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#BestofFSCBlog : Reality Check- Recruiters are Not your Friends. There’s No Such Thing as a Professional Job-Finder. MUst REad!

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This fact may burst a bubble for most job seekers. The hard reality is job seekers have the wrong idea about what recruiters and headhunters do for a living. When one starts a search for a new job, the first professional they may try to connect with is a recruiter. A recruiter would know where to find a job…right? They can take the resume and push it to everyone they know…right? Dead wrong.  

Here is the hard-core truth. Recruiters are too busy to call anyone their company isn’t ‘interested in’ for a specific job. Recruiters will not return phone calls, voice mail, email, or text messages to strangers or applicants who don’t meet the minimum job requirements. They are already overwhelmed with communications trying to find the ‘perfect candidate.’ If you are not ‘the match,’ – you can talk ’til you’re blue in the face,’ but it won’t change circumstances. You will only waste your and the recruiter’s time.

There’s no such thing as a professional job-finder. Resume writers, career advisors, career counselors, life coaches, or outplacement service professionals may operate with parallel tasking – but they’re not job-finders. Recruiters are candidate finders. It’s not their responsibility to find a job for job seekers. Don’t blindly contact recruiters and ask them to help you find a job. 

 

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What Skill Sets Do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

Did you know?  First Sun Consulting, LLc (FSC) is celebrating over 30 years in the delivery of corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 of our corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, UK, & Mexico!  

We here at FSC want to thank each of corporate partners in the opportunity in serving & moving each of their transitioning employee(s) rapidly toward employment !

Article continued …

It’s also a numbers game – job seekers submit resumes, aim for multiple interviews, and hope for an offer letter. Recruiters review hundreds of resumes from websites, headhunters, or employee referrals for each position, query the resumes for matching keywords, and send the top 5-10 results to a hiring manager. The hiring manager picks the top three to interview and make a decision based on salary (budget), availability, knowledge, skills, experience, abilities, and personality in the interview.  

It sounds harsh, but it is reality. Finding a job is not a matter of justice, fairness, or luck. No one owes anyone a job. Recruiters are your ‘friend’ only if you meet the immediate requirements of an open job requisition. Recruiters don’t have time to invest in job seekers, their inconveniences, and their car or family problems.  Recruiters do care about recruiting, filling jobs, keeping hiring managers happy, and staying within a staffing budget. They will be polite to qualified candidates and perform the steps necessary to get that candidate hired.  Likewise, hiring managers do not care about applicants’ inconveniences and problems.  Hiring managers care whether the qualified candidate has great skills, stays within a labor budget, and can get the job done.  

Recruiters and headhunters are ‘people finders,’ not ‘job finders.’ They have a set number of specific openings at any given time and usually only hire one person per seat. One. Recruiter’s jobs are to conduct a ‘high throughput’ process. It is a matter of getting the right resume with the needed skill set to the recruiter to solve a company’s problem.  

Job seekers must ask when the decision will be made during the interview. If the company is interested in hiring, they’ll call. If you know when the position closes, call the day after if you haven’t gotten a ‘sorry, we found another more qualified candidate’ message. One call…no more. Drop that job lead into the dead file if you get a voicemail and no callback. Most recruiters have an email management system within their ATS, and there is a chance they’ll notify the ‘rejects.’ But most likely, they don’t have time for follow-up. 

To summarize, there is little point in calling a recruiter to ask them to help you, the job seeker, to find a job. Job seekers should recognize the recruiters’ viewpoint for what they do for a living. It is up to the job seeker to find that job and apply. It’s not a recruiter’s responsibility to help the job seeker find or get that next career position.

 

FSC Career Blog Author:

Dawn Boyer, Ph.D., is an associate of First Sun Consulting, and the owner of D. Boyer Consulting – providing resume writing, editing, and publishing consulting services. Reach her at: Dawn.Boyer@DBoyerConsulting.com or http://dboyerconsulting.com.

