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Bonnie Granat questions the suggestion of sending out 200 e-mails with her
resume.
Lord, if my response will stop ONE person from doing it to me, then this
post will be worth it.
I'm on the board of our local STC (and don't hold that against me, whole
other issue), and because my e-mail address is listed on our website, I get
TONS of unsolicited e-mail messages. The majority of them are "My name is
John Smith. I have 20 years experience as a technical writer. I'm looking
for work, blah blah blah, yada yada yada." I can tell by the e-mail message
and the resume that the sender has absolutely NO idea what my company does,
let alone that we are not currently looking for writers.
I HATE these "mass marketed" e-mails. The sender of this e-mail has proven
that they are lazy and can't spend five minutes on the internet and another
five minutes customizing the mailing to me specifically. Basically, by
sending me this type of message, the sender has ensured that I will never
consider them for a position. In fact, I may keep the e-mail around just so
I don't inadvertently interview this person if they apply when we DO have an
opening.
What I have NEVER received is an unsolicited e-mail that demonstrates some
familiarity with the types of products my company produces AND identifies a
match in the sender's experience. If someone would spend a little time on
the internet, they could find out quite a bit about the types of products we
produce. They should also then be able to tell me how their experience in
other jobs will cross over to documenting these types of products. By
spending a little time, the sender has demonstrated that they know how to
research information and how to address that information in their cover
letter/resume. I'll definitely consider them if my company EVER has an
opening, and I may contact them if I know of other companies in the area
that are hiring.
Karen R. Casemier
Senior Technical Writer
Provia Software Inc.
616.974.8729
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