Why Job Matching Programs On Sites Just Don’t Work.

For my first post on www.wordpress.com, I have to address an email my husband received a little while ago. My first reaction was…WHAT?? and then I started laughing. My Twitter universe received my initial shocked post and laughter! But, for some background first…

My husband, like so many here in Florida and nationwide, is currently unemployed: a self-employed carpenter utilizing every form of networking with the help of his ever-so-skilled wife to market himself and his services to neighbors, friends, prior builders/contractors and prior customers with new business cards and an ‘upgraded’ flyer idea of mine in the library’s public notebook. He has entered his resume and list of qualifications on various job posting sites as well as company sites including renewing his information at the local university (you really don’t get hired there unless you KNOW someone)…it’s all about contacts. He has also entered his information into the city’s database so he would be notified of an appropriate and matching job when it became available. Wonderful, right?

Today, I’m at my computer while he’s off to Lowe’s, getting ready for, hopefully, a little bit of work starting in a day or two. I open my mail up and see an email from the city’s site with the subject heading of: “You matched new jobs”. Since I don’t have to open an email to actually read it, all the information was right there in front of me and I just started cracking up! “Based on the career profile you created at the State of Florida site…” they thought he might be interested in the following position. ~ pause ~ Ok, wait for it…….

An epidemiologist!! LMAO! WHAT???? And at a prison no less in Jacksonville! (not even in the same city as us or nearby!) My brain scrambles to find a logical keyword connection…carpentry = building, construction, tools, craftsmanship. Epidemiologist = diseases, science, research. Hence, carpentry = epidemiologist!!!??? What the hell??

My eyes first scan then actually read the job description, I even look up the definition online just to see if I can find ONE word that MIGHT cause a link between these two types of jobs! The requirements for this position are healthcare industry specific with HIV/AIDS 501 certification and rapid HIV testing certification along with phlebotomy skills!!

Other than the misstep of accidentally drilling your finger or slicing your hand with a table saw…I don’t think you could call him qualified for blood-letting/taking. But hey, I guess the computer’s program did! lol

Who makes up these programs anyway? What keywords did they match?? I saw zilcho, nada, none, zero!! STD prevention and care in a pre-trial detention facility (now, that’s a pretty job) versus home renovation and building. Yeah, I see it so clearly now! roflmao

This is exactly why I don’t see any reason to post your resume on job search sites like monster.com and such. Sorry, I’m not a huge fan. I’ve been a recruiter and I’ve even tested these sites all to no avail. They were useless to me except in ONE instance where I found someone I already knew existed and I was actually searching for him. I had just misspelled his name by one incorrect letter and I decided to pop his name in for the hell of it.

Other than that, the few times I used one of these sites during my trial period and then contacted those people who posted their resumes online, proved totally useless to me as a recruiter! They either weren’t interested and had just forgotten to remove their resumes online, or they were not as qualified as they stated. And the service of their job matching program was abysmal! Because ONE keyword matched: Manager, I was getting resumes sent to me that were totally irrelevant to the industry I was in and had noted in the profile online! A manager in the retail industry is totally irrelevant to me as someone looking for a manager in the transportation industry (with International Freight Forwarders).

And, I’ve spoken with my clients at companies who have tried using job sites such as monster.com and they get so inundated with so many unmatched resumes – literally receiving 200-400 a day!! – that they just hit the delete button constantly! Soooo, even if you were qualified and perfect for the job opening, the chances that your resume would get kept and looked at by the company are practically nil! The same for sites such as this city site.

What I recommend is YOU, as the job seeker, browse through the job openings on any of these sites and if you find one that is right up your alley, THEN send in your information with that specific job number/title in your Subject heading. OR, contact the company directly either by phone or walking down to the building to hand-deliver your resume and take the chance of meeting the person who is doing the hiring.

Ok, shameless plugs follow: For additional job searching advice and insights, check out BlogTalkRadio episodes of my show, Help Me Get Hired. And, if you want more personalized services for writing your resume, brainstorming about resources, interviewing skills coaching and career counseling, you can hire me directly. Please check out my website: www.helpmegethired.com. Thanks!

~ chuckle ~ Carpenter = Epidemiologist ?? Does ANYONE see the connection? lmao My husband just laughed and shook his head when I told him. Unbelievable!

Lisa (aka lablady on BTR)

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