Resume Digest Blog

Let's face it recruitment agencies are here to stay. How can we manage the love/hate relationship between agencies and candidates? As a candidate you need to wise up to some conflicts of interest that are doomed to arise between you and your agent.

But first let's understand the job market. We've all become lazy and fallen down the path of least resistance.

Frustrated jobseekers assume that all it takes to land that perfect job is to blast as many resumes as possible over the internet. Dishing out the same resume to every job advert you're replying to is like trying to fit square pegs into round holes.

Unscrupulous recruiters would be quite content to steal their competitors' employees without any need for training or induction. They seek ways to move people out of employment altogether and hire them back as contractors who have to cater for their own insurance and superannuation.

Employers have axed their human resources departments and scores of recruitment agencies are clamouring to fill the gap. They in turn keep databases of candidates and are in the process of profiling people - treating them not as human beings but as a commodity they can on-sell to someone else. They like to pull up names that match a certain set of keywords and they use scanning software to skim through resumes hoping to find that 5 legged sheep that their client is after.

They sometimes advertise positions that do not exist for the sake of conducting their own job market research and finding out who might apply for that. Worse they sometimes ring you up to find out in not so subtle ways what interviews you've had so that they can field candidates in opposition to the other agent who got you there. So how can we bridge the gap between recruiters and jobseekers? The moment you consider the situation from the other party's point of view you will start to break the deadlock.

The question a savvy candidate should ask is "What about if I identify the employer's needs and go about to meet those needs?"

In fact they make it easier for you as most job adverts feature a bulleted list of requirements to fulfil. The message is clear: "If you don't have those skills don't bother to apply."

You might well have those skills but by replying with the same boring boilerplate resume you make it hard for the employer to search for them like a pin in a haystack. The truth is: if they don't find what they want in the upper third of the first page of your CV they will not bother to investigate further.

Within reason there are ways to make you look like the perfect fit. Unfortunately it may take you several hours to rewrite a tailor-made version of your resume which addresses specifically the requirements of the ad. That's why most people don't bother but that's where lies the prize.

This is the time to beef-up your resume and hit the job market with new expectations. This is the start of the new financial year and companies have a new budget to spend. Some will create new positions to wrestle market share from their competitors.

Contrary to popular belief the job market is indeed seasonal and if you have pulled out in despair and resigned yourself that you won't secure a job - well guess what - that might become a self fulfilling prophecy!

On the other hand if you believe this is your opportunity to show up your face at interviews and hone in your ability to sell your unique combination of skills - go for it!

The first step of course is to work on your resume. But let us suggest a different approach: why not work on the job advertisement instead? You have sent scores of your resume without much success and are deprived of any feedback as to why it fails to generate interest. It could br the sheer number of applicants you are up against. It could be your resume lacks some specific industry buzzwords recruiters are skimming for. It could be the lack of substantiated achievements in each role you held as opposed to a bland statement of your duties.

Be as it may - why not take the opposite approach and work from the job advertisement back to your own resume? Pick the exact requirements found in the ad and match them each time with some specific instance in your work history where you have exercised and demonstrated that particular ability.

That could be a lot of work. In particular you may not be able to keep the chronological order of your work history. The most recent employment may not be the most relevant for the position at hand.

That's where Resume Digest comes to the rescue. Give it a go!

Your resume is your self marketing piece on the employment scene. The problem is unless you are an artist or an author, it's not about you - it's about them who have the power to hire you.

It would appear that people still think in terms of me, myself and I, the trilogy of self promotion. People don't care about you unless you care about them. Translated to recruitment that means that because of the deluge of applications triggered by a job post in cyberspace, you don't stand a chance of being considered for an interview unless you precisely match the must-have-features called for that position.

Close enough is not good enough. You might indeed be suitable for the role but recruiters are not going to bother looking hard for your suitability unless it is right there in front of their nose in the top third of your resume. Why? When you are confronted with 200 to 500 resumes for just one position you raise the bar so high that only 20 or so will be eligible for an interview or some aptitude tests beforehand.

The bottom line is that you have some work to do. Yes it is a snap to hit the send button and dispatch a resume via email. Your job now is to reverse engineer the requirements spelt out in the ad and make sure they feature prominently on your resume. Short of that don't bother. With the sheer number of applicants out there someone is sure to come up as a perfect fit for the role and undercut your hourly rate as well...

Looks like we have become a commodity in the workforce and bosses can afford to be very picky at hiring someone who worked for a competitor for the last five years, doing precisely what the vacant position calls for - no training or induction required.

Sounds depressing, huh? Is there a way out of this bind? Maybe if you do a bit of research. If possible people prefer to fill in the role internally rather than shouting from the rooftops they have a position available.

