Originally posted by: yllus
No point in doing the in-person thing anymore, IMO. I'm told that many companies are switching over to an electronic database of resumes for HR use; they want to be able to cut and paste the contents of your resume into their system for future reference.
That's just AFAIK though - there are a number of HR-savvy professionals on AT who should be along shortly to advise you.
It depends on the organization. The one I work for is certainly moving towards an all-electronic based system; it makes it significantly more effecient and effective to send applications to selecting officials this way. Plus, it's a heck of a lot easier to track applicant status.
BUT...for right now we're a paper-based system, so if you were applying here I would rather have you send a hard-copy as opposed to an electronic one.
My suggestion is send it both ways with an explanation that you did so in your cover letter.
Also- one tidbit of advice; if the organization requires you to complete an actual application (as opposed to simply sending in a resume) COMPLETE THE ENTIRE THING, even if information can be found in your resume. It may be redundant but trust me, take those extra five minutes and fill out the work history on the application instead of writing "Please see resume". When I see this I think two things: 1. Laziness and 2. Inability to follow instruction (it says on the front of the application to complete all parts).
GOOD LUCK!