Forum: workplace.stackexchange.com
Tags: <resume><applications>
Title: Is it a good idea to have a courier deliver your resume and credentials to a potential employer?
Question: My concern is that if I send my application to an employer through email, it is likely that he/she would not be able to read it thoroughly, given the number of application emails he/ she receives.   But would sending my application through a courier hurt my chances of landing the job?

Answers:
sents: text: My concern is that if I send my application to an employer through email, it is likely that he/she would not be able to read it thoroughly, given the number of application emails he/ she receives.
text: But would sending my application through a courier hurt my chances of landing the job?
text: Bad idea.
text: You would look foolish.
text: And you probably wouldn't increase the chances that your resume would be read any differently than any other resume.
text: Just because a courier delivers a resume, that doesn't mean it gets read any differently.
text: Almost certainly it would have to go through HR first (to get logged and initially screened).
text: And then it would just be in the same pile as all the others.
text: As @ChristopherEstep points out, HR may well not even know that it was couriered.
text: The courier delivers it to reception or receiving and then it just gets put in the same pile as the rest of the mail for HR.
text: The only exception would be those "creative" jobs where it might be an advantage to have your resume "make an entrance" via courier, pajama-gram, or carrier pigeon.
text: But those are few and far between.
answer_details: author: workplace.stackexchange.com/users/7777/Joe Strazzere
score: 35
sents: text: I would not do this, as most HR folks would find this annoying.
text: Most HR departments either have an HR System ( tied into their online HR\Career portal ) , or at the very least would want your credentials in electronic format for easy distribution between departments.
text: Take a look at this older, but still relevant article Resume in the mail ( or courier ) These days, most hiring managers vastly prefer an electronic version of your resume.
text: In fact, a lot of companies can't even get your resume into their applicant tracking system unless you E-mail it.
text: Even when an employer does accept snail-mailed resumes, providing only a hard copy makes it harder for the employer to share it with the various decision-makers.
text: I'll frequently E-mail a candidate's resume to a colleague to ask for their input; if I only have a hard copy, it can be scanned in, but it adds an extra step to the process when your goal should be to make it easier, not more onerous, for the employer to hire you.
answer_details: author: workplace.stackexchange.com/users/61096/Neo
score: 10
sents: text: There was a time when such a creative approach would be well received.
text: Those times are past, however, and for several reasons.
text: Everything is electronic now.
text: There are no longer piles of resumes being mailed in, everything is routed through HR systems, or at least emailed and routed to hiring managers Recent years of high unemployment have soured employers to the creative approach.
text: It's been done so many times that you're no longer seen as creative, just as another kook trying to get attention.
text: It's much more likely to get lost.
text: Any resume sent by mail still needs to get scanned into an electronic system.
text: You will be remembered, but not fondly.
text: Even if the person who receives your resume bothers to scan it in, you'll be known as the person who created more work for him
text: You will be seen as a nuisance.
text: For all the reasons listed above, A better approach is through networking, and "stealth networking". if you can find someone to sent it "attention to" or if you can call and ask a few questions of HR, you'll make a human connection to a real person.
text: Try this approach instead.
answer_details: author: workplace.stackexchange.com/users/46894/Old_Lamplighter
score: 10
sents: text: The only time to do this would be if a paper application is required (rare but it still happens) and it's the only way to meet the deadline.
text: Even then the courier-like services provided by the post office are most likely to be appropriate, unless your postal service is unreliable.
answer_details: author: workplace.stackexchange.com/users/26384/Chris H
score: 2
sents: text: You've successfully realized that submitting your resume via email or online portal is a crappy way of applying.
text: The problem is that a courier isn't going to be any more effective.
text: At best it might be seen as cutesy, but it's more likely to be seen as weird, given that 99 percent of resumes will arrive in electronic form and be sent on to hiring managers from HR in electronic form.
text: Carrying something down the hall or having to scan it before emailing might be the hassle that causes it to end up in the trash.
text: If you want a leg up on the competition, the solution is to know someone who knows the hiring manager.
text: For example, if you're a programmer, finding a programmer in your professional contacts who knows the hiring manager and can vouch for you is a great way to skip over the entire hiring process.
text: A second-best approach would be to get a headhunter or recruiter who knows is familiar with your background to do an introduction to HR and get you past to the hiring people.
text: This approach is common in tech, but not so much in other fields.
answer_details: author: workplace.stackexchange.com/users/58329/Jim W
score: 1
sents: text: A better question would be "In addition to sending my resume by e-mail, should I ALSO send it by mail or courier (and in the cover letter, make it clear that I also applied electronically")?
text: I don't know if that's necessarily the best approach, but it has all the advantages that the other posters say about e-mailing resumes; plus you get a bit more attention.
text: The only disadvantage is you might still look like a kook.
answer_details: author: workplace.stackexchange.com/users/44129/Shawn V. Wilson
score: 0

Summary of the answers:
This is not recommended as the HR person might find it annoying. You should only do it if a paper application is a requirement.
The general consensus is that this is a bad decision unless it is the absolute only way of ensuring that your application arrives on time.