If you want to get your foot in the door, you need to make sure your resume is on point. Being sloppy with your spelling, organization, or not bothering to customize it to the position you’re applying for can seriously hurt your chances. What you need are some simple tips to keep your experience in line with the job, and to get yourself noticed within the pile of applicants.
I recently sat with a Senior Recruiter from American Public University System, Beth Adams. She gave her top 5 resume mistakes, how to avoid them, and a few pet peeves from the HR side of things. Listen to her podcast below for advice on applying, functional vs. chronological resumes, and if a cover letter is necessary.
While you’re busting your hump to get your resume seen, you may be getting reviewed by potential employers you didn’t even know about. If you have an online presence on places liked LinkedIn and Facebook you’ll want to make sure your “working” traits and skills are portrayed tactfully, and with lots of SEO.
Not familiar with the term SEO, well you should be. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It includes things like keywords, metatags, the title of a page, description and more. This is how search engines find you things when you do a simple search on places like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. The higher items appear on the page, the more relevant they are to the search. If a potential employer enters terms looking for someone with IT experience, specifically with Microsoft CRM integration then the results they get will vary based on the profiles on the site. When you write out your resume and profile make sure to include “hot words”, items that will be picked up in a skim. Since people don’t read the full extent of a page, they skim it, they’ll be looking for certain words.
To make yourself stand out from the rest of hungry job hunters do some research on terms for your industry. Try integrating key terms that give a better idea of the work you do, while making you more visible to the employment recruiters out there.
If you’re on the hunt for a job in the current market you probably have a handful of questions. This podcast focuses on 5 frequently asked questions pertaining to a job search in today’s market. Listen for insight into your resume, public vs. private sector jobs, social media at work, and more!
For more commentary from Ryan Harding, check out the Career Services Blog at APUS. It’s another great resource for the eager job seeker, and for those interested in more industry insights from career professionals.
American Public University System's Career Services columnist, Ryan Harding keeps you current on employment-related news, U.S. economic news, the job application process and associated topics. Check it out.
