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Why is no one responding to my Inquiry on an Online Job Posting?
There isn’t a single day that goes by that I don’t receive dozens of emails inquiring on a job posting. I prefer to post my email address rather than have people leave comments on my post. Sure I get a lot of junk that way, but I do find it is the most effective way to reach out to my network and see who is available. What is happening more and more is consultants are sharing my posts with others, and now I have a bombardment of resumes coming in. Due to the large volume, I simply can’t respond to everyone in a timely manner. Here are 5 quick considerations that may help your email stand out.
- Are you qualified for the role? – I would say the majority of resumes I receive are under qualified or have unaligned skill sets for the need. I hate to call it out, but Go-Live support and Credentialed Trainers are guilty of this all the time. If the role says certified, you need to be certified. If PM, you should have PM experience. Don’t send inquiries on a role that you are not a fit for.
- Subject Line – Use the actual title of the role posted in the subject line and your name. It’s simple to forget this minor detail, but if you don’t have the right subject line…your email might sit in my inbox for days. Example – “Interested in Epic OpTime Opportunity – Sally Smith.”
- Attach your Resume – It is the first thing I want to open before I spend any more time on an inquiry, I need to see a resume that showcases the experience needed for the role. See my article on resumes from a couple months ago for my suggestions here.
- Write a Professional Introduction – Keep the content of your email short and to the point, but be sure to introduce yourself and call out your skill sets that align with the need. I get countless emails with just an attached resume and no content in the email. Those are deleted, I don’t even respond….because what am I responding to? It was a blank email with some attachment in it.
- Include your Contact Information – Include your full name, address, phone, and email. I always look at where the candidate lives, it’s just a simple fact. If you live in Seattle and it’s an opportunity in Bangor, ME….I probably would pass.
It’s important to realize that once you send your email expressing interest in a role there are several steps happening before a response is sent back to you. We look in our internal recruiting system to see if we’ve talked to you before. We all look at your profile on LinkedIn and then look at your resume. Make sure they match! We look to see if you are a consultant or FTE and consider your current project status to ensure you are eligible for hiring. Again, consideration of where you live is common. After all of this, if you are still a good match, you’ll get an email asking when you are free to talk and learn more about the role.
One final note on the subject. If you know the person who posted the opportunity personally, remind them of that. “Hey Doug, we worked together at Kaiser with ACS 13 years ago.” This is why so many firms post on LinkedIn, its reaching out to those we know. I’m not a recruiter, and I know there are so many variances on this subject….but wanted to share my opinion. Thoughts? Leave your comments.
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Thank you so much for the fabulous information. Very helpful when replying to a post. You don’t realize the mistakes made when responding until you read it from the person on the receiving end.
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Thank you so much for this much needed information it was very informative and makes the process of looking for epic projects easier.
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