E-Mailing Resumes Does the Job

The need for speed has never been greater when it comes to answering a job posting. An opening at Comarco Wireless Technologies in Irvine, for example, generates hundreds of replies--many within minutes after posting an online ad, said Peggy Vessell, director of administration.

“Replying by regular mail has been dead for a while, but now you can forget using a fax machine too,” Vessell said. “If you’re not e-mailing your resumes, you’re not doing yourself any favors.”

In fact, applicants who do not e-mail their cover letters and resumes are now viewed less favorably by managers--regardless of qualifications, according to a survey by the online job-placement company OfficeTeam.

Nearly half of the executives polled said they prefer e-mail deliveries over the Postal Service (21%) or facsimile (11%). Two years ago, the same survey showed the vast majority (64%) had no preference.

“Managers don’t want to wade through paperwork anymore,” Vessell said, “and e-mail allows them to keep permanent, more organized databases. Plus, it’s just faster, and faster is better.”

Speaking of fast, consider the speed at which most resumes are reviewed by managers: a zippy five minutes or less, according to Accountemps, a temporary-staffing service. In its recent survey, 56% of the 150 executives polled said they spend less than five minutes reading a resume, and 24% said they spend no more than two minutes sizing up the candidate.

That’s in line with Vessell’s experience at Comarco.

“It doesn’t take longer than that to make a decision,” she said. “And if there’s a typo, well, you could drop that time to two seconds.”