In my months-long job search, I’ve learned a lot of things. I knew job searches could be hard because I’ve experienced that, but I’d forgotten how hard they could be. I’ve learned that these days, it’s all about getting past the resume database, making yourself stand out, which can be difficult in a crowded field. Everything’s done online. You upload your resume, submit an application, and then check your email and your phone every five minutes for an invitation to interview. In this environment, you’ve got to work hard to stand out, and every tool you can use to help you do that matters. One tool I highly recommend is Martin Yate’s Ultimate Job Search Guide. To demonstrate why, I share ten of the top tips Yate shares, and a deal you can’t afford to pass up if you’re looking for a job.
Top 10 Quotes/Job Search Tips From The Ultimate Job Search Guide
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Make a discoverable resume:
“When recruiters are searching for talent in resume databases or on social networking sites, they invariably do so with a specific job description in mind. [Their] software scours the database and builds a list of all the resumes that contain any of [the] descriptors or keywords [found in that job description.] It then weighs the list. Those resumes with the most frequent use and greatest total number of keywords rise to the top of the list. Mentioning keywords in a Professional Skills/Core Competencies section at the front of your resume, and then repeating them within the context of the jobs in which they were used, will increase your ranking in recruiters’ database searches.”
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Consider the 70% Guideline:
“In your search for jobs, don’t throw out opportunities because one line in the job description speaks of skills you lack. If you meet [at least 70% of them], you are a good candidate.”
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Target resumes for different jobs:
“The one-size-fits-all resume…doesn’t work anymore; you have to have a resume focused on a single target job.”
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Compile a Targeted Job Description:
“Collect a half-dozen job postings for your chosen primary target job…then review [them] and find one requirement that is common to all six. Of these six, choose the most complete description of that particular experience/responsibility/skill/deliverable, paste it [to a document as your main heading], and put the number 6 in front of it to signify that it is common to all six job postings. Underneath this, list additional keywords used in the other five job postings to describe this same requirement.”
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Show your potential employer that you can think from their side of the desk by going through the PSRV Process:
“At some level, every job exists for four major reasons:
1. Problem identification
2. Solution envisioning, including strategy and tactics
3. Results projections
4. Value understanding (usually in earnings or productivity enhancements)”
Your resume should show how you solved problems for past employers.
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Save your resume under a name that is more descriptive than “resume.doc.”
Show that you understand that it becomes part of your messaging when you submit it by naming it something like “Sales Manager/ABC Corp.doc.”
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Seek recommendations:
“LinkedIn doesn’t recognize your profile as complete until you have three recommendations, and the more you have, the more discoverable your profile will become. The easiest way to get recommendations is to do them for your colleagues and then ask them to reciprocate.”
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Like and follow company pages:
“A recent study of corporate recruiters found that 87 percent of those who used social media as a recruitment tool said that the best way to get on [the] company radar is to ‘Like’ the company’s page.”
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Search by hashtags:
“You can use hashtag terms to find job opportunities and profession-relevant information. [This] increase[s] your visibility with recruiters who are looking for people like you with hasthtags like:
#resume
#[yourjobtitle]
#[akeyskill)
A Google search of popular job search hashtags also revealed these:
#jobsearch
#jobhunt
#jobopening
#hiring
#nowhiring
#resume
#job
#jobs
#careers
#employment
#HR
#humanresources
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Follow experts:
“Following experts prominent in your profession gives you content to retweet that adds to your credibility and puts you in good company. By consistently sharing intelligent commentary on your profession and its issues, you might not become an overnight industry expert, but you will be taken that much more seriously by those who could hire you. Here are some good sites for finding those experts:
Twellow
Wthashtag.com
Muck Rack
Twiangulate
Moz.com
Who Would Benefit Most From Reading The Ultimate Job Search Guide, And Why?
The tips above are just a few of those provided in the first 90 pages of this almost 400-page book. What I like most about The Ultimate Job Search Guide is that it lists hundreds of actual interview questions, and goes through how you should answer them and why. Anyone who’s looking for a job can benefit greatly from reading this book. Make sure you get the one published in 2017; it has the most current information.
What’s the Deal?
On Amazon, you can get a new paperback copy for $11.22. It’s very much worth it, my friend.
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