Typos

Proofreading your résumé is critical to your success.  Your application is a representation of your best work to a potential employer and one of the biggest gripes of employers and recruiters are of documents littered with errors, including typos.  To ensure that your document is error-free, use Australian English on your computer’s spell checker, have at least 24 hours away from the document before proofreading it and get a 3^rd party to proof read your document for you.

Poor formatting

Yes content is KING – but equally important is the formatting of your document.  Your document should be visually appealing, in the same way company’s package their goods in a way to enhance their appeal for buyers.  I mean what would you as a consumer choose for a gift – chocolate wrapped in white butcher paper – or for the same price, chocolate wrapped in rich-looking gold foil with ribbons, in a heart shaped box?

When formatting your résumé, be consistent in design treatments, be conservative, and avoid starting too many consecutive lines with bullets, add white space, break up lengthy paragraphs, balance the résumé top-to-bottom and left-to-right and use no more than 2 font styles. 

Using templates from the major job search sites

Literally thousands of job seekers use these templates and if you are in the business of recruiting people, you know straight away the origin of the template and trust me – these online templates don’t make a good first impression!

Not highlighting skills and knowledge

Most resumes get scant attention, so if your resume simply lists your job duties, but fails to draw attention to the skills, knowledge and contributions you have made to prior employers, then it is highly likely your resume will get overlooked.

Creating a one-size-fits-all approach

An effective resume is one that is crafted specifically for the employer and job in question.  So don’t send out a one-size-fits-all document, it could result in your application being overlooked.

Developing a wordy, rambling, long, repetitive document

Keep it tight and concise and include only information that is relevant to the position in question.  I mean, that award that you got in 1985 for playing soccer is probably now irrelevant and completely redundant information.

Not including a cover letter with your resume

Some employers and recruiters won’t even look at a resume, unless the job candidate has gone to the bother of writing a cover letter.  So make sure you include a cover letter with your resume.

Cheap or Coloured Paper

You can design the most amazing resume ever and then spoil it by sending our your resume on pink coloured paper.  If sending a hard copy, a straight good quality white paper is all you need, with the document simply stapled at the corner.  It is unnecessary to bind your document, in particular if sending your resume through to HR.  Bound documents are difficult, if not impossible to scan, so sometimes get discarded.

Incorrect information

Proofreading is not just for the body of the resume, but also for you heading, dates and details about the organisation you worked for.  Make sure you read everything.

Cutesy or inappropriate email addresses

Don’t include your work email address, unless applying for an internal position.  Instead use your home email address and ensure this is a nice conservative one, i.e. leave the “starstud1@iprimus.com.au”, or “bigkaren@hotmail.com” for family and friends!

Remember resume mistakes will detract from your credentials, reflect badly on you personally and will literally take you of the running for jobs you are more than qualified for.

On the other hand, ineffective advertising is like flushing money down the toilet and is a complete waste of money.

So what is the difference between advertising that works and advertising or sales pitches that don’t? The difference in the trade is known as the AIDA formula, which stands for:

• Get Attention
• Capture Interest
• Create Desire
• Call to Action

I’m sure by now you are asking what the heck has this got to do with creating a resume and finding a new job or promotion. Well everything!

You see, like the AIDA formula, as a job hunter, to secure that new job, or promotion, your resume needs to get attention, capture interest and create desire.

Get Attention and Capture Interest

To get attention, you need a strong resume with a core brand message that distinguishes you from the sometimes hundreds of other applicants. Within a resume, create the ‘essential message’ of what you are, where your value is, what skills and knowledge you offer and what differentiates you from others.

You need to grab the employer’s attention within the first 30 seconds. That means your profile and skills list needs to quickly communicate what you offer and all of this information needs to be on the first page of your resume.

One of the key strategies that you can use to gain attention and capture immediate interest is to use the prime real estate of your resume and ensure that your ‘essential message’ is located there. The prime real estate of your résumé is on the first page in the middle, about 1/3 down. This is the visual centre of the document that will get noticed first.

