job & interview

How to Avoid the Résumé Black Hole

Where did it go? Keep your online application in orbit – not lost in space.I’ve applied online to numerous positions, and I never get a response. My résumé just gets swallowed up in some black hole, and it never even gets seen by a recruiter or hiring manager.This a common complaint from frustrated job seekers.Imagine, however, that you are on the other side of the hiring desk. You advertise a job and receive anywhere from 50 to 200 or more applicants. Each submits a two-page résumé with dense prose depicting complex sets of skills and experiences. That’s easily 100 to 400 pages to sift through in order to find an initial set of 10 or 15 candidates who you might want to contact. Then, remember that every human resources staffing person typically deals with 15 to 30 job requisitions at any given time, so he or she needs to contend with literally thousands of pages of résumés.That's a daunting task, which is made even more complex with the need to document Equal Employment Opportunity Commission compliance and to track candidates' interactions with various HR staff, hiring managers and department personnel.The solution is known as an applicant tracking system, or ATS. This kind of software has become integral to the hiring process for companies of all sizes, as well as for external executive recruiters and headhunters. Say you're applying for a job on the company website. There's a good chance you're actually accessing the outward-facing portion of an externally run ATS site that's branded to look just like the company site.There are many companies that provide hundreds of competing of ATS software products for employers. Some are simple and stand alone, while others are far more complex with greater abilities. One of the significant players in this arena is iCIMS, with more than 2,000 corporate clients. Susan Vitale, the iCIMS chief marketing officer, spoke with this author to debunk myths that surround the supposed "résumé black holes.” She also provides valuable tips for job seekers about how to best gain the attention of internal HR personnel and external recruiters. Vitale contends that ATS companies like iCIMS make every effort to meet candidates’ needs for convenience. For example, they often allow one to submit information using their login from social media sites, such as Facebook, Google Plus and LinkedIn.This way, she points out, “a candidate doesn’t have to create yet another username and password.” She provides the assurance that logging in using social media credentials does not give the ATS the ability to search one’s timeline or other posts.When asked if screening questions posed by ATS systems automatically knock out certain candidates, here's how she replied: “Absolutely not! It totally varies. Some companies use the screening questions as knockout questions, and some do not.” Vitale points out that – particularly in regard to EEOC compliance – companies have to define requirements of positions and show that they didn't pick a candidate because he or she didn’t meet the minimum qualifications.For example, perhaps a job requires a certain certification. If a candidate doesn’t indicate that he or she has that certification, he or she could automatically be put in a "doesn't meet minimum qualifications" category.Vitale acknowledges that it is “uncomfortable” for applicants when companies require an answer to the salary question in order to submit a résumé. She understands that people, “don’t want to go higher than they should or lower than they need to.” Industry best practice today is for companies to provide an option for candidates to decline to answer any screening question, but each company decides for itself what questions to pose and whether or not answers are mandatory for a candidate to be considered.According to Vitale, these points are key to making the ATS system best understand candidates' résumés as intended.1. Any ATS system these days can easily work with Word or PDF file types. It will parse out key pieces of information and populate the database with your name, address, skills, employment history and relevant keywords. It will also preserve the résumé in the form you submit to be viewed by the recruiter.2. Lines, text boxes and color can be be handled by almost every ATS today. Use these elements judiciously.3. Be careful about using graphics. Different ATS systems vary in their abilities to deal with images. Regardless, words embedded in graphics won’t be recognized or parsed out. If you submit a graphic-heavy résumé, it may lose the visual appeal for which you strive. Instead, it may be seen as gibberish on the other side.4. ATS systems look for certain items to be in particular places on your résumé. For example, your name and contact information should be at the top – not placed in a vertical text box along the side of the page. Use appropriate headings for the various sections of your résumé and have them formatted logically.5. Don’t try to game the system. For example, don’t needlessly repeat the same keywords in your résumé just to get a better keyword-scoring match. It doesn’t work that way. It may be noticed, but recruiters generally take a negative view of this practice.6. Make sure your résumé demonstrates that you are well suited for the positions for which you are applying. It is not the fault of the ATS if you are continually rejected for positions for which you don’t qualify.7. Use common sense. Don’t apply for widely different positions within the same company. And don't go for positions at significantly different expertise or experience levels within the same company, either. Keep in mind that your entire profile will be seen by anyone in the company who is looking at your résumé.Happy hunting! Arnie Fertig, MPA, is passionate about helping his Jobhuntercoach clients advance their careers by transforming frantic “I’ll apply to anything” searches into focused hunts for “great fit” opportunities. He brings to each client the extensive knowledge he gained when working in HR staffing and managing his boutique recruiting firm.  <a href="http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2014/08/12/how-to-avoid-the-resume-black-hole" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">View the original article here</a>

