Simply put, pay attention to customizing the keywords in your resume to specific job descriptions. It turns out that at many companies, your resume is never seen by a human being until after it gets flagged as “interesting” by software that scans your resume for potential matches to skills and experience the company is looking for.

Applicant tracking systems screen you by converting your resume into a database. Employers either search for the most qualified candidates by inputting keywords and phrases, or rely on the ATS to recommend candidates for their job requisitions using a semantic match. Employers then see candidates much like results in a search engine, in ranked order.

And it’s more than just single keywords that make you stand out from the crowd: After all, a lot of other people are making sure that their resumes mimic the words mentioned in job descriptions as well. The quality of your resume you present to a prospective employer is competitive. Learn the ins and outs of creating a stellar resume, or hire a great resume writer.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 3,200 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 53 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Should I post my resume on job boards, and let recruiters contact me?
Are you concerned about your privacy? If so, keep this little tid-bit in mind….spammers have memberships to the major job boards, and your information feeds them contact information to reach out to you with a constant flow of spam. They have your home address; not a super-smart idea. If you don’t believe me, post your resume and see who calls you. Job boards can be useful to you as a candidate, if you know how to gain the most knowledge from them. I suggest visiting a job board aggregator like Indeed.com, and searching for jobs that match your skills, in your targeted area. Once you have your results, you can save this search, and have the results emailed to you daily or weekly. This is a great way to know EVERYTHING that’s going on in your profession, without putting your personal information out there for the whole world.

Finding a career coach, versus a recruiter.
If you’re an aggressive candidate who has a checkered employment history (you’ve made a lot of changes, or recently switched careers altogether) a recruiter may not be in a position to assist you. Remember, they only get paid when they place you with an employer; so if their ability to place you is in question, you may need to hire a career agent, or coach. The difference is you will pay a fee for the services of a career agent/coach. Expect to pay anywhere from $1000 – $5000 for their services, depending on what services are required to get you in the door of your next job. Some career agents will charge only a small up-front fee, and the balance once you’ve started your job. Others will set-up a monthly payment plan until the balance is paid in full. In either case, their service can be an invaluable asset for individuals who are unable to obtain a job on their own.

Recruiters, headhunters, staffing specialists and talent acquisition professionals assist candidates in landing their next job faster than they could expect to on their own. Before you blame an imperfect economy, get in touch with one – soon!

Yesterday you were in your home country. Today you find yourself a foreigner in a new land. As Sting sings, “a legal alien”. Great. Exciting even. But once you have unpacked the boxes, hung up the curtains, and found the local grocer, now what. You need a job.

If your company moved you overseas you are set. But maybe your spouse or partner isn’t. Or you are studying abroad and need extra money. Who doesn’t? Here is my 3-pronged approach to finding a job overseas:

1. Go to the government sponsored employment office. There isn’t one? Go to the temporary hiring services. If there is a government sponsored employment office like there is in Sweden, take advantage of all they have to offer. In addition to registering your CV you will get assigned a counselor who is supposed to work on your behalf. They will tell you about language classes or additional training. Maybe even support to start your own business. You can get help with your CV or learn interviewing techniques. Ask what they can do and follow up!

A temp agency gets paid when they send someone on a short term job. Find out what kind of clients they have and what skills are needed. Then present yourself in the best light possible! If you need to know the local language, ask about jobs that English speakers can do.

2. Network, network, network. Yea, yea: it’s not what you know but who you know. So what do you do when you don’t know anyone? You network! Here is a list of groups I have joined. I am sure you can find some that relate to your background:
American Club, American Women’s Club, Business Professional Women’s Group, International Women’s Club, Democrats Abroad, European Professional Women’s Group, XING, LinkedIn, Internations, and Meetup. You get the idea. Find organizations for people from your country. Attend their networking events. Oh, go to the Chamber of Commerce events your country hosts. Be active! Have your elevator pitched prepared and tell it to everyone, I mean everyone you meet.