This prime real estate is where you want to pack your greatest punch in order to get the employer’s attention. This is where you outline your key skills, key accomplishments, or a summary of what you can offer the employer (namely your profile).

That is not to say that information further down the page, won’t get read carefully, what I’m saying is that when your reader initially scans the document, this is where you can ensure that your document generates sufficient interest, for it to be read thoroughly. Otherwise you risk have your resume put aside in the ‘not to interview pile’; in the same way, you chuck out your ‘junk advertising mail’.

Create Desire

The key to creating desire in a potential employer is two fold:

• You need to mirror the exact requirements of the employer within your resume.
• You need to start focussing on what you have achieved and contributed, not your duties and responsibilities.

Advertising gurus understand that to create desire, they need to tap into the exact needs of an audience and reflect this in the advertising material. That is why the most effective advertising understands their audience needs, desires and requirements. So if a potential employer requires a person with the ability to build relationships, then you need to make sure your resume reflects this requirement.

Likewise, desire is created in advertising if the product or service, is seen as a solution to someone’s perceived problem. That latest miracle moisturiser will reduce wrinkles and reverse the 7 signs of ageing. You don’t have to worry about flood insurance as you are covered no matter what.

As a job seeker your resume must become the solution to the employers problem. These problems can be (depending on the employer), the need to make money, save money, save time, make work easier, solve specific problems, ensure that they are more competitive, fulfil their statutory obligations, expand the business, or gain and retain more customers.

To be that solution, the core of your resume needs to be about your achievements, namely evidence that you solved these problems for another employer. For example: you reduced operational costs by 34%, you implemented an occupational health and safety strategy, that reduced workplace injuries by 40%, or you created a new filing system that eliminated wasted time in searching for misfiled documents.

As soon as you start developing a core message that talks about your achievements, rather than just talking about processes (duties and responsibilities), then you set the stage for creating desire, in that you have shown the employer how you can satisfy their needs and be the solution to their problem.

Madison avenue advertising tactics work – so why not start using these strategies in your own resume.

The New Year is fast approaching, and it’s a wonderful time to make a fresh start, so use the holidays to think about strategies to revive a stalled job search for 2012.

Every year, I receive calls and emails from potential clients that are really down in the dumps about their job hunting, having no success whatsoever when sending out applications for government or private sector jobs.

After reviewing their applications and talking with them about their job search, it becomes evident that the majority are missing out on jobs, due to poor responses to selection criteria, not applying for relevant positions and poor job search techniques.

So if you are unhappy with the job search activities in 2011, here are some tips for 2012, which will help revive your job search for 2012.

Take a good hard look at your resume and selection criteria

Like it or not, these documents are your key to obtaining an interview and your only chance to make a good first impression. Competition is really tough for government jobs, so before you put pen to paper, make sure you are suitably qualified so you are only targeting those jobs in which there is a good chance that a well written application will get you through to interview. I strongly suggest that you touch base with the contact officer and obtain more information about the position, including ascertaining whether someone is acting in the position, so you can gauge your competition. Once you have obtained the relevant information, set aside t minimum a whole day so you can write strong evidence based responses to selection criteria.

In terms of your resume, effective resumes are highly focused marketing pieces that must be strategically written and designed to sell YOU as the best solution to potential employer’s needs and problems.

Both your resume and selection criteria, must illustrate your unique value proposition that will differentiate you from your competitors in the job market. Do your documents accomplish these goals? Are they outcomes focussed? Do they accurately represent you in the way you wish to be presented?

If not, it is time to rewrite these documents, as poor marketing documents might be the key reason why you are not securing interviews.

Use Guerrilla Marketing Methods for Job Hunting

If sending your resume to job agencies, applying for jobs on online job boards, or addressing long and complex selection criteria is not reaping any rewards for you, why not kick start 2012 with some guerrilla job hunting marketing methods. This term was coined by Jay Levinson and David Perry, both recruiting experts, who highlight the most effective job search methods. Top on their list is networking – yet very few people actually use this highly effective method.

