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#CareerAdvice : #JobSearch -How to Succeed at a #CareerFair …Great Read!

March 15, 2019/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

Think a career fair is a waste of time? Think again. It’s a space packed with people searching to fill open roles and make connections for future opportunities—the perfect place for a soon-to-be college grad to score a new job or network with a dream company.

But it’s not enough to simply show up: To be successful at a career fair, there are several things you should do before you go and while you’re there.

Here, we asked career experts to walk you through how to succeed at a career fair.

1. Search for open roles.

Before the fair, get a list of the companies that will be attending—then search their sites (and Glassdoor) to see if they have any open roles for which you might be a fit. “Prioritize which companies you want to visit based on your goals for your target industries, roles, and locations,” says Jenny Zenner, career advisor and senior director of technology careers at University of Virginia Darden School of Business.

2. Research your target companies.

Now, take that list of companies whose booths you’d like to stop by and research them. “Go through their website, current news, Glassdoor, and LinkedIn,” Zenner says. “See if you have any contacts at those companies—such as fellow alums, friends, and family—and reach out in advance to learn more about what they do.” Armed with inside knowledge, you’ll be sure to impress company representatives.

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

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3. Plot a path.

Grab a map of the fair (one should be available online) and find the companies you’d like to visit, then create a path that will help you make the most of your time there—one that starts with the most popular brands. “Arrive early so that you can get to the popular companies that likely will have lines,” Zenner says. “After you’ve visited all the companies on your priority list, then you can circle back to visit other booths.”

4. Dress for success.

Jan Hudson, COO of the recruiting firm Surf Search, recommends that men where a sports jacket while women should don a blazer or other business attire. “You’re looking for a job, not headed to class,” she reminds us. Be “neat, tidy, and pressed.”

5. Connect the dots for representatives.

When you approach a booth and discuss open roles, don’t forget to connect the dots, says career and life coach Kyle Elliott. “Ask questions about open positions, then be ready to discuss how your knowledge, skills, and passion align with the positions your target company is hiring for,” he says. “Demonstrate how your experience has prepared you perfectly to join the company,” or how you’d fit with company culture.

6. Bring more resumes than you think you’ll need.

You’ll bring resumes to the fair, for sure, but bring plenty of extras. You never know who you will meet, and you don’t want to be caught without one. “Make sure [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][your resume] is as polished as it can be for a newly graduating candidateentering the workforce,” says Hudson. “Get help from career counseling on writing that resume with applicable examples of your successes as a student.” The very best resumes will include internships, applicable work experience, and college activities, she says.

7. Practice talking with representatives.

Don’t wait for real-time to talk yourself up. “Work on your communications skillsahead of time with a friend,” says Hudson. “There is nothing like good-old role playing to help you feel more comfortable.” Search online and find top behavioral interview question prompts, she suggests, then run through answering them—several times—with your friend. Practice showing confidence without being overly arrogant, she says, as well as listening to another person and not overtaking them.

8. Follow up.

After you leave the fair, “send a thank you email and a hand-written note to each person you met,” says Elliott. Then, you can keep the conversation going by adding the representative with whom you met to your contacts on LinkedIn, as well as “requesting an informational interview to learn more about the company,” he says.

GlassDoor.com | March 15, 2019 | Posted by Jillian Kramer

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#CareerAdvice : #ResumeWriting – How to Give Your Resume a Makeover for 2019.

January 3, 2019/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

Whether you’re a new grad poised to take on your first professional role, or a seasoned pro primed for new challenges, strut your savvy in 2019.

Step one is to ensure that the cornerstone of your personal brand, your resumeand LinkedIn profile, reflect your experience, skills and enthusiasm.

It can be intimidating to put yourself out there; minimize that anxiety by strategically formulating materials that turn heads.

Flex that structure

How you order the section headers on your resume can look different depending on where you are in your career. “New grads are likely to put education first-that’s their main experience and they are going for an entry-level position. But for executives, their education is going to be less important to feature prominently. They’ve already proven themselves. They’re going to have a stronger summary about their careers,” explains Nick Francioso, Army Veteran, mentor to career transitioning veterans and founder of resume optimization tool SkillSyncer.