Bio: Dawn D. Boyer, Ph.D., manages and operates a consulting firm in Norfolk, Richmond, Colonial Beach (Dahlgren), and Gloucester, VA. Her background is 24+ years in the Human Resources field, of which 12+ years are within the Federal & Defense Contracting industry. She is the author of 940+ books on business, human resources research, career search practice, women’s studies, genealogy lineages, and adult coloring books. Her books are listed on Amazon.com under her author’s page for Dawn D. Boyer, Ph.D.

 

FSC Career Blog | October 13, 2022 | Dawn Boyer, Ph. D. 

 

 

 

SEO Key Words for Internet Posting:

applicants, ATS, Candidate finders, Career advisors, Career counselors, career position, communications, dead-file, email management system, employee referrals, experience, fairness, follow-up, friends, headhunters, high throughput process, hiring manager, hiring managers, interview, job finders, Job requisition, job seekers, justice, keywords, knowledge, labor budget, Life coaches, minimum job requirements, offer letter, Outplacement service professionals, people finders, perfect candidate, personality, Phone calls, professional, professional job-finder, qualified candidates, Reality check, Recruiters, resume, Resume writers, review, skills, strangers, text messages, voicemail 

 

#ResumeWriting : What is an ATS? What is SEO? What are Keywords in Resumes? Think your Resume Got Read? Think Again!

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Job seekers and resume owners are often confused about the terms and definitions of ATS, SEO, and keywords.  Some clients think there is a certain set of standardized words you insert into the resume to get seen after they upload the resume into an online system.

Here is an easy breakdown of the terms and how these resume elements are used by recruiters in the job placement industry.

ATS is the acronym for Automatic Tracking System. The ATS is the software application (often cloud-based) that recruiters use to receive, house, sort, document applicants who apply to specific job requisitions.  Recruiters also perform a procedure called a Boolean search in the SQL database to find applicants with keywords or key phrases in their resumes.  The Boolean search is an automated, and faster method to reduce the number of actual resumes recruiters have to read by identifying the ‘more qualified candidates’ in the system by keyword inclusion.

SEO is the acronym for Search Engine Optimization. Using an Internet browser (e.g., Google, Bing, Opera) to find information means implementing Boolean search using key words to find Search Engine Optimized pages or documents.  The search engine will look for websites with the keywords or phrases and the sites with the ‘most number’ of those keywords or phrases will show up in a result queue, with the most optimized websites at the top of the list.

Recruiters use the same Boolean search process in an ATS (resume database) as an Internet search.  Once the recruiter conducts the search either in the entire database or only within applicants to the specific job requisition, then resumes with the ‘most mentions’ of a key word or phrase will rise to the top of the result queue. Recruiters don’t have time to read 100, 200, 300 resumes, so rely on SEO keywords to find the ‘most qualified’ candidate based on the higher number of mentions of those keywords in the resume.  They will glance through the top 5-10 resumes in the results queue, and if these candidates fulfill the minimum qualifications, they will proceed to interview or push the resumes to hiring managers for decisions.  It is likely the remaining 90, 190, or 290 resumes will never be read and ‘marked’ en masse as ‘other candidates more qualified.’

 

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Best Daily Choice: Follow the Best of FSC Career Articles/Blogs @

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Question: Want the ‘the best/current articles/blogs on the web’ on Job Search, Resume, Advancing/Changing your Career, or simply Managing People?

Answer: Simply go to our FSC Career Blog below & Type(#Jobsearch, #Resume, or #Networking) in Blog Search:  https://www.firstsun.com/fsc-career-blog/

What Skill Sets Do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

Did you know?  First Sun Consulting, LLc (FSC) is celebrating over 30 years in the delivery of corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 of our corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, UK, & Mexico!  

We here at FSC want to thank each of corporate partners in the opportunity in serving & moving each of their transitioning employee(s) rapidly toward employment !