By networking, you are not asking people if they know of an opening or to give you a job, you are just asking for referrals or advice from people that might be able to assist you. I mean, would you be upset if someone you knew contacted you to inform you of their job search and asking for some advice, or to point them in the right direction? Of course not, in fact you would probably be very flattered, so why not use this method as a way to discover new opportunities and network your way into a position?

Use the holiday to research job prospects

Jobs don’t tend to get advertised over the holidays, but this is the perfect time to undertake research on various opportunities that will be available in 2012. Use the time constructively and research companies over the internet. This is a great time to get information relating to whether a company is experiencing growth, or compile a list of the right contact person within your targeted companies.

PLUS as a bonus, some companies/agencies are hiring over the holiday period and since there is less competition (less job seekers on the market place), then it might turn out to be the perfect time to get your resume or selection criteria in front of a decision-maker, who needs to hire a person as a matter of urgency.

Job search Protocols

Now it is time to take a look in the methods that you use in your job search. Is it professional at every step? Does it illustrate an understanding of job search protocols? In 2012, make it your objective to be professional throughout the process. Make sure you send a cover letter and when attaching resume to a new contact via email, include an introductory note. Also ensure that your mobile message and answering machine is professional, and avoid an email name that is funny or cutesy. These job search protocols really matter – so make sure you adhere to them.

Yes – job hunting can be highly stressful and time consuming. But the holiday period is a perfect time to reflect upon what you would like for 2012, so choose to focus and in 2012, you will find yourself back to work, or securing that dream job, or promotion, much faster than you thought possible.

According to a report by the International Association of Career Management Professionals:

• Individuals that do not use the email will be left out
• Individuals must be able to post a resume on the internet
• Internet networking is replacing much of the traditional face-to-face interactions

This is only the beginning, with trends rapidly changing the entire job search and recruitment landscape.  As a job seeker, it is vital to ensure that at all stages during your career that you keep abreast with these changes, so that you can maximise your chances of success.

Is your current resume a dinosaur?

If you still have a personal details section, then you are still in the 20^th Century and it is time to get rid of that revealing personal information relating to age, hobbies, interests, martial status and number of children.  This information is completely irrelevant.  If your resume extends beyond 5 – 6 pages, then it is time to seriously start culling your document, as the “let it all hang out” resume version, is now a dinosaur.

But this is just the start of the new “Australian resume”, as the online phenomenon takes shape.  The future is already here, with web-based (HTLM) versions of the resume, Portable Document Format (PDF), ASCII Rich Text Format (RTF), through to Video Resumes, which will start to appear, thanks to the tools available for job seekers to create personal videos through the use of a camera and YouTube technology.   (Although Video Resumes will in my opinion will not replace the resume, due to time involved in recruiters and employers viewing the information and legal implications (such as potential allegations of discrimination on the basis of colour, age, as the employer)).

The internet is the hiring highway

The percentage of employers using the internet to recruit is increasing phenomenally and at an unprecedented rate, to the point that employers advertising in newspapers have the same advertisement online.   This trend has several consequences for job seekers like you, and the few of the major ones you need to be aware of are:

• The need to incorporate key words into your resume, when posting your resume on online job boards, so you can be identified as a suitable candidate, by search databases. (Refer to my tips on key words in my Report on Resume Writing).
• With an increasing volume of resumes online, the patched together resume, using resume templates from major job boards such as Seek or CareerOne is redundant.  It is vital to ensure that you create a resume that stands out from the pack!
• The challenge of the “fill-in-the-blank”, online application forms, that exposes all your weak points, such as job gaps and job hopping.
• Ensuring that the employer actually receives your emailed document, with an increasing number of documents being blocked by SPAM traps and never being reviewed by the employer.  Some surveys are indicating that up to 25% of resumes were being caught by SPAM filters.
• You need to be aware that employers and recruiters are increasingly performing background checks on candidates and this includes “googling” candidates.  This is also current practice for positions in the public service sector, that require secret vetting clearance, and this includes a comprehensive background search, including online searches.  So if you are engaged in any online forums, including Facebook, then you need to be aware that inappropriate comments, or revealing lots of personal information, could be detrimental to your career prospects -  (Big brother has already arrived).
• If posting your resume online, ensure you don’t include information that could be detrimental to your privacy and the privacy of your referees.  Your referee won’t be too impressed if their home phone or private address is online for everyone to see!
• The bulk of recruiters source candidates from places such as LinkedIn, so if you don’t have a LinkedIn account now is the time to seriously consider setting one up.

