Free Forms

ResumeRobin.com has a great archive of free employment forms

http://www.resumerobin.com/resumedistributionservice/content

How Effective are Resume Distribution Services

How Effective are Resume Distribution Services

For just a mere 35 bucks, you can pay a company like ResumeRobin.com to send your resume and cover letter to 3000+ recruiters. I know nothing about their particular service but I know that they are one of several out there that will bulk mail out your resume and cover letter to recruiters in their database. If you’ve been looking for a job for a while, this service probably looks very appealing to you. For just a few dollars, or less if you want to reach fewer people, you can do something that would otherwise take you several days. It seems like a good deal, almost too good to be true, right?

Before you pony up a nice dinner, let me offer up some reasons why this might not be a good idea.

Junk Mail Syndrome

Unless you’ve done a really good job opting out of junk mail, you probably get a bunch of letters each week you’d classify as junk mail. You also probably shred them without even opening them.

I’m inclined to believe that a recruiter who is tired of getting bulk resume mailers is probably doing the same thing. If you read reviews about resume mailing services, you’ll notice one trend – a very low response rate. Direct mail, which is the industry term for what we call junk mail, has a response rate that is very low but relies on a large number of mailers. Half a percent is acceptable if you’re mailing out millions of mailers.

Expensive

If you assume a response rate of 0.5% (which may be an expected response rate), that’s 20 responses for just $35. That’s expensive compared to submitting your resume to a job search website for free. When you do that, chances are a headhunter/recruiter will see your resume and start trying to place you for jobs if they know of any that apply. Headhunters make jobs when they place you, so you’ll know quickly if you have marketable skills.

So you could spend a few dollars with a resume bulk mailer, assuming a half percent response rate, or free with a job hunting website.

Spamming

When you send a resume yourself, you know they want to receive it. They may not have asked you for it but you know they’re taking resumes and you’re sending it in a way they deem acceptable. When you use a resume distribution service, you can’t be sure. Maybe they opted into the service as a recruiter, maybe their email was pulled off a list of recruiter, maybe they don’t want to receive anything in bulk and the distributor isn’t as clean as they should be. Either way, when you outsource distribution, you may be getting their attention in a bad way. If the recruiters opted in, wonderful, but can you be sure every single one of them opted in?

Building Relationships

I believe that the most effective way to get a job at a company is by developing relationships with people at that company. Talk to friends, family, friends of friends, attend networking events, conferences, and the like to build these relationships. Even cold calling on a telephone is far more effective than sending out thousands of identical cover letters and resumes. You need to develop relationships to be the most successful in a job hunt and you can’t do that through mass mailings, electronic or otherwise. The USPS would love it more people blasted out their resumes at 44 cents a pop but the reality is that there are more effective methods.

My advice, having never used these services before, is to avoid them. $100 for a few thousand resumes sent may seem cheap, especially if it results in securing a job, but there are better alternatives and all of them are guaranteed not to piss off the recruiter. Finally, remember that these folks are kind of overwhelmed with it, “blasting” a whole bunch of them probably isn’t going to help. 

Have you had experience with services like this? If so I’d love to hear your opinions.

10 best websites to post tech jobs

The explosion of the tech industry has created a strong need for tech workers. However, the US has not been able to keep up with the tech worker demand just with home grown tech talent alone. Finding tech workers and websites to post tech jobs is different than staffing for regular jobs - the talent is different, the requirements are different, the candidate pool is different. There are not as many technical recruiting websites on the internet in general - most, like Monster and Career Builder, are simply oriented towards general job search. We've decided to compile a list of technical recruiting websites where tech recruiters can post tech jobs.

AceTiger.com is the web's #1 source for technical jobs.

Authentic Jobs specializes in jobs for web professionals, including design, development, mobile, apps, content strategy, and more, and its users include Facebook and ESPN.

Coroflot is a global job network for creative professionals that distributes jobs in graphic design, product design, UX and interaction design, across the best design publications. Each posting is 90 days.

Krop is a designers’ community and job board that also broadcasts jobs through industry blogs, job search sites, and social networks.

Developers

StackOverflow is a community of professional developers and technologists, as well as, a job board. Reach 15,000+ Software Developers.

