Simple Job Search Tips

1. Make Yourself a “Smack-in-the-Forehead” Obvious Fit

When you apply for a job via an online application process, it’s very likely that your resume will first be screened by an applicant tracking system and then (assuming you make this first cut) move onto human eyeballs. The first human eyeballs that review your resume are often those of a lower level HR person or recruiter, who may or may not understand all of the nuances of that job for which you’re applying.

Thus, it behooves you to make it very simple for both the computer and the human to quickly connect their “Here’s what we’re looking for” to your “Here’s what you can walk through our doors and deliver.”

Tip

Study the job description and any available information you have on the position. Are you mirroring the words and phrases in the job description? Are you showcasing your strengths in the areas that seem to be of paramount importance to this role? Line it up. Line it up.


2. Don’t Limit Yourself to Online Applications

You want that job search to last and last? Well, then continue to rely solely on submitting online applications. You want to accelerate this bad boy? Don’t stop once you apply online for that position. Start finding and then endearing yourself to people working at that company of interest. Schedule informational interviews with would-be peers. Approach an internal recruiter and ask a few questions. Get on the radar of the very people who might influence you getting an interview. (More on that here.)

Tip

By lining up with people on the inside of the companies at which you want to work, you will instantly set yourself apart. Decision makers interview people who come recommended or by way of a personal referral before they start sorting through the blob of resumes that arrives by way of the ATS.


3. Remember That Your Resume (and LinkedIn Profile) Is Not a Tattoo

Yes, your new resume is lovely. Your LinkedIn profile, breathtaking. However, if they don’t position you as a direct match for a particular role that you’re gunning for, don’t be afraid to modify wording, switch around key terms, and swap bullet points in and out. Your resume is not a tattoo, nor is your LinkedIn profile. Treat them as living, breathing documents throughout your job search (and career).


Tip

If you’re a covert job seeker, remember to turn off your activity broadcasts (within privacy and settings) when you make edits to your LinkedIn profile. If your current boss or colleagues are connected to you on LinkedIn, they may get suspicious about all the frequent changes.


READ MORE AT:http://https://www.themuse.com/advice/6-job-search-tips-that-are-so-basic-people-forget-them//

Five Quick Tips to Creating an Online Searchable Resume

1) USE KEYWORDS: Resumes are skimmed initially by hiring managers and recruiters in 5 - 10 seconds, sometimes faster if they are keyword searching large sites like Monster or CareerBuilder. They are looking for specific information to fill a specific role. Be sure to include keywords in your resume that will zero in on your desired position. A resume with the pertinent keywords will ensure your resume gets found and gets a longer look.

2) NOT TOO MUCH INFORMATION: Resumes with too much information or too much "fanciness" get passed over quicker. The pertinent information is too hard to find. Keep it simple, straight forward and easy to pinpoint your experience and strengths. Refrain from fancy fonts, lines, headers and too many additional nonessential things.

3) SIMPLE FORMATTING: When you submit your resume through a website or ATS/RTS (applicant/resume tracking system), that fancy formatting is often removed or altered. This means that your resume doesn't look at all like what you intended. If it doesn’t get altered on the site you upload to it is likely to get altered when recruiter and hiring managers upload it to their company’s tracking site like Sales Force. Be sure you are looking at it from that perspective. The more straightforward you make it initially, the more intact it will stay as it travels through the screening process. In today’s hiring landscape it is best to stay streamlined, bullet pointed and easy to follow.

4) AVOID ALL CAPS & CATCHY TITLES: Catchy titles and placing your name in ALL CAPS were both “best practices” at one point in the hiring game. Today it is best to instead use the same size (not all caps) font and save your resume with a title that is just your name or even the year or something similar such as “Christy McDonald Resume” or “Christy McDonald 2015 Resume”. Eliminate catchy titles when using career websites. Instead of “dynamic sales professional” opt for something that is concise such as “Licensed Multi-state Health/Life Agent”. That way you are already ahead of the game on using keywords and giving hiring managers/recruiters a heads up as to exactly what type of sales you are in.