These are just of the few of the major trends – and job seekers that keep up with these changes will have a competitive edge and will be able to exploit the new technology, as well as distinguish themselves from the competition.

Well now that you’re grown up, the question of what you want to be is actually a little more difficult.  Yet knowing what you want is fundamental to ensuring that you find the right job, otherwise you could land up in a job from hell.  You see, some people are really suited to teaching, yet others loathe this profession and end up tired, stressed and burnt-out before reaching 50.  Likewise some people don’t want anything to do with client contact, yet others people love client contact and get maximum enjoyment from connecting with diverse people on a daily basis.

In order to ensure you don’t end up with the job from hell you need to:

1. Get to know yourself better
2. Find out what others think about where you fit
3. Gather appropriate information about industries and jobs

Get to know yourself better

Helping you choose a career from scratch is way beyond the scope of this article, but if you have a general idea of the type of work you want to do, then this article will ensure that you form a much clearer picture of how to avoid a job from hell.

If you have no idea of what you want to be when you grow up, then there are countless books in your local library that will help you pinpoint exactly what your ideal type of work will be.

Another way is to write a career vision, in which you describe exactly what your perfect career would be (apart from retirement and sitting on a tropical island with a warm breeze, soft sand and tall palm trees).  Take this vision and dream about it, from the ideal company culture, type of work, through to location and lifestyle.  From this exercise, you will capture exactly the type of job that would suit you (just don’t fantasize too much, as it is essential to get the balance right between the vision and reality).

Finally, you could use a career counsellor, or DISC Career Insights.  As a DISC Administrator, I do administer and interpret Career Insights Assessments.  For just a tiny investment of $157 (including worksheets), you will gain a better understanding of your natural behaviour, discover your ideal work environment based on your basic style, as well as the job titles most appropriate to your behavioural style.  If interested, touch base with me at carolyn.smith@impactwriting.com.au

These DISC assessments are uncannily accurate and I wish I had access to one before I went to law.  On my assessment, I was told, my behavioural style include working independently and on the list of appropriate careers was entrepreneur or business owner (law did not even register on the list).  Since I was miserable in law (in spite of working for some of the top law firms in the world) and love what I do now, I know for a fact that these assessments can be very accurate.

Find out what others think about where you fit

Ask how others view your strengths and weaknesses (but ask people who are going to be objective, honest and really know you).  With this feedback, you could get a really good indication of the type of person you really are, and what job would suit you best.  Sometimes people can see a mile away that a job is not going to suit you.

A classic example is one of my close friends, who is a classic crowd pleaser and not that good at effective delegation, but went for a management position.  He was adamant that these conclusions about him were false, and guess what, he was dead wrong, and now that he is managing people, he fails to effectively delegate and this is taking a toll on his happiness and job satisfaction.

Gather appropriate information about industries and jobs

If you already have a general idea of what work you want to do, then the next step is to ensure that the job actually suits you.  You see lack of information could lead to a job that is intolerable and could run counter to your personal values.

You see, if you don’t read between the lines, keep your goals in mind, contrast the job with other related jobs and undertake research, you might end up in the position of landing a job that is simply not suited for you.  This applies equally to both the private and public sectors, where a position might not be suited to you as an individual, or alternatively the job could be high pressured, under resourced, provide little scope for advancement, or the functional area within the agency or organisation has a highly political and poisonous work culture.

For example, when you touch base with the contact officer if applying for government jobs, ask why the position is vacant, the turnover of staff in the work area, the key problems of the area, the major challenges you would face in the position and the type of resources and support you would receive.  You will be able to gauge by many of the responses you receive, whether this is in fact the dream job, or the job from hell.

