Yesterday afternoon, at 3:00, I posted a job notice for Administrative Assistant on CraigsList and the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance Web sites.  By 4:00 I had 10 applications in my inbox.  This morning I am sifting through 39 additional applications.  Already I know some of these people don't stand a chance; how are we to take them seriously if their resumes and cover letters have spelling and/or grammatical mistakes, or the contact e-mail address is PhillyzPimp@whatever.com?  Come on.  Cover letters and resumes are important documents, ones that should be looked at and revised daily by more than one pair of eyes. 

Also, a little bit of homework before sending a cover letter and resume is much appreciated; for example, in the posted ad, I left my e-mail address and company mailing address as means of contact.  All one had to do was Google search "Pennsylvania Humanities Council," click on our Web site link and click on the staff list, where the applicant would have found my full name and title, and therefore would have been able to address the letter to me, rather than "Dear Sir/Madam".

I understand that people are desperate for jobs, but few extra steps taken to put forth a quality cover letter and resume are really worth the time and effort.

[/soapbox]

I am:  annoyed