First target the companies where you would like to work. Try to get to know some people who work there. How? Find out where they take their lunch break and practice talking to strangers (A daunting task for some - but what have you got to lose?) Rather than handing out a stock standard resume too early wait until a job description has been written for the new position. Then approach your contact again and pass on your skill based matching resume. They might still go through a selection panel so you need to play fair.

Do not despair. Smart job seekers are using an online tool to roll out a perfect match to the position they are going after. It's called Resume Digest

Also you might want to check Aptitude Tests an online service to prepare yourself for aptitude, knowledge and IQ tests which you are sure to encounter before or during the interview.

Starting is the easy bit. How is it going to end is what matters. Have you ever considered the situation from the employer's point of view?

There is a myth out there in job hunters land that all you have to do to get that dream job of yours is to sprinkle a bit of resume magic on your application and you will be called for an interview the next day.

Just compare it to a dating site for a moment. You have precious little idea who else is out there applying for the same job and what sort of relevant skills they have. You know it is so easy to apply for a job online now. Just hit the send button and your resume lands in someone's inbox out there.

If there is so much competition on the candidates' side guess what the employer is going to do? Raise the bar so high that only a manageable number of people will be called for an interview.

The stark consequence for you mere mortal is this: unless your application is a perfect match for the job description outlined in the advertisement you do not stand a chance. So here is the paradigm shift to dispel that resume myth once and for all: You have to work hard to line-up your experience and work history to fit the must-have requirement for the position.

We have moved from perfect resume to perfect match. Welcome to the real cyber age world of online recruitment. So before you hit the send button there is quite a bit of work to do on your part. The reason you can't reuse the same so-called perfect resume of yours is that the goal post shifts from one job vacancy to the next.

Because of the financial downturn and the resulting vast supply of job hunters, employers can afford to be very picky as to who they might hire. They have spent a fair bit of time designing their ad. (For them it also doubles as a public relations exercise "Did you notice so-and-so is hiring right now?")

How would you rate 200 resumes crashing in your inbox as to their relevance to the position advertised? That's right: whoever fails to deliver on the must-have features for the position will be discarded. Hopefully we wan to trim it down to a manageable shortlist of 10 to be called for an interview. That's a mere 5% of folks. That means 95% of job hunters are wasting their time aiming at everything in sight but never getting their foot in the door because they don't even match what is being asked.

Do not despair. Smart job seekers are using an online tool to roll out a perfect match to the position they are going after. It's called Resume Digest

Also you might want to check Aptitude Tests an online service to prepare yourself for aptitude, knowledge and IQ tests which you are sure to encounter before or during the interview.

Going on with the latest trends you will find that some long forgotten skills are now back in demand. Also some new opportunities emerge in outdoors, entertainment and sport.

The great outdoors

Being passionate about your field of expertise will land you a job to match. Think about all the environment issues and see how local, state and federal governments want to be seen as doing the right thing for the planet. Being a nature park ranger is now very much sought after but don't stop there. Think of all the new rules and regulations about water consumption, monitoring water quality, surveying natural resources, etc... Don't forget how to measure your carbon footprint on your resume.

Animal husbandry

A dog is man's best friend or so the saying goes. If you are keen and knowledgeable with animals there are scores of opportunities to uncover. Don't stop at being a worker in a theme park, think about working as a scientist for a museum or a government department monitoring endangered species and natural habitats. In agriculture there are lost skills in farming unusual beasts like camels, lamas, crocodiles, kangaroos, etc... What about collecting poison from venomous snakes to produce antidotes. Even the RSPCA is hiring to enforce laws against cruelty to animals.

Parra medical industry

With the burgeoning of body part replacements there is a need for technicians to produce all those knee and hip prosthesis. Quality control is paramount and this is an industry flowing with money.

Entertainment

There are scores of unusual jobs out there from entertainers in shopping malls to stunt men in movies. Being a stand-up comic in a cabaret or bar will get you to travel and see places. Musicians are still in demand for live performances. Applying in a classical orchestra might teach you how to handle rejection but think about jingles at your local radio.

Sport

You don't have to be an Olympic champion to get a job in sports. You may not qualify to coach the brightest stars but you can be an expert in a local sport store or a consultant in sponsorship schemes. Local councils have lots of venues to maintain. Competitions need lots of volunteers to organise and this is your ground floor opportunity to mingle with the crowd and make yourself useful. You will find your enthusiasm and your cheerful disposition will open doors at a later stage - not always in sport but in other fields too because outgoing people are always in demand.

Resume Digest is an online service to customize your application for each job you are responding to.

Aptitude Tests is an online service to prepare yourself for aptitude, knowledge and IQ tests.