How to Avoid the Résumé Black Hole

Where did it go? Keep your online application in orbit – not lost in space.I’ve applied online to numerous positions, and I never get a response. My résumé just gets swallowed up in some black hole, …

14 Nov 2014

Avoid These Pitfalls of Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurs should be attuned to the latest industry trends to stay one step ahead of competitors.Either by choice or by circumstance, entrepreneurs launch into their businesses determined to make a living. They're then often accosted by fear, uncertainty, time demands, cash flow concerns and a barrage of advertisers eager for them to spend their money for reach and visibility in the marketplace. All of that is just on the business front. On the personal side, there are also concerns about disappointment and their responsibilities to their families. When someone becomes an entrepreneur and launches into a business venture, his or her frame of mind is often to start fresh. It’s out with the old and in with the new. Plus, best practices learned at corporations are thrown out as old, outdated forms of themselves. It’s in that freeing feeling of striking out on your own that entrepreneurs' mindsets fail them.What got you there will get you hereA common saying among entrepreneurial circles is: “What got you here won’t get you there.” In the case of a newly developing entrepreneur, a better decision is to make use of that wisdom that you put the time in for.Here's what likely got an entrepreneur to this point in his or her career: being on time, scheduling events, creating and following systems and processes, taking notes and honing project management skills. That valuable wisdom that can be applied to this new venture.The allure of the brave new entrepreneurial world leaves people wondering what to do next. Often, home-based entrepreneurs find themselves busy with daily tasks and chores related to the household, the children or the yard. Or they’re lured into being in constant weekend mode, filling their days with volunteer, sports and church activities.Entrepreneur must employ themselves – much like their past employers expected them to start work on time, deliver and contribute to the company during working hours and diligently follow through with commitments. Entrepreneurs must do all of this for the hardest and most demanding boss they’ll ever work for – themselves.Compound that with no guarantee of a paycheck or a sure climb up the corporate ladder, and many entrepreneurs abandon what rewarded them with success in the corporate world. They're not giving their own business the schedule and work ethic they once gave to previous employers. Successful entrepreneurs benefit from what they learned doing corporate time and apply that same commitment, dedication and structure to their own endeavor.Networking matters even moreIn the corporate world, networking and focusing efforts on influencers and a high-return individuals is quite common. New entrepreneurs are often all too ready to dismiss this business practice. Even more prevalent in the entrepreneurial world is the practical belief that people do business with people they know, like and trust. The only way that trust can be built is through relationships and communication. The only way communication and visibility can happen is through connections and introductions. And those happen through networking. Identifying a couple key events with a clear plan of what the desired outcome is helps entrepreneurs rationalize and plan networking events with precision and focus.To this date, Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People” still applies and provides insights and structure into beginning and developing lasting relationships that yield great results on the personal and business landscapes.Focus on learning your industryEntrepreneurs often wait a long time for their businesses to come to fruition, and when they do, the focus is on building and developing the business. At that point, education in the industry often takes a back seat. This mistake often goes undetected until a competitor creates momentum and overtakes them.Successful entrepreneurs stay focused on learning their craft or industry. Their appetites for cutting-edge information about their industry is voracious and serves them by positioning them as people who stay current and connected in their field. The most successful take advantage of industry and networking events, as well as opportunities to learn about their industry.The most successful entrepreneurs bring with them best practices they honed on the job, a drive for networking and a clear understanding that people do business with and through the assistance of others. They also understand that staying at the forefront of their industry is vital to their entrepreneurial success.Maria Elena Duron is a brand relationship trainer, national presenter, author and small business marketing coach specializing in helping individuals, teams, businesses and organizations apply the concepts of the book “The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace” in their daily business and interactions with customers. She is editor-in-chief of the Personal Branding Blog. <a href="http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2014/10/09/avoid-these-pitfalls-of-entrepreneurship" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">View the original article here</a>

Avoid These Pitfalls of Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurs should be attuned to the latest industry trends to stay one step ahead of competitors.Either by choice or by circumstance, entrepreneurs launch into their businesses determined to make …