Article continued …

Keywords are single words or phrases directly relevant to a job-seeker’s career, skills, experience, and/or education.  For instance, a computer programmer should mention all the programming languages s/he uses as keywords.  Logistics careerists should use the words supply chain, logistics, supply, warehousing, and inventory as keywords, with metrics, to describe their job tasks and achievements.  Salespersons should include keywords related to revenue, sales, marketing, advertising, and income streams.  Property managers should include metrics for units rented, the values of rental properties, descriptions of how they manage or provide maintenance of facilities and vendors contracting for repairs as keywords and phrases.

Executives (C-suite) should not mistake words like ‘leadership,’ ‘guiding,’ and ‘support’ as keywords – these are vague and subjective.  Corporate executives and/or financial directors should have action verbs as keywords and phrases, including development, research, accounting, finance, investments, mergers and acquisitions, supervision, management, director (of something), and/or project or program management.

The action verbs at the beginning of a bullet should be followed with a documentable, objectively written action with a result.  One example, loaded with metrics, would be, “Managed >$20M in contracts for services, current, and future deployment projects including aircraft support equipment, office supplies, and electronics; managed and monitored contracts valued at

~$2.14M for parts and required services, $3.02M in Aircraft Ground Support Equipment requirements, and >$10M in electronics and future deployment components.”

Knowing what these terms mean, and how to use the processes to your advantage, will assist in writing a more objectively-worded, keyword-loaded, and action-based descriptors of your career and experience.  The more keywords, phrases, objective language, documentable metrics, and easy to read bullets in the resume, the faster recruiters will be able to find you, consider your strengths, and pick up the phone to interview.

SEO Key Words for web post:  achievements, action verbs, applicants, ATS, Automatic Tracking System , Boolean search, career , cloud-based, definitions, descriptors, experience, hiring managers, Internet browser, Internet search, interview, job description, job placement, job requisitions, key phrases, keyword inclusion, keywords, metrics, objective language, online system, optimized websites, phrase, qualifications, recruiters, result queue, resume database, Resumes, Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Optimized, SEO, skills, software application, SQL database, subjective, system, terms, websites. Examples below:

Key Word Hash-Tags (#):  #achievements, #actionverbs, #applicants, #ATS, #AutomaticTrackingSystem, #Booleansearch, #career, #cloud-based, #definitions, #descriptors, #experience, #hiringmanagers, #Internetbrowser, #Internetsearch, #interview, #jobdescription, #jobplacement, #jobrequisitions, #keyphrases, #keywordinclusion, #keywords, #metrics, #objectivelanguage, #onlinesystem, #optimizedwebsites, #phrase, #qualifications, #recruiters, #resultqueue, #resumedatabase, #Resumes, #SearchEngineOptimization, #SearchEngineOptimized, #SEO, #skills, #softwareapplication, #SQLdatabase, #subjective, #system, #terms, #websites

 

FSC Career Blog Author:  Ms. Dawn D. Boyer, Ph.D., an Associate with First Sun, has a successful business and consulting firm in Norfolk, Richmond, Colonial Beach (Dahlgren), and Gloucester, VA.  Her background is 24+ years in the Human Resources field, of which 12+ years are within the Federal & Defense Contracting industry.  She is the author of 940+ books on business, human resources research, career search practice, women’s studies, genealogy lineages, and has illustrated ~118 adult coloring books.  Her books are listed on Amazon.com under her author’s page for Dawn D. Boyer, Ph.D.

Dawn Boyer, Ph.D., owner of D. Boyer Consulting, and an associate with First Sun Consulting, provides resume writing, editing, publishing, and print-on-demand consulting.  Reach her at: Dawn.Boyer@me.com or visit her website at www.dboyerconsulting.com.

 

                                                                                                                                          FSC Career Blog – July 31, 2022

 

 

 

#BestofFSCBlog : #ResumeWriting – Words to Watch in Professional #Resumes .

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In years of resume writing for folks in the commercial world, military transitioning to civilian, or for government services applicants there are certain words and phrases that are unnecessary or redundant.

Labels.  Commercial resumes do not need labels for information in the point of contact section at the top of the resume.  Everyone knows that 757-###-#### is a phone number. Everyone knows that FirstNameLastName@nameofISP.com is an email address, so why label them? Labels can potentially gum up the parsing engine in the Automatic Tracking System (ATS) when the system moves the data to a SQL database.