5) BE SURE TO HIGHLIGHT SKILLS PERTINENT TO YOUR DESIRED POSITION: It is really important to list out specific skills that are pertinent to the position you desire. For example if you are in healthcare claims processing and have used three different claims processing systems you will want to be sure to list them on the resume. I would suggest a targeted “Skills/Systems Experience” section on your resume that would bullet point them out. That way they are easy to find when someone is quickly looking over the resume and when hiring manager and recruiters are doing keyword searches on large sites like LinkedIn, CareerBuilder or Monster.

Here are two great FREE resources that will aid you in creating a great resume:
http://resume.monster.com/
http://advice.careerbuilder.com/?categories=Resumes

3 Tips For Making Your Resume Stand Out To Recruiters

3 Tips to Make Your Resume a "Quick Read"

1. Don't center any of your text

Even your section headings should be aligned to the left. This improves readability because the eye naturally returns to the left margin once it's ready to move on to the next line of text.

2. Align your dates and locations to the right

You can only fit so much different information (company name, job title, location, dates of employment) on one line of text before it gets unwieldy. To help separate out your information, make a separate column for dates and locations that is right adjusted. On most word processors, you should be able to just create a right-tab.

3. Don't justify your resume

Overall, using a justified setting for your bullets may make your resume look tidier, but it does nothing for readability. This setting leaves uneven gaps between words that ultimately make text harder to read, so for your bullets and resume overall, stick with regular ol’ left alignment.

Read more tips at: http://mashable.com/2014/07/29/resume-changes-skimming/

Tips to Edit an "Overqualified" Resume

Here are a few tips for editing your overqualified resume:

Subtract “Too-Impressive” Job History And Education

Believe it or not, it’s perfectly acceptable to leave information off of your resume that might be considered too impressive. For instance, if you have worked as a marketing executive but now want to apply for a job as a human resources manager, you can leave the executive information off, especially since the new and old positions aren’t in the same field.

Same goes for education. If you have a doctorate, you don’t have to add it to your resume. You can postpone any discussion about this qualification for your interview where you can take the time to explain why you’re looking for a job that doesn’t require as much of a challenge.

Add Extra Details About History That Help You Qualify

On the other hand, it’s a great idea to elaborate on various aspects of your career that can help you better qualify for a position. Take time to think about what made you a great manager at a previous point in your career. What caused you to excel and advance to the level you reached prior to leaving your last job?

As a manager, you’re sure to have had great accomplishments to list on your resume. Be sure to go into detail about what made you great then—and what will make you exceptional in the position you’re applying for now.

The goal of writing your resume is to make sure you get called for an interview. Unfortunately, this can be difficult to do if you get tossed into the denial pile because an employer is worried you’ll become bored with your job and flee as soon as you can. By adjusting your resume accordingly to get the interview, you have given yourself the opportunity to sort out the remaining details face-to-face.


Read more at http://www.careerealism.com/overqualified-resume/#F6HED7gfj1zLYQ4x.99

3 Keys to Customize Your Resume

1. Utilize Proper Language

The first rule of customization is to ensure your resume contains the same language found in the job advertisement. Many companies use junior human resources staff as the first reviewers for the resumes they receive. Since HR staff typically know a lot about HR and less about the business of their company, they often look to match your resume with the keywords used in the job ad. This is why it’s important to customize your resume for an untrained eye; generally, the first person (or software program) looking it over is not discerning enough to know what you mean unless you use the exact same language.

2. Optimize Your Resume With Keywords

For a job seeker who is looking at several different industries, matching keywords can be the most time consuming part of the process. For instance, someone with a background in nonprofit development may be looking at various nonprofit positions as well as opportunities in sales.

Although both jobs essentially involve bringing in money for the employer, the nonprofit industry talks about “fund-raising” while the sales industry talks about “market share.” In order to save herself the hassle of changing the language of her resume every time she applies for a job, this job seeker would want to design both a standard nonprofit resume and a sales resume as the basic documents to work from for either type of job.

3. Put Important Details First

Another way to customize your resume for a specific job opening is to construct the various sections of your resume in the same order as the items listed in the ad. For instance, if an advertisement says, “Seeking licensed master’s level social worker for clinical supervisor,” then your resume should display your academic degrees and social work license near the top. Employers generally use their ads to tell you what they’re looking for—so don’t make it hard for them to find it!


