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The Resume Database

The resume database is like a recruiter, only not nearly as intelligent (and that’s saying something, given some of the recruiters I’ve met – just kidding recruiters, you know I love you). Resume databases are either a collection of resumes on a job site, or a repository of resumes for a particular company. These resumes are often scanned, indexed, and categorized so that they can be easily searched at a later date.

With most resume databases, you could just write a resume that only listed every single skill available and every single application of experience that an employer might be looking for, and you’d probably get a ton of hits when anybody is searching it, looking to fill a position.
Here’s one important thing to remember about targeting the resume database: any time I’ve ever been turned down for a job, and received the “We will add your resume to our database and contact you if we find an appropriate fit,” either A) they’ve never actually found a fit, because I’ve never been contacted by them, or B) they’ve found a fit well after I’m at a new job and happily plugging away on some other project.

The other important thing to remember about the resume database, is that even if you get a “hit” some human being actually has to read your resume, understand it, and like it enough to give you a phone screen or an interview. This means that filling a resume with every possible keyword is probably not a good thing to do. The best way to get hits in the resume database is to tailor your resume to the specific career that you want. That way, if you get a hit, it will at least be applicable to what you want to do.

A good tip for targeting your resume to the resume database is to identify all of the possible keywords, experience, and skills that are relevant to the type of position that you want, and then make sure that those items are all included in your resume in a practical fashion.

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