Jr., Sr., III, formal degree or certification initials (after name).  Unless your son or father are looking for a job in the exact same industry at the same time, don’t bother adding the Jr. or Sr. after your name on the resume.  You can add those initials to the official legal paperwork once you are offered employment.  All the certification designations and formal degrees listed after the resume owner’s name may muck up the ATS’s parsing process.  The exceptions to this general rule would be Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Juris Doctorate (J.D.), or Professional Engineers (P.E.), which are headhunted specifically for their degrees or certifications.

Stakeholder.  This cliché buzzword literally means everyone that touches a business or entity – employees, managers, stockholders, clients, and vendors.  No one has a task or responsibility that affects every single one of these with equal value.  Instead of noting tasks affecting ‘stakeholders,’ mention the results for those directly affected, e.g., direct supervisors or employees within a specific department.

Initiative. If one was tasked with an ‘initiative’ – this is a subjective word, meaning you had intentions to do something – but did you do it?  Instead, write that you directed, managed, supervised, or developed a project, and the “results were …”

On a weekly basis; on a daily basis.  This phrase can be reduced to one word – weekly or daily.  Resumes should not be focused on daily task minutiae – concentrate on the more important weekly or monthly task descriptions with direct relevance to the company’s strategic business goals and objectives.

Selected to serve.  Requested by. Military use these phrases to highlight a person uniquely chosen above others. But, they are passive wording.  Instead, use an active verb to showcase what was done ‘after being chosen’ for a specific task or responsibility, e.g., directed a (project) for (supervisor’s job titles) resulting in (name the goals reached of the task assigned).

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What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

Continue of article:

In regards to.  This is a wordy, space filler phrase.  Don’t use ‘regarding’ as a replacement word, either.  Alternatively, describe what was done specifically.  For example: “Prepare memos for (ABC) in regards to …” can be replaced with:  “Create reports for (ABC information) submitted to (XZY) for monthly subcommittee meetings.”

Executed.  Avoid dangling modifiers.  Once client had used the word to describe what she had done to support women via a project she managed. But, the words used after ‘executed’ indicated she had ‘killed them’ within the sentence meaning and structure. Ensure the words following the descriptor ‘executed’ are carefully constructed to indicate working relationships to a project or task.

Typing – XX wpm. I see resumes noting the job seeker’s speed for typing (XX wpm) or an ability to use 10-key calculators.  This applicant skill is fine for clerical, receptionist, or data-entry jobs. For those with aspirations for supervisory or management jobs, these basic skills are assumed. The job seeker should be able to type fast enough to compile memos, letters, and write policies or reports at a productive speed. Avoid minor details and save the white space for more important and relevant information about skills and experience.  It is better to describe unique technical and computer skills for a competitive advantage.

Be careful about over-wording your resume or demonstrating a lack of conciseness.  The tighter the resume, the richer the wording, and the more impressive your experience and skill sets will read.

FSC Career Blog Contributor: Dawn D. Boyer, Ph.D., owner of D. Boyer Consulting – provides resume writing, editing, publishing, and print-on-demand consulting. Reach her at: Dawn.Boyer@me.com or visit her website at www.dboyerconsulting.com.

Bio: Dawn D. Boyer, Ph.D., has been an entrepreneur and business owner 20+ years, with a successful business in her own consulting firm (CEO) in Virginia Beach and Richmond, VA.  Her background experience is 24+ years in the Human Resources field, of which 12+ years are within the Federal & Defense Contracting industry. She is the author of 750+ books on the topics of business, human resources research, career search practice, women and gender study, genealogy and family lineages, quotes for motivation and self-improvement, and Adult Coloring Books.  Her books can be found on Amazon.com under Dawn D. Boyer, Ph.D.

 

 

FSC Career Blog | June 30, 2019

#CareerAdvice : #JobSearch -Eight Ways Job Seekers Can Beat The Bot And Make It To The Second Round Of Interviews. Great REad!