Read more at http://www.careerealism.com/3-keys-customizing-resume/#8GiqYFZCztmv2tzy.99

Use that Resume to Match up your Skillset to a Job Posting

Have you ever wanted to apply for a job you realized did not completely match your skill set? It’s happened to all of us at some point in our careers, especially when attempting to switch fields.
The good news is winning a position when not fully qualified is completely possible. By using your resume as a tool, you can show just how great a candidate you are.

Read the Job Posting Carefully
The first step in ensuring you add skills to your resume that align with those required by a specific position is to read the job posting carefully. Doing so not only shows you exactly what’s required of the job but it also help you to examine your own skills that match.
For instance, if a company mentions in its job posting that it is looking for an administrative assistant with strong organizational skills and experience setting up meetings for company executives, you know you need a certain take-charge attitude to ensure the office is organized.
Now, you can include your own organizational skills—and even show proof that you’ve interacted with top executives in the past.

Think from the Hiring Manager’s Perspective
Thinking from the perspective of a hiring manager is not always easy to do, but it is possible—and necessary if you want to add the right information to your resume.
To start, read the job posting—and even take a few moments to learn more about the company itself through its website or other sources. Then, think about what you would hope to see on someone’s resume if they set it on your desk.
Would you expect to receive resumes from people who only have experience as models or background dancers? No, you would want to see how their experience relates to the position they’re applying for. Using this perspective while writing can help you to create a resume you feel will get you hired.

Show You Can Learn New Skills
It’s important to showcase your ability to learn new skills by highlighting previous training, along with a willingness to take on new projects.
One way to do this is by listing any training courses you’ve taken, certifications you’ve received, programs you’re proficient in, and any other details that prove your ability to hit the ground running.
Some people who have acquired their dream jobs did not have all of the experience needed to claim the position—but they did submit a resume that helped them score an interview where they could then prove that they were right for the job.

excerpted from: http://www.careerealism.com/resume-skills-job/

Common Resume Mistakes

Here are a couple of COMMON Resume Mistakes:

Spelling Company Names Incorrectly
A job applicant assumed she correctly remembered the names of all the companies she worked for. But she didn’t; she misspelled two of them. Mistakes like that make recruiters and hiring managers wonder if the resume is truthful.

Being Inconsistent

A sales executive described his success at landing multi-million dollar contracts for various companies. But each time he listed a dollar amount, he changed the form: $1 million; $2M; $3,000,000. Another example would be the date format you use when listing employment history: Jan 2013, 2/2010 4/4/14. This is one that you really want to hone in on and make sure you address while proofreading your resume.


Read more at http://www.careerealism.com/resume-mistakes-dont-get-caught/#XDtPkEJcUCLChKGb.99

3 Ways To Boost ROI on Your Resume

Consider adding these quantifiable measures of your performance to your resume:

1. Comparisons To Others
Do you wear many hats at your current job? Employees who can perform more than one job simultaneously are often credited with generating increases in the bottom line. On your resume, you’ll be able to show the savings gained by helping your employer avoid the need to hire or train an additional staff member, as in these examples:

"Cut 34% from training budget by assuming new project leadership role for Global Standards initiative."

"Eliminated need to hire new team members by performing dual roles in operations and sales, with estimated $80K savings."

ROI can also be demonstrated by comparing your work to others on your team, or to a predecessor who held the same role prior to your tenure. You may be more efficient or better able to understand customer needs – saving your employer additional effort (such as multiple sales calls or additional work on technical problems) – than your counterparts. If so, put this savings into a dollar figure by calculating the cost of rework for use on your resume.

2. Revenue And Profit Improvement

Will anything get an employer’s attention faster than telling them you’ll bring sizeable profits? Not likely.
However, unless you’re in a sales role (or another revenue-specific job), you might find this exercise difficult. After all, how does a project manager or operations director make money for the company?

The secret to pulling out a revenue or profit figure (when your job isn’t tied directly to money) is to look higher in the company for the impact of your work. This means taking into account the value of the project to your employer (a new service line that will create revenue opportunities), or the impact of the new equipment you implemented (improving production and fulfilling more orders).