Francioso points out that while there’s some wiggle room for ordering resume sections, it’s important to adhere to standard headers such as education, experience, summary and skills. He explains: “These are what the ATS (applicant tracking system) looks for. No matter what kind of resume you’re creating.”

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

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Busting resume myths

Your resume isn’t a comprehensive professional history; it only needs to capture your last ten years of professional experience. Francioso explains, “Your resume is what gets you the interview. Then you can talk about all the other positions you’ve had.” Of course, if you’ve worked for your most recent employer for longer than ten years, you want to include those details.

Francioso points out another myth: you don’t have to limit your resume to a single page. His rule of thumb: “If you’re doing two pages, fill two pages.” Francioso recommends that job seekers refrain from leaving excess white space, which can make the resume looks weak or incomplete.

Show me the data

Keep your content concise and avoid over-used buzzwords like “action-oriented” or “hardworking.” A reader can’t tell the difference between a candidate whom such words truly describe and one who’s just making that claim. This is where data comes in; it makes your case.

Offer data that demonstrates your success and productivity. Francioso explains: “If you have a good employer, they tend to help you create bullet points for your resume because they share performance data with you-sometimes at year-end or quarterly reviews…They are tracking performance data to calculate raises and evaluate performance.” Francioso notes that you can also track data yourself by noting reports you run or moves you make that have a measurable impact.

Metrics are concrete indicators of performance. Use them to tell your story.

Befriend the bots

Francioso explains that job seekers have two audiences to keep in mind: “Write your resume for an ATS. If it makes it through that, a human is going to read it.” You reach each audience by speaking its language.

It’s also important to create multiple resumes, each tailored to various job descriptions. Francioso’s recommended approach for getting a high match score from ATS is to “Mention those things that they really emphasize in the job description more than once in your resume- take the hard skills and word them the same way.” If the job description uses an acronym to describe a hard skill that you have, for example, use that same acronym in your skills section.

When it comes to addressing human resume readers, Francioso explains: “You don’t want to show what you’re responsible for, you want to show what you accomplished.” Use meaningful action words to tell that story.

Francioso explains that while pictures, charts, graphs may look impressive, reserve those on a separate version of your resume that you only share with contacts for whom you have personal email addresses. These are not likely to parse well in ATS.

Thinking differently about LinkedIn

Francioso sees LinkedIn as “a database of resumes,” and he recognizes users’ goal on the platform as optimizing their LinkedIn profiles to ensure maximum exposure. Francioso points out that the way you write your headline, the more active you are on the platform, the more connections and endorsements you have, all impact where your profile appears in search results.

His advice: “Make sure that you have the newest tech terms. If you’re a Java programmer, for example, you want to make sure that’s in your headline. I’ve noticed that when you search in LI, it goes to the headline first and then to the summary . . . So if you’re targeting a specific job title or industry, that’s what you want in your headline.”

Francioso points out that your headline is valuable space. If you’re searching for a new opportunity, you can signify that in settings, leaving your headline clear for SEO terms. Francioso explains: “Effective LinkedIn profiles should have headlines that take advantage of the 120-character limit and are roughly 7 – 12 words in length. Add important keywords to your headline since these can be used to rank you higher in search results. . . the most important keywords should go in your header as those are the first to return in search results.”

Another great tip: Francioso recommends creating a customized URL via LinkedIn. This way, it’s easily sharable. Plus, it looks neat, tidy and professional. Francioso recommends adding it to your resume-positioned after your email address.

Remember, refining your personal brand gives you the chance to take stock of your professional goals and accomplishments. That’s a great way to kick off 2019!

GlassDoor.com | January 3, 2019

#CareerAdvice : #JobSearch – This is How you’ll Look for a Job in 2019. Must Read!

