I’m not an amazing career blogger, but I have applied for, and gotten, alot of work on Craig’s. If you have a white-sounding, male name and aren’t getting responses, there is something wrong with your email. I give much of this advice to my friends, but every time I use the list, I improve my results a little. The first thing you need to know about Craigslist is that any posting is going to be overrun by spammers trying to drum up business. So, when replying to a job listing, your goal is to cut through the spam.
- Use spell check.
- Keep it short. After sorting through spammers, the poster doesn’t want your life story.
- Keep it local. In fact, bold the word local, include the name of your town, and always use a local phone number.
- Read the posting carefully and show the poster that you read it.
- Answer some of the poster’s questions, but leave them a reason to email you.
- Skip job postings that don’t give you a reason to apply.
- Use spell check, damn it.
If these tips fail you, start reading Penelope’s blog, or have several friends review your resume and cover email.