ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Most human resource professionals now prefer to receive resumes by e-mail, and some are using technology to scan and screen resumes, according to a "Cover Letters and Resumes Survey" by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). The survey showed that although e-mail is the delivery method preferred by more than 34% of HR professionals, only 17% of job seekers actually send their resumes to prospective employers this way. Twenty-four percent of the respondents report they electronically scan resumes and use databases for storage. In addition, 9% screen resumes electronically using a database that searches for specific criteria. As for the quality of cover letters and resumes they typically receive, 96% of HR professionals rated the quality of cover letters and resumes they receive as "good" or "fair." Only 2% found the quality of these items to be "excellent." More than three-quarters of HR professionals said that typos or grammatical errors found in cover letters cause them to remove the applicant from the pool of possible candidates. More than half of the respondents said they review a resume in less than three minutes; 55% prefer resumes to be one page; 62% view resumes that are more than two pages negatively. -
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