While people speak all the time about how much job search has evolved over the years, in reality, one fundamental remains: people have always hired people.
The part that has changed, however, is the method by which communications are initiated and how/where hiring managers/recruiters can find you. People don’t use Rolodexes anymore, and most don’t call someone up on the phone as their first point of entry.
Instead, hiring managers and recruiters tend to begin outreach through online/virtual communications and utilize digital search techniques to locate potential candidates.
These changes require your written messaging — including your career marketing collateral (resume and LinkedIn) — to be compelling.
Learn more about:
- Tactical advice for modern resume writing
- LinkedIn profile optimization techniques
- What ATS does — and doesn’t — do
- The importance of career clarity and a target when making a career transition
Modern Resume Writing
You only have 1 page, maybe 2, to convey your story on your resume — and then typically <20 seconds to grab the readers’ attention.
Formatting must focus on easy readability, keeping in mind that “content is king:” over design. In other words, there’s no need for graphic design bells and whistles.
Techniques to draw the reader where you want them to go:
1. Include formatting (Color/Shading/Bolding) that clearly shows different sections: Experience, Education, Skills, etc
2. Use bolding or a different color (that’s easy on the eyes) to highlight the part of the sentence you want showcased (people don’t always read sentences to the end).
3. List the most relevant pieces of information in top and bottom bullets, because middle bullets tend to get read later on when readers have more time.
4. Front-load the important details in a sentence because when people are rush reading, they tend to start at the beginning of a sentence and don’t always stick around to read the end.
LinkedIn Profile Optimization
LinkedIn has long been a go-to for recruiter and hiring managers to search and find prospective candidates. Over the years it has become increasingly keyword/skills and algorithm-driven.
Including keywords or skills related to your job target in certain places on LinkedIn (headline, skills section, etc), can increase your chances of being found amongst your competition.
Applicant Tracking Software (ATS) Systems
When a posting includes must-have requirements, these may, in fact, be programmed into ATS as knockout questions — and can result in a swift rejection should you not meet these minimal requirements. If you see a job posting that reads, “must have” or “at minimum,” and you don’t have it, don’t be surprised if you receive a “thanks but no thanks” letter.
Ways to Ensure ATS can read every bit of your resume accurately:
1: When uploading a resume in MS Word, make sure your contact info isn’t included in a header or footer, but instead in the body of the text.
2: Stay clear of stylistic templates found on sites like Canva. Many ATS can’t read or parse and file the information well.
3: If you’ve held several roles with the same company, include the company name alongside your job title and dates of employment for each role — to ensure ATS accuracly calculates your years of experience.
Career Clarity and Transition
When people are making a career switch, many get tripped up by not being clear on their dealbreakers or their non-negotiables, and underestimate the extra legwork required for success.
When making a pivot, applying online is going to be a greater challenge than normal, because you likely won’t be as close of a match as someone in that role or industry for years. Instead, career pivots require many more conversations and exploratory discussions with decision-makers to convince them you’re worth the risk.
Rather than large career leaps, I’m an advocate of micro-pivots. Although reaching your goal may take longer, the story is easier to convey and positions you as a minimal hiring risk. Here’s an example:
Let’s say you’re an IT recruiter and you want to move to medical device sales. Your first micro-pivot might be into IT Sales, followed by a second micro-pivot into medical sales.
Thanks to Ben Grant of Ramped for asking so many great questions — that allowed us to (hopefully) dispel several myths and misconceptions about resume writing and reading once and for all.
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