Replying to all resumes would be the polite thing to do, but often it simply isn't practical. If a company receives 200 responses for an ad, or experiences a continual deluge of unsolicited resumes, it would spend an inordinate amount of time sending acknowledgments. If you really want a receipt for your resume, send a stamped, self-addressed postcard asking for one. If you make it easy, the human resources department will comply.

Have you ever tried to hire a new employee? While looking for a job is tough, finding a good employee is no picnic either. Picture yourself as the CEO of a small to midsize company looking for a new CFO. After carefully constructing your ad, you wade through scores of resumes, schedule and conduct several rounds of interviews, screen the princes from the frogs, and hope when you choose the best candidate, he will say yes. For a busy executive, this can be a long, expensive, and nerve-racking process with no guarantee of a positive result.

Resume search is important for the job interview, too. Most of us are more comfortable moving into unfamiliar territory if we have a map of the terrain. When you have researched an individual company to tailor your resume, you know a great deal about its products-- services, mission, philosophy, revenues, and so forth. This information can be very valuable in preparing good questions and answers for initial and subsequent interviews. Employers like candidates who are savvy enough to do some homework before their first meeting. In customizing your resume, you are pursuing two objectives simultaneously: You are creating a powerful written sales tool, and you are developing a verbal testament about why a specific employer should hire you. If you think of your resume-writing process as the best preparation for a rigorous interview session, you will be more likely to give it the time it deserves.