Conclusion

Although you might feel like you are under pressure to get a job (any job), a pay rise, that promotion, or that prestigious job which sound so glamorous, don’t just rush into a job search, without taking the time to determine what you really want, or whether this job actually suits you.  Otherwise you will find yourself settling on a job that does not give you much satisfaction (regardless of the status and pay) and is only there for you to make a living – and that is the recipe for landing the job from hell.

These are exciting times and an information sharing revolution is upon us.  As a job seeker, you need to be aware that this information sharing has taken us to a new age as a job seeker, in both the public and private sector.  What you primarily need to be aware of, is that the majority of employers and recruiters are undertaking comprehensive background checks on all applicants  (both online and offline) and if you apply for a government job, background checks are usually mandatory, with those requiring security clearance undergoing very intensive scrutiny.

So what does this all mean to you as a job seeker?

1. Get prepared

To reduce the chances of you, or the employer being surprised by the information found during the background check progress, then make sure you do the following:

Order a copy of your credit report:  Check your credit record and make sure that there is nothing on this report that could be detrimental to your reputation.  If there is something you disagree with, then you can resolve this issues before your information gets accessed by a potential employer, or the government.

Read the fine print:  When signing a job application, you will also be asked to sign a consent form, authorising a background check to be conducted, to overcome the Privacy laws.  If uncertain, ask questions.  If unnecessary information is requested, such as bank account number, mother’s maiden name, etc. (especially online) – be very wary, as no potential employer needs that detail up front.

Touch base with your referees:  Make sure there are no surprises here by contacting your referees and letting them know what jobs you are applying for.  The overwhelming majority of employers will contact them, before employing you.

Touch base with your colleagues:  Some of the more intensive background searches for high security clearance will result in even your neighbours and colleagues being contacted for information.

Make sure the information an organisation or agency holds about you is accurate and up to date.   When your personal information changes, it is a good idea to inform organisations, such as ATO, Centrelink, that your personal details have changed, so that they reflect the information that you provide on your job application, (if applying for government jobs).

Google your name and get rid of Digital Dirt:  Google your name and check what comes up about you and if necessary remove all material that could make a bad impression, such as questionable comments on blogs or on facebook, participation in seedy forums, or unflattering photographs.  Anything posted about you on the internet is fair game, so tidy up what is online, or better still use the internet to enhance your career, such as posting articles online within your area of expertise.

Improve your online profile:  If you use Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn, make sure there is NOTHING on these pages that could be detrimental to your reputation.  Instead use these tools to enhance your online profile.

2. Don’t lie or exaggerate on your resume and selection criteria

It is estimated that up to 30% of job applicants lie, or exaggerate on their job application.  I think most job seekers at some stage have told the little lies, such as slightly stretching dates of employment, inflating past achievements, enhancing job titles and responsibilities.  A small minority go even further and fabricate degrees, fake credential and provide fraudulent references.

While in the past, a little blurring might have been overlooked – employers are increasingly wary and performing more background checks.  Also keep in mind that if you are applying for a job in government that requires security clearance, the repercussions for your career could be dire if a lie is exposed, as you could be eliminated from securing a job in government in the future.  So DON’T tell big fat lies on your job application.

What this means to the modern resume, selection criteria and job application form, is keep them truthful!  That does not mean you can’t use the sneaky professional tricks to enhance your document, just don’t engage in fraudulent behaviour.  For example, it is OK to omit past employment, if it is irrelevant to the job, or very old, but it is NOT OK to exaggerate the length of time you spent in a particular job.  Likewise it is OK to use very strong action words to emphasise your achievements, but it is NOT OK to exaggerate the percentage of sales that you made on the job.

While you might still get away with those lies and exaggerations, you do risk sabotaging your career, in particular for high executive positions and positions where security clearance is required.