January 2, 2019/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

When you couple the fact that unemployment is at a low 3.7%, and the number of U.S. companies wanting to hire fresh talent is at a 12-year high, it’s a job seekers’ market.

However, thanks to the increasing use of automation, artificial intelligence, and a growing interest from companies to hire more diverse candidates, the way job seekers will find the best opportunities is shifting. We asked the experts to tell us how the way we will look for jobs will change in 2019. Here’s what they told us.

WHERE TO LOOK AND WHAT TO EXPECT

Tom Gimbel at LaSalle Network says that among 5,000 professionals the staffing firm surveyed, the top three ways they look for employment are online job boards, sites like LinkedIn, Indeed and Glassdoor, recruiters, and networking. “While we’ve seen various trends pop up in the job-search process,” he says, “these traditional methods continue to be most the popular and we plan to see it remain the same for years to come.”

However, at places like EY, which plans to hire approximately 15,700 workers in the U.S. in the coming year, some 1,300 bots focused on recruiting efforts are likely going to be part of the candidates’ interview experience.

Eyal Grayevsky, CEO and cofounder of Mya Systems says that in 2019 the divide between intelligent, conversational recruiting bots and basic chatbots that follow simple decision trees will become a chasm. “Job search candidates will gravitate toward conversational bots,” he explains, “because of their ability to respond more knowledgeably and naturally, to anticipate candidate needs, and to learn and adapt to candidate preferences over time.”

AI aside, more freelancers are finding jobs online and working remotely. Sixty-seven percent of freelancers report that the amount of work they’ve gotten online has increased in the last year, and 64% of freelancers found work online, up 22 points since 2014 according to the most recent Freelancing in America report. And a Flexjobs survey revealed that these jobs range from tech to accounting, HR to administrative work.

Ankit Somani, cofounder of AllyO, believes both active and passive candidates will see a marked difference in 2019. Passive candidates, those who are not putting themselves out there to look for jobs, can expect to experience personalized outreach, leading to mini-conversations which are empathetic and get to the core of what they might be interested in, Somani says. “Active candidates will see more channels of engagement (text, web chat, WhatsApp, Facebook, etc.),” Somani adds, “and there will be an increasing focus in helping candidates answer any of their questions upfront and help them find jobs based on their likes and dislikes.”

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

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SKILL SHIFT

“The line between soft and hard skills is disappearing,” says Michelle Weise, chief innovation officer at Strada Institute for the Future of Work, “What matters is whether a skill is ‘human’ or can be performed by machines.” According to a new analysis of more than 100 million job postings, resumes, and social profiles by Strada Institute for the Future of Work and labor market analytics expert, Emsi, job seekers can future-proof their chances to be competitive by beefing up their soft skills.

The report finds that employers are hungry for skills like communication, critical thinking, ethics and problem-solving. “The most valuable workers now and in the future, will be those who can combine technical knowledge with human skills: programming and ethics, artificial intelligence and emotional intelligence, logic, and judgment,” says Weise.

That said, job seekers are turning to job boards to ferret out positions that can use very specific tech skills. New Indeed research reveals the fastest-growing skills in tech job searches and found that job seekers are most frequently looking for jobs that use cloud computing tools and e-commerce platforms. Job searches using Google’s Go programming language, called Golang, went up 81%. Facebook’s React framework, which was the fastest-growing tech skill last year, rose 61% this year.

Another in-demand skill that could be a game changer in the way we look for jobs in 2019 is cybersecurity. Tim Roddy, vice president of cybersecurity product strategy with Fidelis Cybersecurity says job seekers should be looking at which transferable skills they have to bring to the industry. “The beauty of cybersecurity is that it’s vast,” he says, “there are specialists for everything, whether you’re interested in law, forensic investigations, cryptography, ethical hacking, or data analytics–you can apply this interest to security.”

Whatever your skills, the best way to highlight them (and yourself) online is simple, according to Amy Guo, LinkedIn principal product manager. “The only thing you don’t want to do is treat your LinkedIn profile simply like a resume,” she says. “Instead, use it to share stories about your professional journey. This is your chance to showcase what skills you excel at, what opportunities you’re looking for or offering, and how you can help your community. You never know, this could be the reason a recruiter, future employer or a potential client finds you and sends you a message.”