3. Research the companies for which you want to work and contact them. Tell them you think they are great and explain why. Tell them why you are the perfect person to join their team and explain why. Ask for an informational interview. Knock them dead at the informational interview by coming with a list of questions that show that you know their company as well as any outsider could. Dress like you understand the company culture. Ask them for a job. At the very least you will start to learn about how business is done in your adopted country.

In any event stay positive and do things you enjoy. You never know where your next job lead is. It may come from the person on the Yoga mat next to yours.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

“That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

Have you ever seen someone’s career take a really bad turn for the worse? Not by imploding (you know, committing a crime or something stupid like that), but things suddenly not going well. Missed deadlines or responsibilities that are not met. This may happen over a period of time. Everyone else notices but (seemingly) not the person it is happening to. It may have happened to you (or not). There are so many things that are outside of our control, new bosses, new direction, companies not doing as well, mergers, down sizing, and the list goes on. Often, in retrospect (but rarely while it is happening), we can see what really happened. Where did we go wrong? Why didn’t we fix it? What would we do differently? No sense dwelling on the past. Everything that happens to you in your job and career (good, bad or indifferent) is part of the path that will lead you to your next opportunity. Whether that opportunity exists where you currently work or elsewhere. And, as the title of this post indicates, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

• Picking Up The Pieces When You Find Yourself Jobless – This article, from Vault.com, provides some great advice for moving on after losing your job (no matter what the reason). Most of the steps focus on what to do from the moment you are told to severing your ties cleanly. That last step, sometimes the hardest, is your final walk out the door and what you will say to your now former coworkers. While you are on the site, take a look at the other great job search resources with the links at the top of the page

• I lost my job, now what? – Posted by yours truly, this is one of the first posts by me on CareerAlley. There are the initial stages of recognition when you lose your job (not dissimilar to losing a loved one). But, once you’ve taken the appropriate amount of time (and it is different for all of us), it’s time to get back on that horse. When you lose your job, your full time job is now finding another one and you must approach it in that way. The article then goes on to list the seven steps for finding your next job. This is my favorite post and forms the basis for so much of what is included on CareerAlley.

• For Job-Hunting Success, Develop a Comprehensive Job-Search Plan – A comprehensive 10-step plan from Quintcareers.com, this article provides 10 steps to creating a great job search plan. Each step (such as make the time, reflect on what you want, etc.) provides a great overview along with embedded links to related information including creating the basic tools in your Job Search Marketing Toolkit. There are additional tabs at the top of the page for Students, Job-Seekers and Career Changers. Additionally, there are related links on the top left hand side of the page.

• The Riley Guide: How to Job Search – One of the best sources on the Internet for job search, the Riley Guide has what seems like the answer to every job search question and resource you may need. This particular page is subtitled “Job Search Guidance”. Starting with a list of advice and advisors (with embedded links) and following with guides and articles and the list goes on. The “hidden job market” and “online search” are also included. This is a great place to put together the plans for your search.

• 5 Ways to Not Feel Overwhelmed By Your Job Search – Looking for a job can be very stressful, especially if you are out of work and have been looking for any length of time. This article, from careersparx.com, has a short list to get you blood pressure back to normal. Tips such as “do one thing every day” and “make a list” are just two of the basics that should become a regular part of your routine.

Good luck in your search.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

What are employers looking for in a quality resume? How do you possibly compete with other people with your skills and experience, and come out as the winner?

Here are three tips you can “take to the bank” when it comes to giving your resume a most-needed make-over.

1. Don’t get fancy – just get dancy! Use easy-to-read fonts when creating your resume. Choose to use bold letters to highlight important information only. Candidates who attempt to write their own resume tend to believe the more ornate fonts will impress the hiring manager. Make it readable, or don’t get hired.

2. One size does not fit all. It seems like a good plan to create a generic resume, and then email blast it to every employer on the planet. Guess again! In today’s job market, your resume must be customized for each position you apply for. The prospective employer wants to know about your relevant skills and experience – and most importantly, what you accomplished during your previous jobs. Give them what they want.

