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Arrgh... Of course I have listened to the casts and I knew I needed to update my resume to MT standards, and I made a couple stabs at it, but never finished...

Now a major airline has a job opening that would be the perfect step up for me... in the same metro area where my sister lives!! and the same state where most of my husband's family lives!!

So this airline's website has the option to either upload your own resume, OR fill out their "Resume Wizard."

Would it be a mistake to use the wizard?

<slapping self on forehead>

pmoriarty's picture
Training Badge

Terri,

 

I have found those automated wizards to be about as useful as wishing about a job then never doing anything to get an interview.  Is there anybody that you know internally at the airline who could help "game" the process for you?  You know - take your resume to the hiring manager, introduce you to people on the team, etc...  If there's any way you can get around HR and their ridiculous "talent management software", I urge you to do it.

Best of luck!

 - Paul -

terrih's picture

No, I don't know anyone there. Hm... wonder if my sister's fiance does??

ken_wills's picture

 Terri - This opportunity is the incentive you've been looking for - it will get you across the finish line with revising your resume!

 

I'm going with Paul's logic here - that you'll have a better chance by figuring out multiple ways into the organization - and to do so, you'll need that resume.

And to look at the worst-case scenario for a minute, let's say you're not that one-in-a-thousand or the job ends up not getting filled...

* You can honestly say you gave it your best shot when it came to providing information about you

* You walk away with an updated resume, ready to use elsewhere

* That resume (and your charming networking personality!) have been exposed to people in a metro area that's attractive to you

 

That seems worth the extra effort to do the resume, instead of doing the career wizard...

 

Good luck!

mmann's picture
Licensee Badge

Terri,

The job market is extremely tough right now.  Eventually you'll need to exercise every option.

It's estimated that 40-70% of jobs filled are never posted anywhere for the public to see.  Therefore, 40-70% of your effort should focus on leveraging your network to convince the airline's recruiter or the hiring manager to call you.

Take the time to apply online at night when you can't do any networking.  When your networking pays off you'll be told you have to apply anyway, so you might as well do it now. Use the online resume wizard to add your MT-style position summary and accomplishments in the comments section for each position.  If the airline's career portal is like all the others out there, the constructed resume will become part of your profile.  The advantage of using the online tool for creating your resume is indexing and search.  This creates the slight possibility that someone in HR who has the initiative to search their HR system for candidates will find you.  This is like playing the lottery... your chances of 'winning' this way are tiny, but you can't win if you don't play.

Finish up that resume ASAP.  I've heard repeatedly from recruiters that the resume created from the wizards are incomprehensible.  They're great for searching but lousy for a person to read.  Once your resume is completed, go back to your profile and attach it.  If your networking pays off, you'll have to hand them a resume anyway. 

From what I see, the career portals are mostly a hurdle.  Part of the false reality that's been established by companies to say no to candidates.  Think of it as their test to see if you'll be able to fill out mindless online forms in the future.

  Good luck!
--Michael

terrih's picture

LOL!! I love it. Everybody has their mindless forms, don't they?

Actually, my husband said something similar... fill out the online widget and then finish up my real resume and submit that too.

It seems the main thing is not to fool oneself into thinking filling out the online tool is ALL one has to do.

Thanks everybody!