GitHub is the largest code host and most social site in the world. Reach their engaged programmers, developers, and tech people here.

Marketing

Talent Zoo is a job board for top advertisers, marketers,  and news media industry professional. Over 200,000 registered candidates receive the newest job listings daily. Each posting is 60 days.

Tech Industry At Large

Mashable is the blog for “All That’s New on the Web” by Peter Cashmore. Reach savvy tech readers here.

Wired is one of the top publications on how technology changes the world around us. Reach worldly tech readers here.

VentureBeat is a technology blog on innovative companies and the forward-thinking executives behind them. Reach tech, marketing, product management talent here.

Content Producers

paidContent is the online media hub that covers news and analysis of the digital media business. Reach the best digital content producers here.

Data Analysts

5 best free resume distribution services

If you are looking for a job, resume distribution is a great way to get your resume out there. The process consists of uploading your resume, and having the service upload your resume to hundreds of different websites with virtually one click. We decided to review the 5 best free resume distribution services

1) ResumeRobin.com - ** BEST RATED ** great, highly rated service. 150+ job boards

2) MyResumeAgent.com - has been online since 2004.

3) Monster.com - good but you can only post on there

4) CareerBuilder.com - decent site but has gone down in recent years

5) ResumeDispatcher.com - supports HTML resumes

In addition to distributing your resume, it is recommended that your resume is well designed and highlights all of your skills.

ScanVerify.com List of Safe sites

http://scanverify.com/sites.php

List of ScanVerify.com safe sites

How I made $4 million and bought a Ferrari with an affiliate program

I made it through affiliate marketing ... a lot of it was made with RESUME ROBIN AFFILIATE PROGRAM

It was July 2006, and I was broke. Got fired from a coding job down in Irvine, things weren't looking to good. Was staring at a $1200 apartment payment and a car loan.

The few affiliate programs I was involved in didn't really work out. Someone recommended ResumeRobin.com, which is an affiliate program for resume distribution. I signed up and posted links to a few job boards that I ran.

First month, I made $587. I couldn't believe it as it was a lot of money for me at the time. Second month - $1182, and it snowballed from there.

Last month, I cleared $345,000. And bought myself a ferrari:

Link to sign up: http://www.resumerobin.com/includes/login.php?action=register&type=recruiter&ref=affiliate1

5 best ways to find a job

The economy is booming and it seems that jobs are plenty. Yet, you still cannot find one. It can be very tough. According to industry figures, although more than 120,000 jobs have been created in the last two years, our economy is still lagging behind its 2007 figures.

2. Distribute your resume with ResumeRobin.com

Resume distribution is a generally overlooked practice that can result in great results. ResumeRobin.com, one of the biggest resume distributors online, boasts instant distribution to more than 500 job boards and recruiters.

2. Tap your network - use Facebook.com, Linkedin.com

Everybody knows someone. Within your existing network there are probably three jobs that would be appropriate for you, but the people who could help open doors to those jobs just haven’t thought of you. Make a list of everyone you know. Set a goal to touch base with three people you have not talked to for a year or more. Meet one of them for coffee or lunch or dinner. Identify the 25 most influential people in your network and brainstorm ways to strengthen your relationships with each.

3. Attend events

These include ones hosted by charities and professional organizations. Talk to at least one person at every meeting who you haven’t met yet. If you can get the list of attendees beforehand, identify at least one person who you would like to meet and make arrangements to connect there in person. Without imposing, look for an excuse to follow up—by meeting again, or getting a referral to someone else. (See also, “How To Work A Room Like You Own The Place.”)

5. Check job boards

Many companies and recruiters use them to find the right candidate. Define the top job boards for your skill set and put your resume there. Choose a catchy, succinct headline that encourages the reader to open the attachment. Many show when your resume was last updated. To avoid getting shifted deeper into the pile of applicants, update it weekly.

6. Contact headhunters

Senior-level professionals are recruited almost exclusively though recommendation or by headhunters. We know about jobs that will never be advertised and we have experience finding openings. If you work with a headhunter, choose carefully. Identify several (but no more than five) whom you trust and be prepared to follow-up. (See “How To Use A Headhunter.”)