As in this example of a resume statement, your work as part of a larger effort can be conveyed in the impact of the entire project:

"Played key role in $23M project slated to improve operational efficiency, with 45% reduction in call center hold times and expected $7M annual savings."

"If your job involves technology, consider the monetary value of the improvements gained with a new solution you implemented."

Once you put the emphasis on your work at a company or department level, the revenue or profit equation can make sense. Of course, you’ll need to share the credit for creating more $$$ with your team or colleagues, but it’s an important measure of your benefit to a new employer.

3. Cost Containment
Cost savings are a high-priority area for many companies, especially those in industries directly affected by the economic downturn. Of course, showing your impact on expenses is easy if you’re the one negotiating new vendor contracts or preparing a budget. Even if your responsibilities don’t seem related to costs, think about your ability to produce work faster or with less resources – then add the costs associated with this acceleration into your resume.

For example, an office manager who arranges shifts to cover the phone (without hiring an additional employee) is directly saving significant payroll and training costs. An IT Director might be able to point out the projects completed in less time due to a newly acquired software tool, with related opportunity costs allowing the team to take on other projects.

These examples show different ways to state cost savings on your resume:

"Saved division nearly $700K with switch to Agile Development methodology and training for 3 team members."

"Reduced marketing spend $35K by learning social media techniques instrumental in promoting company services."

"Perhaps you’ve monitored expenses within your team, and figured out ways to generate the same amount of revenue with less overhead."

These figures can be estimated, or specified in percentages of savings, to show your impact on costs. The bottom line? Your employment automatically comes at a cost to your employer. If you can demonstrate a substantial ROI over the expense of hiring you, companies will be eager to bring you on board – even with a raise in salary – despite a competitive job market.

Excerpted from http://www.careerealism.com/resume-roi/#ORO5q70hLxV6qopv.99

Why Resume Templates Are Job Search Killers

Make sure your resume stands out from the crowd in a good way. Don't use a cookie cutter template that will immediately come across as a resume that has no sense of individuality. You will find some great guidelines in the careerealism article linked here:  Why Resume Templates Are Job Search Killers | CAREEREALISM

Tips To Creating a Solid Searchable Resume

TIPS TO CREATING A SOLID SEARCHABLE RESUME
1) USE KEYWORDS: Resumes are skimmed initially by hiring managers and recruiters in 5 -
10 seconds, sometimes faster if they are keyword searching large sites like
CareerBuilder. They are looking for specific information to fill a specific role. Be sure to
include keywords in your resume that will zero in on your desired position. A resume
with the pertinent keywords will ensure your resume gets found and gets a longer look.

2) NOT TOO MUCH INFORMATION: Resumes with too much information or too much
"fanciness" get passed over quicker. The pertinent information is too hard to find. Keep
it simple, straight forward and easy to pinpoint your experience and strengths. Refrain
from fancy fonts, lines, headers and too many additional nonessential things.

3) SIMPLE FORMATTING: When you submit your resume through a website or RTS
(resume tracking system), that fancy formatting is often removed or altered. This
means that your resume doesn't look at all like what you intended. If it doesn’t get
altered on the site you upload to it is likely to get altered when recruiter and hiring
managers upload it to their company’s tracking site like Sales Force. Be sure you are
looking at it from that perspective. The more straightforward you make it initially, the
more intact it will stay as it travels through the screening process. In today’s hiring
landscape it is best to stay streamlined, bullet pointed and easy to follow.

4) AVOID ALL CAPS & CATCHY TITLES: Catchy titles and placing your name in ALL CAPS
were both “best practices” at one point in the hiring game. Today it is best to instead
use the same size (not all caps) font and save your resume with a title that is just your
name or even the year or something similar such as “Christy McDonald Resume” or
“Christy McDonald 2013 Resume”. Eliminate catchy titles when using career websites.
Instead of “dynamic sales professional” opt for something that is concise such as
“Licensed Multi-state Health/Life Agent”. That way you are already ahead of the game
on using keywords and giving hiring managers/recruiters a heads up as to exactly what
type of sales you are in.