In addition to making sure you list at least five skills, Guo suggests adding the field you work in since more than 300,000 people search by industry on LinkedIn each week. And don’t forget to update the city you work in since this can make you up to 23 times more likely to be found in search, according to LinkedIn’s data.

LOOKING FOR DIVERSITY AND EQUITY

Brenda Darden Wilkerson, president and CEO of AnitaB.org says that 2019 will see more job seekers prioritize diversity and equity when seeking new roles. “Much like how consumers are becoming increasingly more discerning around which companies they buy from, job seekers–especially women and underrepresented groups–will be increasingly discerning about the companies they apply to work for,” she believes. Darden Wilkerson says candidates will favor companies that prioritize diversity, inclusion, and equity and will expect to see data that proves the company is creating a supportive culture for people of all backgrounds. “Programs like mentorship and formal pay equity policies that provide concrete systems of support and inclusion for women to reach their fullest potential will set employers apart in the minds of conscious job seekers,” she explains.

MORE TEMP TO HIRE

“A very important stat that job seekers should note is that the risk of new hires failing was 50% in 2017,” notes Elaine Varelas, managing partner at Keystone Partners, “and talent acquisition people have been challenged to fix this expensive margin of error.

While they solve for the cause, HR is working on minimizing risk and the cost associated with this failure, by moving from permanent hires to “temp to perm” roles throughout the organization, she says.

“Job seekers need to make sure they are comfortable with this kind of offer,” Varelas explains, because it often doesn’t include holidays, vacation time, and most other important full-time employee benefits. “Key to your success in these situations is getting answers regarding what factors are considered to make the switch to permanent,” she recommends. If it is based on the economy, there most likely won’t be severance if the role ends, she points out. If it’s entirely based on performance (and most likely it will be) what does the organization need to see from you in terms of contribution? “Ask, how will my success be defined? And, how often will feedback be provided?” Varelas suggests.

OPPORTUNITIES WITH EXISTING EMPLOYERS

“In 2019, I think more people will look for new jobs’ from where they are,” says Tom Puthiyamadam, Global Digital Services Leader at PwC. He expects to see more employees take an intrapreneurial attitude to their current roles to stretch them and shift to find ways to innovate and do more of what they love more efficiently.

Chris O’Neal, evangelist at Workfront, believes voluntary job boards will be big in the coming year. “The future enterprise will create internal job boards of important work that needs to be done, and ask interested individuals and self-organizing teams to volunteer to work on the jobs that are most exciting to them,” O’Neal explains. “Like a corporate backlog that is up for grabs.” He says this will allow more team members to do work that matters to them personally.

Ben Reuveni, CEO of InnerMobility, which is powered by Gloat‘s AI technology, says that apps InnerMobility draws on employees’ skills, past experiences, and future goals to match them with projects, job swaps, mentorships, as well as new positions that will add real value to their career ambitions. “Employees are able to simply swipe on opportunities of interest to achieve horizontal career growth as well as traditional vertical progression,” he says.

“Smart companies that truly value their talent and work in more digital ways, will embrace this and provide–or at least facilitate and encourage–such opportunities,” maintains Puthiyamadam. If they don’t, he cautions, the most valuable employees will be snapped up by companies that will.

THE CONTINUED IMPORTANCE OF NETWORKING

“The rise of automated job search services and matching engines means you must become a master networker in order to stand out from all the other resumes being reviewed by machines,” says Tracey Welson-Rossman CMO of Chariot Solutions and founder of TechGirlz. “Whether you are a college student landing your first job or currently employed and looking for a new position at a different company, using your contacts to attach a face to that piece of paper is one way to break out of the pack.”

