Resume

Do you know what happens with your resume when you apply for jobs online? Employers receive a steady stream of applications from job seekers for each open position through their applicant tracking systems (ATS). This automates the flow of applications and does some of the screening before a human even takes a look at your resume.

The steps that your resume goes through are:

1. HR receives your resume along with hundreds of others
2. Your resume is run through a parser (software that breaks down formatting)
3. The parser assigns meaning to resume content
4. The employer then uses keywords to search candidates
5. Your resume gets scored based on relevancy

Hopefully your resume will come up at the top of the search and scoring results. If not, you'll languish at the bottom of short lists and won't get interview requests.

More on resumes at Top 10 Features You Must Include in Your Resume.

Source: Resunate

It is a known fact that when it comes to employment, being hired is not always dependent on what you know but often times it’s who you know that can be your biggest asset. That’s why you always hear people talking about the importance of networking. LinkedIn is an excellent website created specifically for professional networking but some users just aren’t using it to its fullest potential.
 
In comparing your LinkedIn page to a sandwich your resume would be the bread and your profile page would be the meat. The bread might come first, but the meat is the star of the show. Try adding your LinkedIn profile link to the bottom of your resume and encourage potential employers to check it out when you submit a cover letter or get interviewed.

Your profile not only illustrates your experience but it also shows people you may have in common, provides a complete work history, links out to other things you've done, lists recommendations from former colleagues, and much more. Your LinkedIn page is your opportunity to expand your resume and get all of your great accomplishments that may not fit onto the resume.

Here are some tips to help beef up your LinkedIn profile and impress your future employer.
 

50 years ago, your resume was pretty hard to send. If you we vying for a job that was out of your city or state, your resume required a stamp and any follow-up was an expensive long-distance phone call.
 
Today, your resume can be sent in a dozen different directions with the click of the mouse. Social media and email don’t know the difference between three miles and three thousand, so your opportunities as a job seeker are essentially limitless.
  
While this is great for job seekers across the planet, there are certain things that push them apart from their local competition. Check out three tips to keep in mind when sending your resume to another state (or country!):
 

Address it early

 
Put yourself in an employer’s shoes. If you need someone immediately and found a great candidate, wouldn’t you be irritated if they wait to drop the bomb that they’re a six-hour flight away?
 
In your cover letter and resume, address the fact that you’re a long-distance applicant. Since you already (or should) mention your career goals, bring up your location goals as well. Start the relocation discussion now with how quickly you’d be willing to interview or relocate for this position.
 

Connect it

 
As a long-distance applicant, you might feel like you’re at a distinct disadvantage. Employers can think this too, if you let it happen. In your cover letter and resume, connect your experience in a different town to the benefits this company can reap. After all, you are bringing in a new perspective and potentially new clients with you!
 

Why doesn’t your CV get you noticed?
 
I’m a technical recruiter. I look at CVs all day long. I’ve been working for Conex Europe as a .Net specialist for over 6 years – if I said I look at probably 100 CVs per day, the math is astounding – I’ve viewed somewhere in the region of 132,000 CVs.
 
So, why isn’t your CV getting you anywhere? Recruiters become conditioned to skimming CVs. When you’re looking at the quantity we do, you have to. But we also like ‘pretty’ CVs. The amount of times I literally just click off a CV as it is ineligible is shocking, people you need to realise that if I’m doing that you can bet your bottom dollar that end clients would be too.
 
What should be in your CV then?