14 Nov 2014

7 Tips for Networking Success

Dedicate one pocket to your business cards and another pocket to cards you receive. That way, you're not accidentally handing out other people's cards!“I don’t feel comfortable in large groups in which I don’t know anyone.” “I don’t care about getting on the rubber chicken circuit and listening to boring programs.” “When I’m in a room full of accomplished people, I feel small and unimportant, because I’m unemployed.” Perhaps one of these attitudes rings true for you. Whether you are currently working or not, there are dozens of reasons you might not want to get out of your house and make the effort to meet new people. However, if you are serious about advancing your career, bear in mind that somewhere around 80 percent of jobs are not obtained through blind online résumé submissions or recruiters, but rather through networking. And we are now in prime networking season! With Labor Day past, all kinds of organizations that take a summer hiatus are springing back to life with fall events, meetings, seminars and a multitude of gatherings. Leaders in virtually every field or enterprise are called on to speak at professional organizations, and others of influence are coming to hear them. Each of these events presents a valuable networking opportunity. You should have your antenna raised to become aware of these gatherings, especially when you are searching for a job. Look for events where you can expand your network and obtain the latest information that will make you an interesting person with whom others will want to interact. Disillusioned job seekers often complain about situations where jobs are “hard-wired.” The boss knows the person that they want to hire, tailor-makes a job description that depicts him or her and goes through the motions of an open search to camouflage the fact that the hired candidate was chosen long before. The flip side of this argument, however, would be to say that the successful candidate has networked to the max! Articles and books about networking abound, but here are some key tips to get you going and help work the room at any networking event: 1. Target multiple types of networking venues. Attend events at professional organizations that relate to your expertise or industry, but don’t be content with that. There are also many other types of fruitful networking groups, such as alumni, recent graduates, professional women and young professionals. You should also seek out networking events related to your city or metro area. Companies such as Networking After Work and NetParty hold open events in many cities throughout the country and also host geographic-based LinkedIn groups.2. Prepare a professional presence. That includes “dressing for success," personal grooming and much more. Keep your own business cards in one pocket, and place the business cards you receive into a different one. The last thing you want is to inadvertently pass out someone else's card! If you are unemployed, you still need a basic card with your name, contact information and something about the role you seek. 3. Set realistic goals and expectations. It's just fine to speak with only a key handful of people the room. Aim to establish enough of a relationship with someone that you will each want to continue the conversation later. Why give someone your card and then have him or her wonder the next day, “How did I get this business card, and why should I keep it?” 4. Figure out who you want to speak with and how to get his or her attention. For example, if the speaker at an event is a leader in a target company of yours, you might want to be close to the stage or dais to rub shoulders as the person enters or exits. Another consideration: Companies often take whole tables at events, and you can check out the tent cards or seating chart to figure out where people of interest to you will be seated. 5. Don’t be a leach! Don’t stand in the way of your networking partners' objectives. They come to the event with their own agendas, and they won’t be favorably impressed if you take an inordinate amount of their time. 6. Pay attention to the person with whom you are speaking. Be “in the moment,” and maintain eye contact. Show you are interested in what they are saying. People can tell if you are eyeing your next networking target, and they feel disrespected if they think you would rather be speaking with someone else. 7. Think: Can we talk? Remember that famous Joan Rivers line, and leave your elevator speech at home! The best networking is about engaging people in conversation and not speaking at them. No matter how much you practice that 20-, 30- or 60-second pitch, it will likely come off as just that: a rehearsed, stilted pitch. When perceived that way, it will seem like an hour to the listener. By all means, be purposeful in what you say, but talk with people and not at them. When you practice these points, you will be well on your way to becoming more comfortable in networking situations, turning strangers into contacts, contacts into networking partners and opportunities into job offers. Happy hunting! Arnie Fertig, MPA, is passionate about helping his Jobhuntercoach clients advance their careers by transforming frantic “I’ll apply to anything” searches into focused hunts for “great fit” opportunities. He brings to each client the extensive knowledge he gained when working in HR staffing and managing his boutique recruiting firm. <a href="http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2014/09/09/7-tips-for-networking-success" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">View the original article here</a>

7 Tips for Networking Success

Dedicate one pocket to your business cards and another pocket to cards you receive. That way, you're not accidentally handing out other people's cards!“I don’t feel comfortable in large groups in whi…

14 Nov 2014

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