Employer Preferences for Online Job Applications

Why do employers prefer online job applications? About.com's Human Resources Guide, Susan Heathfield, says, "Employers prefer online resume and application submission for several reasons. With online submissions the amount of paper in the office is minimized. Opening mail, filing and resume retention and the problems with resume retrieval for subsequent positions are eliminated. Even the space necessary to store paper resumes is a problem in many offices."

Heathfield adds, "Most employers record resumes and applications into an HR database of some kind such as Great Plains. Access to qualified candidates is easy through the search functions in the database. Some employers provide online forms that applicants use to paste in their resumes."

"Finally," Heathfield says, "more and more employers are deserting their traditional newspaper classifieds in favor of online job postings. Responding to these online postings is difficult except via the job board's system or email; many employers do not put their address in their postings anymore to encourage online applications. I am definitely a fan of emailed and online resumes. If nothing else, we kill fewer trees."