3. Use keywords in your resume. Review the job description for the position you’re applying for. You’ll see there are select words and phrases the employer uses to describe their ideal candidate. Take those very words and incorporate them in your resume. You’ll be amazed when the phone rings and you’re invited to interview.

Remember, only apply for jobs that you are qualified to perform. If you don’t meet the minimum qualifications for a position, don’t waste your time. If you’re not happy with the positions you are qualified for, consider going back to school, or enrolling in occupational training.

Good luck with your job search!

Are you wondering why your job search is moving along slowly? Any job search requires patience, but have you thought about how to improve it? Perhaps, you are your own worst enemy, making mistakes that are harming your job search. Here are some tendencies to avoid according to one career expert:

Job searching, not company searching- If you’re simply job searching, then you may waste too much time and come up short in finding the job you want. As an alternative, research the companies you’d like to work for in order to focus on specific job opportunities.

Neglecting your online presence- These days, some employers search for job candidates using the Internet. If you create any kind of online profile, be careful what content you post (blogs, pictures, etc.). Keep it professional so you will be taken seriously as a job seeker.

Applying for jobs you’re not qualified for- While a job opportunity might sound good, you need to consider its expectations and if the job is right for you. Find a job where you can fulfill the minimum requirements.

For more tendencies to avoid in your job search, please see the source below.

A job search is challenging enough without you creating problems for yourself. Avoiding certain tendencies could produce better results sooner than you think.

Information provided by Heather Huhman.

-Source-

http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2011/07/29/5-job-search-habits-to-break

[please link to: http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2011/07/29/5-job-search-habits-to-break]

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

Sometimes writing a resume can leave us feeling bummed, especially if we keep submitting what we feel is a masterpiece but don’t seem to get the results we want. Don’t feel deterred if you’re not snagging interviews. It may just be that you need to make a few tweaks to your resume. Before you submit yours again, consider making the following small adjustments:

1. Skip the abbreviations. While it’s a great idea to incorporate industry keywords in your resume, adding abbreviations like “mgr.” instead of writing out “manager” could result in your resume being overlooked by scanning software.

2. Turn paragraphs into bullet points. It may be that your resume is just too dense for hiring managers to want to read through it. To remedy the issue, consider breaking your paragraphs into bullet points. This creates much needed white space in your resume while allowing you to narrow your focus a bit.

3. Frame your keywords. When incorporating keywords into your resume, don’t just add some that you think are cool. Some companies utilize state-of-the-art filtering technology that looks for keywords framed within a specific context. So be sure to use the keywords to describe your experiences and prove you are actually familiar with the subject.

4. Edit again for typos. You might be surprised by the mistakes that you could overlook on your resume, especially if you’ve been sending yours out with sections you don’t alter much (e.g., education, awards, etc.). Double-check these sections to make sure there are no typos. An error you didn’t know was there could be turning hiring managers off.

5. Be careful of spam folders when e-mailing your resume. When submitting your resume via e-mail, small headline adjustments such as “graduated with high honors” instead of “graduated cum laude” could help your resume avoid the spam folder.

Making these small adjustments could change the entire scope of your job search and actually result in your being called for an interview when you weren’t before. Why not give it a try? You may just experience the changes you’ve been looking for.

For additional tips and advice on resumes and cover letters, follow us on Twitter @GreatResume or visit our blog.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

Many of us have, even through no fault of our own, had a bumpy work history. This may be due to lay-offs, illnesses, temporary contractual work, staying home to raise children, career transitions, or a myriad of other situations. You may have perfectly legitimate reasons; however an employer may not understand why you have short tenures or gaps between jobs – they just want the best candidate for the job.

But have no fear! There are some ways to format your resume so that employers notice your excellent skills and qualifications rather than circumstances in your past. It starts with functional formatting, which means bringing your skills to be beginning and expanding on them, and moving your simplified work history to the end, which downplays your work chronology.

