Getting your player ready...
Professional recruiters have seen it all. They know how to spot the best candidates and match them up with dream jobs because they’ve waded through an ocean of awful candidates and terrible jobs first.
Think you’re gonna fudge your qualifications and put one over on them? You’re not. Think you’ve found a unique trick to stand out from the crowd? They’ve seen it before. Instead of reinventing the wheel, why not take these recruiter-tips to make your job search go smoothly? First, impress the robot. “Many job seekers don’t realize that busy recruiters and employers often utilize automated screening tools to analyze how closely a rèsumè matches the job description,” says Bob Myhal, CEO of NextHire, a digital hiring solution. To get past the software, use keywords from your industry on your rèsumè. Use words that will correlate with descriptions for the jobs you’re interested in. Be consistent online and off. Myhal also recommends keeping your rèsumè consistent with any social media sites recruiters may check – and they will check. If the rèsumè in the recruiter’s hand says you’re the vice president of marketing at Consolidated Widget Factory, but your Facebook says “marketing director” and your Twitter bio says you’re a “freelance consultant,” that’s bad and will raise all kinds of red flags about your skill level, your social media savvy and your honesty. Do your homework. When someone says to “tailor your rèsumè to each opportunity,” they don’t just mean to be sure you’re addressing your cover letter to the right company. You should use social media and do some digging on your prospective employer, advises career coach Chris Delaney. “Dig deep and look up their values, beliefs and work ethic and relate to this in your application and interview. Interviewers often make decisions based on their judgement and commonality increases likeability.” Quantify your accomplishments. A great way to make your rèsumè. stand out is to include a bit of quantification when discussing your accomplishments, says Erik Bowitz, Sr., a rèsumè expert with Resume Genius. Explicitly state the size of budgets you controlled, how many people you managed, or the percent by which you reduced turnover. Bowitz prefers percentages and dollar figures “as they jump off the page and help your rèsumè leave an impression.”
