How to make your job application stand out

Duane Crouse recently applied for a marketing job he saw advertised online. The 34-year-old father of seven received a response from the company within a few short hours. • "It said be patient with us, we got 400 responses within the first couple of hours," Crouse said. • The question facing job seekers right now is how to get your resume to compete with dozens or even hundreds of others so that you get a phone call back, an interview — and hopefully a job. • We talked with career consultants, human resource directors and hiring managers to learn why certain resumes get noticed, while others get tossed.

Vicki Bunker, career consultant: Bunker said that in this battered economy, human resources departments are downsizing, too. "On top of all the competition, you have overworked, understaffed HR people who want resumes that are easy to follow."

Bunker advocates for professional or skills summaries at the top of resumes to introduce the reader to the applicant. Instead of a general objective, the summaries offer a few sentences about the person, her background and the type of work she is looking for. "That allows the hiring individual to go down his resume quickly and say, 'There's a number of matches here — what he's done and what we are looking for,' " Bunker said.

Kim Giglio, Multicare's director of recruitment: Multicare received about 75,000 job applications last year for jobs at its hospitals and clinics in Pierce and Kitsap counties in Washington. The nonprofit collects most applications via its Web site.

"Some people don't go through the online application in depth," Giglio said. Instead they write "see resume." Her advice: Fill out online forms, even if it repeats resume information. "We look at the online application first," she said. Giglio said recruiters notice accomplishments and measurable results listed on resumes.

Lindsey Pollak, author of 'Getting From College To Career': Bunker, Giglio and Pollak agree that turning in an application isn't enough. Pollak recalled a recruiter who had two stacks of applications — a huge one with all the resumes a job posting garnered and a short stack of applications recommended by people he trusts. "You want to be in that short stack," Pollak said. Once you've applied, she suggests using your network to find someone at the company to give your application a nudge. "Use every tool at your disposal to find a personal connection to that job," she said.

What about a cover letter? Pollak said that whether one is necessary depends on the industry. If you do one, customize it to the job. "Make it about the company and what they need, not about you," Pollak said. "The biggest mistake is to send something generic."