Follow up with employers for a second look

By Alison Hart, special for Gannett News Service

Have you ever wondered if the fax machine jammed with your resume inside? Are you sure the hiring manager would give you a call if only he or she knew you better? If questions like these keep you up at night, then the follow-up letter can be the cure.

Get employers to give your resume a second look with these tips:

1. Name your reader. If you didn't address your initial cover letter to an individual, this is a second chance to get a name. "Many times you don't even know who you're sending it to, so who are you following up with?" says Sara Nolfo, an executive recruiter for New York-based Lynne Palmer Executive Recruitment. Do some digging. Call the company and ask the receptionist for the hiring manager's name.

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2. Confirm or deny. In a follow-up letter, you want to determine if the company got your resume, and if there is any interest, says Mark Mehler, co-author of Career Xroads, a directory to Internet job sites. Even if you have the fax confirmation sheet in your hand, a follow-up letter can buy your resume more time with the recruiter. And that's important.

3. Get your name noticed — again. Recruiters sift through stacks of resumes, and making your name jump out at them works to your advantage. If you're responding to two ads for the same company, the follow-up letter can distinguish yourself anew. Better yet, network within the company until you find a contact who will deliver your new letter and resume by hand. That way, Mehler says, recruiters "get a little more feedback, a little more impression, which boosts your points before you get through the door."

4. Consider other options. If it's been weeks since you sent your resume and your phone isn't ringing, don't despair. "It doesn't mean they don't have your resume and they're never going to call you," Nolfo says. "They may even call you for something else, now that they have your resume." If the original position has been filled, use the follow-up letter to re-submit your resume for any other positions for which you're qualified.

5. Be selective. If you have mass-mailed your resume, you probably have a genuine interest in only a few of them. "Many times people don't know if they want to work for an employer," says John Bakos, president of the Bakos Group, a career management firm in Massachusetts. Choose your battles carefully, and save yourself some time. Follow up only with the employers you know you'd like to work for.

6. Give an update. If your skills package has changed since you first submitted your resume, let the hiring manager know. "You can update your resume if you've taken new classes or gained new skills," Mehler says. Positions can take months to fill, and you can use the time to improve your candidacy.

7. Wait it out. Sometimes no news is good news. "The timetable of the recruiter and the timetable of the job seeker are never the same," Mehler says. You may need to be patient.

8. Don't overdo it. "You can continue to resubmit your resume to a company, but give it a little time in between," Nolfo says. Recruiters aren't harried by people who follow up. But you should be savvy about keeping in touch with them: There's a thin line between persistence and pestering.

9. Take note. Keep a detailed log of where and when you send your resume. If you don't receive a response in a month or two, a follow-up letter to the hiring manager may be in order. Try responding to another ad or sending a new resume and cover letter, they may not have your resume anymore or they may have filed it.

10. Check your work. Before sending your letter, get another person to look at it. After all, "the only thing worse than not sending a follow-up letter is sending one with a typo," Nolfo says.