The second time consuming step is researching and contacting companies, the way they want you to. This requires information on their available jobs and their hiring process.

Think for a moment about how defense contractors and private military companies now approach filling a job. Using a really simple example, Manager X tells the Human Resources department he wants to fill a position.

The HR department knows the job description of that position and will search their applicant database for suitable people to shortlist for the recruiter.

The problem for you to deal with is the sheer number of applicants that most military-related companies have on file.

Consider KBR for example.

These figures were provided to the Houston Chronicle by KBR for a January 2007 newspaper article:

Human resources

50,000 employees and subcontractors work for KBR in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan (Reflects U.S. and international workers)

1,000 open positions in Iraq and Afghanistan

550,000 résumés on file to fill the positions

140,000 résumés received for the jobs in 2005

165,000 résumés received for the jobs in 2006

Other companies report similar floods of job seekers. To handle such large numbers, the companies are mostly using online application systems.

Contacting a company now usually means filling out their hiring site’s online profile, which puts your information in database format for their use.

Consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton explains why these new systems are so important:

“Online pre-screening applications were devised to help large companies better manage the deluge of resumes they receive, ensuring that all applicant information sent to them electronically is entered into their databases in real time and in such a way that each resume can be matched with any number of openings company wide.”

According to the consulting company:

“The key is a personal profile job hunters are asked to complete instead of simply forwarding their resume. Job seekers answer a standardized questionnaire and either enters or cut and pastes their resume into their profile. Weighted criteria for experience, skills, and competencies create a scoring system that pushes the most qualified applicants for any given job to the top of recruiters' lists.”

But filling out their online profile is only one step. You also have to find what jobs they have available and usually apply for specific openings.

How Dangerzonejobs.com can help you.

Our company profiles and other resources show you what each company requires to apply. You’ll find out fast how to reach them the proper way so your application and paperwork doesn’t disappear.

The information offered to Danger Zone Jobs members makes researching companies far less time consuming and gives you much more detail.

Our new company profile format offers 20 specific job related points and we are currently expanding our coverage from 64 to 106 US and non-US companies.