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 résumé to compete with dozens or even hundreds of others so that you get a phone call back, an interview – and hopefully a job.

The News Tribune talked with career consultants, human resource directors and hiring managers to learn why certain résumés get noticed, while others get tossed.

VICKI BUNKER, CAREER CONSULTANT

Local career consultant Vicki Bunker said that in this battered economy, human resources departments are being downsized, too. Bunker worked as a corporate recruiter for Weyerhaeuser Co. before starting her own career consultant firm two years ago.

“There are less HR people to look at these hundreds of résumés,” she said. “On top of all the competition, you have overworked, understaffed HR people who want résumés that are easy to follow.”

Bunker advocates for professional or skills summaries at the top of résumés to introduce the reader to the job 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 résumé 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. The nonprofit collects most of those applications via its Web site.

“Some people don’t go through the online application in depth,” Giglio said, instead they write “see résumé.” Her advice: Fill out online forms, even if it seems you are repeating information that’s already in a résumé.

“We look at the online application first,” she said. “We don’t start with the résumé.”

Giglio, who also worked at Weyerhaeuser prior to joining Multicare, wants to see accomplishments and measurable results listed on résumés.

“Those do get recruiters attention,” she said.

LINDSEY POLLAK, AUTHOR OF ‘GETTING FROM COLLEGE TO CAREER’

Bunker, Giglio and Pollak agree that simply turning in an application for a job isn’t enough – especially now.

Pollak recalled a recruiter who told her he always had two stacks of applications – a huge one filled with all the résumés a job posting garnered and another short stack of applications personally recommended to him by people he trusts.

“You want to be in that short stack,” Pollak said.

Networking is the way to get there.

Once you’ve applied for a position, Pollak suggested using your network – be it online or in person – to find someone at the company who can give your application a personal 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 can depend on the industry. But if you do one, be sure to 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.”

JOY ST. GERMAIN, HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR, CITY OF TACOMA

St. Germain noted that attention to detail can still make a big difference – watch out for spelling mistakes, make sure your applications are well done and not full of errors, she said.

And, what if this all works, and you do get an interview?

“Being yourself is important,” St. Germain said. “Be confident in who you are and what you’ve done and what you have to offer – that really does matter.”

Kelly Kearsley: 253-597-8673

Kelly.kearsley@thenewstribune.com

The News Tribune is following four Pierce County job seekers as they search for work in this tough economy.

Most of them found themselves out of work as a result of company cutbacks. They’ve searching for jobs from two to six-plus months in fields including marketing, graphic design and finance. They range in age and experience, but they share a few things in common – they need jobs to support themselves and their families. And they are trying hard to find them. Here’s an update on what they’ve been doing:

Duane Crouse

Age: 34

Home: Frederickson

Profession: Marketing

Job hunting: Two months

Status: Still looking.

School is out and Crouse was squeezing in job hunting last week between shuttling his kids to vacation Bible school and preparing for three of the kids’ birthdays.

“I’m working my contacts, making a lot of follow-up calls and trying to get opportunities in new ways,” Crouse said.

Crouse is getting a lot of form-letter responses to his inquiries. He’s hoping that more networking will yield some better leads.

He did work one day for his former employer – showcasing the real estate services company at an employee benefits fair. He misses working, but he’s staying positive about the experiences he’s having while at home.

“It’s emotionally very difficult for me personally not to have a job,” he said. “But on the flip side this is the first week the kids are out of school and it’s kind of cool to be home with them.”

Doug Hudak

Age: 44

Home: University Place

Job hunting: Six months

Profession: Graphic designer

Status: Still looking.

Hudak has spent the past month networking with other small businesses in Tacoma and University Place in hopes of building his freelance graphic design business. He plans to put some advertising on his car, he just finished his Web site and he’s registered for more classes.

He’s also been applying for jobs, though he said there’s not much available in his field that doesn’t require a long commute. He hasn’t received any calls on the jobs he’s applied for, and he wondered whether he’s qualified for the positions.

But Hudak remains optimistic.

“I’m feeling good that between the job opportunities and the freelance that one of them is going to hit – and hopefully I can start making a living again,” Hudak said.

In meantime, he’s spending time with his two kids and entering a city-wide art contest.

Jaynie Jones

Age: 60

Home: Tacoma

Profession: Health care marketing, voice talent

Job hunting: Three months

Status: Interviewed for a position.

After months of wondering why companies weren’t calling her back, Jones got an interview. It was for a marketing job with a retirement community – similar to what Jones was doing before.

“It went really well,” Jones said. “I felt I had a wonderful rapport with the interviewer … it felt very comfortable to be there.”

The company interviewed six people for the position, and Jones is waiting to hear back on whether she was selected. She’s trying not to get her hopes up.

“I can’t let myself get so locked on it that I would feel devastated if it didn’t happen,” Jones said. “I can’t wait and hope for one thing, I have to keep moving forward.”

Kala Jones

Age: 22

Home: Auburn

Job hunting: Four months

Profession: Finance, business

Status: Hired!

Jones recently started a new job as a trade funds specialist – like an accounting assistant, she explained – with Darigold in Seattle.

“It’s a real relief to know that I’m not stuck in the job market anymore, doing that search and being stressed out about whether I can pay my student loans,” the recent University of Puget Sound graduate said.

Jones’ internship with Russell Investments ended earlier this month. She’d been looking for permanent work since February after the The Boeing Co. rescinded its job offer due to company cutbacks.

She found the Darigold job through a temporary staffing agency that focuses on recent graduates. Jones is working on contract for the company, with the potential to be hired permanently within the next few months.

The promise of paycheck has also restarted Jones’ wedding planning, which was put on hold as she looked for work. The business major said she feels lucky to have found the job and she’s enjoying going to work.

“It’s definitely better than sitting at home filling out applications,” she said.