How exactly does this work? Here are the parts of a functional resume:

Introduction: Start with a career summary that gives an overview of your strongest selling points, including unique skills, certifications, corporate awards, etc. This immediately catches the eye of the reader and draws them in. You may also choose to include a list of relevant keywords and a personal branding statement in your introduction.

Summary of Skills: This is where a work history might traditionally go. However, your strengths lie in your skills rather than your work history so displaying a detailed, categorized breakdown of those skills is a great use of space. For example, if you’re a retail sales manager, you may choose to break your skills down into sales and marketing, leadership, retail planning and purchasing, and operations (HR, accounting, etc.). It’s important to be specific here; listing generic skills wastes space and bores readers.

Work History: Use this section to simply list your job title, company name, location, and dates of employment for each job you’ve held. Don’t draw attention to this section by expanding on each job. You may also choose to leave dates off of positions you held more than 10 years ago as they lose relevance after that amount of time and indicate candidate age.

Additional Sections (education, certification, affiliations, etc.): It is important to place these features carefully according to your situation. IT professionals may choose to list their technical certifications at the beginning of the resume. Recent graduates may opt to do the same with the education section. Either way, I would recommend leaving one of these sections at the end of the resume so as not to stop with your broken work history, which ends the resume on a sour note. No matter the order you choose, be sure your skills and qualifications outshine your job chronology.

While this method is a great alternative for those who need it, it is by no means perfect. Recruiters and hiring managers are well aware that candidates use a functional format to hide questionable work circumstances. Therefore, it is important to be prepared to address your work situation. But don’t dwell and give excuses; keep it positive and focus on your skills rather than your past. And remember, you are not defined by your work history!

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

“To succeed in life in today’s world, you must have the will and tenacity to finish the job.” – Chin-Ning Chu

It’s Graduation time again. You know, Pomp and Circumstance or “Pomp and no jobs perchance” for many. Whether Parent or lucky Grad, there is lots of anticipation for when and where that first job will materialize. For one neighbor of mine, it took their son 9 months to land a job. He was actually very lucky as he landed a job with a major insurance company doing what he was actually trained for. For others, like another friend of mine, the job may not be what they actually had in mind (he landed a job working in a liqueur store). Yes, it’s tough out there, but there are jobs to be had. So how hidden is the job market? Let’s find out.

• What is the Hidden Job Market? – We’ve all heard the phrase (and for those with protracted job searches, “hidden” seems to be an understatement). This article, posted by the University of Wisconsin, provides some color to this topic. Starting with the “80/20″ rule (only 20% of jobs are advertised), the article describes the hidden job market and the provides some great steps for discovering where the jobs are hidden. What to do and where to find the jobs is the main theme.

• Step-by-Step Plan for Using the Internet to Go “Beyond the Want Ads” – More on that topic, from Jobstar.org, this article provides 6 steps for your job search with lots of embedded links to related topics. From basics like “focus on your selling points” to “develop a list of targeted employers”, this article provides a great plan to get you started. While you are on the site, take a look at the links on the left hand side of the page.

• How the Hidden Job Market Works – Okay, last article on this topic before we head off to some actual job leads. This one was posted on Jobfully.com and it focuses on (arguably) the best source of any job search – Networking. The article provides a brief overview, followed by some sound advise (including targeted job search). Not too many embedded links, but definitely take a look at “break your addition to job search boards”. That being said, there are tons of links on the right hand side of the page (including Networking).

• College Graduate Jobs – From Simplyhired.com, this specialized search indicated that there were over 66,000 job opportunities for College Grads on this site. You can narrow your search by typing in your location at the top of the page and by using the filters on the left hand side of the page. But that is not all. There are additional links on the bottom left hand side of the screen for Job Search Tools. As with many of the job search boards, you can create your own profile.

• No Experience Necessary – College Grad Job Search Revisited Vol 2 – What better place to look than CareerAlley.com? This was an earlier post of mine which has lots of great information on preparing for your job search and making sure you are ready for prime time (need to talk a look for yourself on this one). And, there are additional related links at the bottom of the page.

Good luck in your search.

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.