In conclusion:  Today‘s job seeker, cannot necessarily hide from their mistakes, their criminal records, even their dating profiles, online blog entries and everything else in-between on the internet.  And this is only the beginning of information sharing and the internet revolution!  

Are you working in an organisation where promotion is a possibility?

The first question you have to ask yourself is whether there is scope for promotion within your current organisation.  If you work for a small organisation where realistically there are no opportunities to take on greater responsibilities (as opposed to getting a pay rise), then you need to consider looking outside of your current workplace for new career opportunities.

Get the right attitude

Have you got ‘fire in your belly’, or passion for what you do?  Or do you think the employer simply owes you a promotion, regardless of your attitude.  If you want to get a promotion, make sure you show zest and passion for what you do.  And don’t forget, – there is nothing more off putting, than the entitlement mentality, namely, ‘what can you do for me’, without any consideration as to what you can actually do for the employer (or your potential return on investment (ROI) for the employer).

Become a good self promoter

When I’m talking about self promotion, I’m not talking about ‘big noting yourself, or alienating others at work through nauseating bragging.  I’m talking about taking the opportunity to ensure that you get credit and recognition for your work, including ensuring that your work is recognised by the managers that will be making the final decision to promote you or not.

This includes ensuring that other workers don’t steal credit for all your hard work and by ensuring that your boss, is clear of your contributions within the team.

Seek out professional development opportunities

Seek out professional development opportunities and take on new projects and tasks (including volunteering and taking acting positions at a higher level).  Not only will this demonstrate your enthusiasm, but it will provide you with new skills, experience and knowledge required to climb up the corporate ladder.

Take advantage of your performance reviews

Use your performance review, as an opportunity to highlight what you have achieved and ensure that this is acknowledged in writing by your manager.  Not only will this reinforce what benefits you bring to the organisations, but it also provides additional written support to support and justify a promotion.  You can also use written performance reviews, to insert into your responses to selection criteria if applying for a position within the public service sector.

In addition, use your performance review, as an opportunity to make your career objectives known to the relevant manager.

Get a good senior mentor that (ultimately) can influence decision makers

A good mentor can help accelerate your progress within the workplace by providing appropriate support and guidance, so you can progress up the ranks.  They can sometimes also act as an active supporter of your aspirations within the workplace and help influence decision makers, if your mentor is well respected and in a position of power within your workplace.

Be a people’s person and understand the politics

Strong interpersonal skills are vital to ensuring your promotion.  People like to work with people that they like and respect, not a workplace bully, or someone that plays office politics to the detriment of other individuals or the organisation as a whole.  No matter how you perform, if you are a political animal, or play games, you might sabotage your chances of promotion.

You also need to understand the politics of a place, particularly at the senior level.  While you might be the ideal candidate the office politics might be working against you.  Remember most office politics is part of a dysfunctional human behaviour centred in self interest, or rather what is in it for me.  It is used to obtain promotions (self interest), to put other people down (self interest), to get your own way (self interest).  Such self interest can be destructive to an organisation, as it destroys work place concepts of honesty, integrity, the building of cohesive relationships and a willingness to work with others (not against others).  Office politics can also reduce organisational productivity and adversely affect morale.  It can also reduce your changes of a promotion, so be aware of it and counter it by using the principles of influence.

Set goals and achieve them

Employers like people who are achievers and perform.  So take action and accomplish what you set out to achieve.

Create a top-notch application for a government promotion

Within government, the selection process is such that you need to provide demonstrable evidence that you are the best person for the job (even if you have been acting in the position for an extended length of time).  It is therefore essential that you develop a top-notch application so panel members cannot overlook your application.

The reality about job-hunting is that it is often not the best qualified person that gets the job.  The person that gets the job is the one that can successfully demonstrate that they meet the employer’s requirements.

Take this example:  Frances was a qualified lawyer with extensive experience in business development and marketing obtained from a leading law firm in London.  Upon returning to Australia, Frances applied for several positions at law firms, requiring a business development and marketing expert.  She failed to secure an interview – even though she met the employer’s exact requirements (if anything, her international experience made her more qualified than other job candidates). 

