In today’s economy, searching for a new job can be a full-time job in itself. Employers have the ability to be extremely selective in their search for qualified candidates, because they have literally hundreds, sometimes thousands of job seekers to choose from. Along with the intense competition in our current job market, technology allows employers to search for qualified applicants in their resume database, so they may never see your resume with their own eyes. There are several ways to improve your chances of finding a job that matches your skills and interests.
Change Your Resume
Because of technology, it’s important to adjust your resume for every job you apply to. This can be time consuming, but will increase the chances of your resume being looked at by human eyes. You may have all the skills required for some jobs, but if your resume doesn’t reflect that using key words and industry jargon, your resume will go unnoticed. Carefully read the job posting and change your resume to reflect the employer’s verbiage, especially if it involves industry or company specific jargon. Add qualifying skills you have to your resume that are listed on the job description for each job application. Save the resume to reflect the changes you applied specifically for each employer. You may have several or even 100 resumes on file, but each of those resumes can increase your chances of getting an interview.
Use a Variety of Networking Sources
Recruiters and employers use sources such as LinkedIn and Facebook to find qualified candidates. Create a second professional profile on social networking websites, which will make it easier for recruiters and employers to find you. Make professional profiles viewable to the public and make personal profiles viewable to only your friends and family. Not only do employers use these free sources to find qualified candidates, they further investigate your personal information to evaluate your professionalism. Although your personal profile on social networking websites may be professional, friends and family comments, pictures and other features gives employers the opportunity to critique your professional abilities.
Post Your Resume
A variety of job boards are available online and allow you to post your resume for free. Take the time to fill out a profile and post your resume on the most popular job boards which include CareerBuilder.com, Monster.com and Indeed.com. Also take the time to find niche job boards for your industry. Niche job boards attract employers looking for specific skills. Many of these job boards aren’t as popular, but employers know to use the niche job boards as reliable sources to find qualified candidates. A few examples include Dice.com, which is a niche job board for technology professionals and EngCen.com is a niche job board for engineering professionals. Many professional associations and student alumni websites allow job seekers to post their resume as well. Employers use these sources to find qualified candidates and sometimes prefer graduates from specific colleges and universities. Take advantage of every possible source to post your resume.