the company needs before sending your résumé," Mr. Purdy says.

He says "time and energy could be better spent in doing work that makes you a better employee. Do a mock marketing plan that shows what a creative thinker you are. You don't have to be getting paid for something for it to be a valuable piece of experience on your résumé."

Another red flag for Ms. Paul: Job applicants who send notes asking her to review their résumé. With 150,000 applicants for U.S. positions in a year, Ms. Paul and her team aren't interested in dealing with such job seekers.

"Job seekers come to me and say: 'I like your company, here's my résumé. Please do all my work for me, and tell me what would be a good fit for me.' I do not move forward with those sorts of applications," she says.

Ms. Paul says she looks for applications showing an investment of time and effort. "They are not just looking for a job; they are looking in areas of interest to them where they have some experience. It shows me that they have done a bit of work, and gives me the direction to steer them in."

It's also important to indicate which business unit you're interested in, she adds. "I'm looking for those applicants that have good experience, but can also relate that experience to what we do" at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ms. Paul says. "It will give that job seeker a leg up because they have moved the ball forward."

Write to Ruth Mantell at ruth.mantell@dowjones.com

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