On closure examination, it was evident that she was missing out on interviews, for one simple reason.  Her resume did not sufficiently make clear to employers that the firm she worked for was (a) a law firm and (b) one of the leading law firms in the world (apart from the Pacific/Asia region, which is why recruiters did not recognise the name of the firm).  By failing to demonstrate that her experience was a perfect match, she missed out on a number of lucrative opportunities.

So in this article, I outline how you can ensure that you become the job candidate that employers want to hire.

Be selective with the jobs you apply for

The job market is competitive, (even in the good times), so the first step to ensuring that you become the job candidate that employers want to hire, is to only apply for jobs that you are qualified for, and ensuring that you do in fact meet their selection requirements.  Take these examples:

The employer in the job advertisement is asking for a ‘mature’ applicant.  This is simply a coded way of saying that this employer doesn’t want to employ anyone too young, so if your only 21, then it is unlikely you will be picked for the job, even if you are quite mature for a 21 year old.

If the job advertises for someone that has the ability to ‘lead a team’, then they are after a manger with prior experience in leading a team.  While you might feel that you are capable of leading people, unless you have this experience, it is unlikely you will be picked.  (I mean, who would you select if you were an employer?  Someone that has demonstrable experience and success in leading a team, or someone, that states they would like to have a go at leading a team?).

Your resume and application

Your campaign to land a job starts with your resume, cover letter, or selection criteria (if applying for a government job).  Your application is your key to secure an interview, so that you can meet employers in person and convince them that you are the best person for the job.

In order to become the job candidate that employers want to hire, you must improve your resume.  Without even looking at your resume, I know that your current document needs to be improved upon, because everyone’s resume needs to be adjusted and improved for each and every job they apply for.

The key is to make sure that your resume and cover letter ‘mirrors’ the employers requirements.

So to do this, draw a line down the middle of a page and one side list the employer’s needs, and on the other side of the line, list all your hard and soft skills and contributions that prove you can do the job.  This exercise will help you to pin point your assets that are relevant to the employer requirements and will help shape your resume and job application.

Once you have this list, the next step is to demonstrate these within your document.  So for example:

If the job you’re applying for has specified someone with a friendly personality, then you could demonstrate this, by noting it as a personality characteristic on your profile, or emphasising a customer  service role, in which your warm personality won over the difficult clients.

The interview

There are usually no big surprises at interviews as basically most interviews will focus on how you precisely meet the requirements, which are usually outlined in the job advertisement.

So take these clues and use them as the basis on which to prepare for an interview, including preparation of examples of your past experiences that illustrates how you meet their exact requirements.  So for example:

In the job advertisement, the employer was asking for exceptional presentation skills.  So in order to demonstrate this face-to-face at interview, makes sure you present yourself in a professional manner and talk about your experiences in the delivery of presentations at both the micro and macro level.

Final word

In order to be the job candidate that employers want to hire, showcase how you meet their exact requirements, as this will be pivotal to your success.

It is really interesting, but the way job-hunters generally look for work and how employer’s generally look for someone to fill a vacancy are the absolute opposites of each other.

You see a typical employer generally fills a vacancy in this order or preference:

(a) promoting within;

(b) hiring someone that is known through a network, or someone that comes recommended by a friend, or colleague;

(c) using a recruitment agency;

(d) advertising both online or in newspapers, and coming in at last place;

(e) an unsolicited resume.

Conversely, a typical job-hunter looks for work the opposite way and by using the five worst ways to look for a job

Using the major job-boards (the least effective on record)

Yes, you can secure a job on the internet by submitting your resume onto online job boards, but this method is one of the worst ways to find a job, unless you have written a ‘perfect resume’ and incorporated loads of key words within the resume for search engines.

The typical success rate for this type of job search process is as low as 4%.

Mailing out resumes to employers at random

 If you have ever used this job search method then you already know how disheartening this method can be.  You might be lucky, but typically almost 95% of job-hunters will not secure a job using this method.

