Ok, I have to rant about this one. I can honestly tell you that two of the most irritating words I see on an application are “See Resume.”
Think about this for a second. You’ve made it through the initial phone screen and have been sent an application. But instead of the completing it, you respond with a semi complete application that asks me to refer back to the resume you sent me in the first place. Really?
Most applications and resumes get easily separated. Do you really want someone to look at your application and find the previous employment section blocked out with a big “See Resume” written across it and then there is no resume to refer to?
A few things may go through the reviewers mind. For one, you could be lazy. If you aren’t willing to take the time to complete the application properly, what other shortcuts will take in your new job? Will there be other important documents you won’t complete?
Another is you clearly can’t follow instructions. Do you think you’ll earn that trust if your boss has to double-check everything you’ve done to make sure the proper procedure was followed?
Finally, you’re assuming that those two qualities will get you further in this process.
So was saving yourself the extra 10 minutes really worth it in the long run? Afterall, you do only get once chance to make a first impression.
The Rant 
Recruiters are so obnoxious. SO WHAT? Would it kill you to open a damn pdf of doc file?
You think we commoners don’t do thousands of tedious things at work on our side all the time, way more annoying than the stuff you cry about?
You recruiters are complaining ALL OVER THE INTERNET about how hard your poor little life is! I can’t believe that! Who do you think you are?
No wonder everyone despises you but nobody can say anything to your faces (feces, if I may).
You’re on a permanent power trip.
ps: one of my degrees is in HR.
Sounds like you’ve had some pretty rotten experiences with some not so professional recruiters. I’m truly sorry about that, but unfortunately, every profession has people in it for the wrong reasons. When I wrote this, it was from a standpoint of helping candidates understand why they may be experiencing some difficulties with their applications as a result of not taking the time to complete one properly and not because I was too lazy to open their resume. Obviously I’d seen their resume otherwise they wouldn’t have gotten to the point where I had sent them an application to complete. 😉
I agree with you in that some recruiters are on a power trip and feel they have the ability to control a candidates destiny with their particular organization. However, I was not one of them and most recruiters I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know or work with aren’t like that either. A recruiter’s job is to find the fit, to coach their candidate and to help them through the process, not make the hiring decision. That is the job of the company leadership.
Although I am no longer recruiting, I’m happy to help you any way I can. I still have a lot of recruiters in my network and would be happy to pass you on to a professional that can help you and give you the candidate experience you should of had from day one of your search.
All I have to say is that if you request me to attach my resume and then ask me to fill a form out with everything on my resume, I am simply go to say refer to resume because it is literally attached. There is no losing or looking for it. Its not being lazy, its being more efficient with my time. Work smarter not harder, that should be something every employer would want.
You make a great point Cristian and I’m all about working smarter not harder. But when your first impression to an employer is “See Resume”, they aren’t at the point to determine if you are working smarter. They haven’t gotten to know you yet and I’ve seen too many instances where employers don’t take candidates past that point because of that. Sad, I know. Thanks for your comment!
I have to say your rant is my #1 rant in the reverse…as Christian says, if you’ve asked me to attach my resume, it is attached to the application. Disregarding my application due to “refer to resume” shows a lack of respect on your side. Many applications are dismissed by a computer, never even being viewed by a human, due to they don’t have the correct verbiage that gets it to the next level of possible candidates. We take a lot of time to update/create our resumes, and to be shown from the start it will not even be viewed if I don’t repeat what’s on my resume in the limited space provided on the application is discouraging at best and insulting at worst. Where’s the human element in this? I am a Project Manager and a single parent with 2 children, one in college. I was looking for a part-time job and was contacted for an interview at a large grocery chain last year. The position she asked me to interview for, cashier, was filled by the time I showed up for the scheduled interview. We talked a bit about other possible opportunities at other locations, and she literally told me if I wanted to start out at a higher pay, I needed to have the word “cashier” somewhere on my application or in my resume. It didn’t matter that I am over-qualified for the position, and the cashier experience I have was 30 years ago…it only mattered that I had the right word on the application/resume so the computer wouldn’t kick it out and the hiring manager could start me at a higher pay. Really?? If the first impression after all the time I put into my resume is met with a request to repeat my resume, I’m going to refer you to my resume. I have found that networking and knowing the right people is far more effective than going through a recruiter.
I don’t disagree with you Carla, and technology today, being as it is, does take a lot of the human element out of the hiring process. Most companies ask you to parse your resume into their systems so their search engines can help hiring managers with keyword searches so only those with the current criteria (in your case, the word cashier) come up for them to look at. I see both sides. When you are inundated with hundreds of resumes and applications a month through a job site, being able to focus only on those that match your position criteria does save some time. But it also completely removes the human element from the human resource process. At that point, you become just a bunch of keywords on a piece of paper. I wrote this a few years ago and technology has advanced so much in that time that people submitting paper applications with paper resumes attached seem archaic. You are right on the money though with developing personal relationships with people. Recruiter or not, it’s always been who you know when it comes to getting an interview. Thanks for your comment!