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Applicants intending to get past an ATS and past the initial culling of unsuitable résumés need first to understand what an ATS looks for. Additionally, being confident in one’s presentation, job experience and professionalism is an excellent mindset to keep when submitting to a company that utilizes an ATS.

To help, eight members of Forbes Human Resources Council explore various ways for candidates to get their applications through the automated system and into the second round of the application process—in front of a real human being. Here’s what they recommend:

1. Emphasize Your Experience

Spell out acronyms and use the industry terms relayed in the job description to emphasize how your experience aligns with the role you are applying for. Ensure that your skills and experience are communicated on your resume in a way that resonates with how the organization describes the work. – Alina Shaffer, LivingHR, Inc.

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Question: Want the ‘the best/current articles/blogs on the web’ on Job Search, Resume, Advancing/Changing your Career, or simply Managing People?

Answer: Simply go to our FSC Career Blog below & type(#career, #leadership, #life) in Blog Search:  https://www.firstsun.com/fsc-career-blog/

What Skill Sets do You have to be ‘Sharpened’ ?

Continue of article:

2. Customize Your Resume To The Job

Applicants should modify each resume they submit to tailor it to the specific job description or posting. Using the job description as a guide for customization ensures that candidates are peppering the resume with the same keywords used for the role they are applying for, which the ATS is likely trying to screen for. Make your resume speak the same language as the company you’re applying to. – Gwyn Purdue, Wafra Inc.

Forbes Human Resources Council is an invitation-only organization for HR executives across all industries. Do I qualify?

3. Take Your Resume For A Test Run

A technique I’ve found success with is converting your resume into a plain text file to compare the results with the original document. If significant differences exist between the two, then you’ll know which areas require editing. You can leverage free online ATS review technology for ATS compatibility and to rank your resume against job postings to get a better idea of how your resume will fare. – Dr. Timothy J. Giardino, Cantata Health & Meta Healthcare IT Solutions

4. Very Important:  Use Company Keywords

Do your homework and research the job description/posting and the company’s website and make sure that your resume includes keywords that are clearly important to them and that they use frequently. So for example, on a job posting, if you notice that leadership skills are mentioned five times, you might want to make sure that you emphasize your leadership skills on your resume. –Lotus Buckner, NCH

5. Fill Out The Entire Application

Most importantly, follow the process and fill out the entire application. The resume is not sufficient. If potential candidates fail to follow the instructions for submitting an application, they may miss an opportunity entirely. The pre-screening questions are important—answer them. These questions help recruiters to determine whether or not the applicant is even qualified for the position. – Frank Molinario, Security First Insurance Company Inc

6. Consider Your Application Timing

For the applicant, fully read the job description, follow the directions perfectly and use keywords. People usually don’t speak about “timing,” but we should. If a position is open for a long time, it may mean the selection criteria are faulty and HR will audit the applications. Submit your application during the business hours, as it is more likely to be questioned by an actual person. Good luck! – Patricia Sharkey, Sharkey HR Advisors

7. Keep It Clean

Applicants should always submit their resumes in a plain text format. People don’t realize that the ATS cannot read certain formats, and it doesn’t take much for it to reject an application. At this point in your job search, you’re just trying to get an interview. Make sure the ATS resume is a clean, plain text document. You can always give the interviewer a formatted file later on in the process. –Cameron Bishop, SkillPath

8. Eliminate Colors And Graphics

The quickest way to have a resume rejected by an ATS is to include colors, tables and graphics. Those who prefer flashy, eye-catching resumes should save them for face-to-face interviews, and initially submit a standard resume in a Word or PDF format that an ATS can scan. Also, an ATS will rank resumes by matching keywords, so candidates should customize resumes for each role to which they apply. – John Feldmann, Insperity

Forbes Human Resources Council CommunityVoice

Forbes Human Resources Council is an invitation-only, fee-based organization for senior-level human resources executives across all industries. Find out if you qualify a…

Forbes.com | June 28, 2019