 Answering newspaper ads/specific specialist and small online job board ads

If you are only using this job search method  then you have reduced your success rate to just 5 – 25%, depending on the competition you are facing!  The higher the competition (i.e. greater the salary, perks and prestige of the job), the less likely you are going to get a job this way unless you present yourself as a ‘knock out candidate’.

Employment agencies/recruiters

The biggest error job-hunters make using this method, is assuming that the agency is working for you.  They’re not, they are working for the employer.  For every 100 job-hunters using this method, less than 28% of them will be successful – with the success rate being as low as 5% on the more competitive positions.

Applying for government jobs

Unless you know exactly how to address selection criteria and apply for the right job for your skills mix then the overwhelming majority of job-seekers will not be successful when applying for a government job.  (The success rate is typically around 14%, with the rate a lot lower, if you are not already in the public service sector).

Right, now that I have outlined the 5 worst ways of finding a job – the good news is that you can significantly improve these odds, by:

(a) writing a stand out resume, and/or selection criteria’, or getting these professionally prepared;

(b) networking (ask for job-leads from friends, community members, colleagues and use online and social media strategies, such as LinkedIn);

(c) researching and making contact with key decision makers in organisations; and

(d) undertaking a comprehensive job search campaign that covers ALL the major ways to find a job, with a large focus on networking!

These figures of growth are staggering, but what is more staggering, is the change from traditional job boards, to new technologies and social tools.  If you don’t have a LinkedIn profile, consider the following:

• The traditional job board is on the decline and many experts believe that they are becoming archaic, with a shift to new technologies and social online tools such as LinkedIn.
• Over 83% of recruiters use LinkedIn to source talent for job openings.
• It is estimated that 80% of employers use LinkedIn to screen job candidates.
• Employers list jobs on LinkedIn.

Fantastic –right?  The opportunity to have recruiters knocking at your door and respond to listed jobs.  However, it is not that simple.

Yes, LinkedIn can be a powerful tool, but most registered users don’t use LinkedIn well, in fact many LinkedIn profiles could be detrimental to a person’s job search, with poor profiles and online brands, poor or non-existent endorsements and the failure to effectively network online.

So, if you have a LinkedIn profile, now is the time to take a closer look at how you are using it.  If you don’t have an established LinkedIn account, now is the time to develop one (before you need to use it) and learn how to get the maximum benfit from using LinkedIn.

Profiles

There are so many less than inspiring profiles out there, that I’m not sure why people bothered registering in the first place.  Remember this is your opportunity to effectively brand yourself as an expert and highlight what you have achieved.  So take this opportunity to revisit your profile and ensure that it is going to effectively sell you.  Remember to make sure your profile is 100% complete, so recruiters can find you!

Endorsements

Get good endorsements – this is crucial.  It is not about the number of endorsements, but the quality of endorsements.  Endorsements are ‘social proof’ and evidence that you are good and can deliver results.  If you have average endorsements, don’t use them, as vague and general feedback, is worse than none at all.

Look professional

I’m not a fan of photographs on resume (opens people up to prejudices and biases), but I’m not that keen on networking with people who don’t have their photograph uploaded on LinkedIn.  You see LinkedIn is about networking and connections and people like to ‘see’ the other person.  If you decide you are going to use a photograph, don’t just use any ordinary photograph.  Make sure it looks professional and before you upload your photograph, make sure you are looking your best!

Build an effective network

Get active and connect with other members and build your network.  Remember, the more connections you have, the more opportunities you have.  However, make sure you only connect with people you trust and or have a business relationship with.

Get to grips with all the features and benefits

It is no use being on LinkedIn and sitting back and waiting for the jobs to come flooding in (it won’t happen).  To effectively use LinkedIn you need to get to grips with all the features and benefits.  Have you joined any Groups and attained expert status by answering posted questions?  Do you know how to search for contacts at companies?  Are you using the apps to enhance your LinkedIn presence, such as adding your blog?

LinkedIn is not the miraculous answer to your job search and career woes, unless you take action today and exploit the benefits offered by this social medium.