Laura Cooper, senior vice president of people at Bluecore, agrees. “A personal referral by a current/previous employee of a job seeker’s target company or organization, or from a respected social connection, will be the best method for applying in 2019,” she says. “The link between the referrer and the candidate sends a message to a potential employer of, ‘You know me, I know you and this person, and I vouch that there is a match here.’ It’s an instant credibility-builder.”

FastCompany.com | January 2, 2019

Your #Career : 8 Ways Getting a Job Has Changed In The Last Decade …The Job Market is Perpetually Evolving, which Means if you’ve Been Happily Employed for the Past Decade, it’s Safe to Say that Things are Different Now.

April 29, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

The job market is perpetually evolving, which means if you’ve been happily employed for the past decade, it’s safe to say that things are different now. The way people look for jobs, the interview process and what employees look for are all slightly different now, although your time-tested job hunting and interviewing skills will still serve you well. To help you navigate these changes, Glassdoor is hosting a free livestream on Wednesday, April 25th from 6-7 PM PT.

Read on to get a sneak peek at some of the major ways searching for a job has changed in the past ten years, plus how you can work these shifts to your advantage.

1. It’s Easier to Find Exactly What You’re Looking for

Sure, online job postings were around ten years ago, but job sites have evolved in some major ways. In addition to having a greater volume of postings available online, you can now filter your search — not just for basics like job title and location, but also for salary ranges, date of posting and company size — using tools like Glassdoor’s job search feature. These filters allow you to avoid wasting time sifting through job descriptions that aren’t relevant to you, so you can make the most of your job hunting time.

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

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2. Transparency Is a Priority

2017 was a prime year for whistleblowing at major corporations. While this might not seem relevant to job hunting, the spirit of transparency absolutely crosses over into this arena. According to Glassdoor’s “What’s Ahead for Jobs? Five Disruptions to Watch in 2018” report, it’s likely that more companies will begin to implement transparent hiring practices in order to allow potential hires to feel more clued in during the hiring process. Johnson & Johnson is one of the first companies to make this kind of system a reality, using a new hiring platform that allows candidates to track their application from start to finish, suggests next steps and provides helpful information about the company and role.

Of course, this also means that transparency is expected from candidates, who should be prepared to talk about their reasons for seeking a new job and the challenges they’ve encountered in past roles. And while embellishing your resume was never exactly encouraged, it’s an especially poor moment to try that tactic given today’s climate.

3. Being Well-Informed Is Crucial

Another major trend noted in the disruptions report is that recruiters are especially looking for candidates who have researched the company and are well-informed about the role and the industry they’re applying to work in. One Glassdoor survey found that employers prioritized informed candidates above all others, and that being a high-quality candidate essentially means being an informed one. How does this translate? Use your application and resume to show how much you know about your industry and the job roles you’re applying for, and you’re more likely to see heightened interest in your applications.

4. You Can Job Search (& Apply) Right on Your Phone

Yes, it’s really that easy. That means you can work on your job hunt while you’re standing in line at the grocery store or during your train commute. Five minutes here and there really add up, so this can work to your advantage if you’re searching for a job but have limited free time.

If you have your profile complete on Glassdoor, for example, you can utilize the Easy Apply feature, which allows you to submit an application without leaving the site or even uploading additional documents — a feature that isn’t available on all job sites. And research suggests that mobile job searching will be even hotter in the years to come. One 2015 Pew Research survey found that 28 percent of Americans have used their mobile phone for job searching.

5. Your Skills Matter More Than Your Current Job Title

When updating your resume, it’s important to include not just the names of where you’ve worked and what your job titles have been, but also keywords that highlight your actual skills. Not only does this help recruiters pinpoint what you can actually do, but it also increases the chances of your resume making it to an actual human’s eyes when you apply for a job online. Many large companies utilize resume-scanning software that searches for keywords pertinent to each role, only passing the most relevant resumes along to HR for further review.

Plus, if there are skills you use in your job now that you enjoy using, you can use those as keywords for your job searches. This way, you might be able to find jobs with titles you hadn’t imagined for yourself, but in reality are a great fit for what you’re interested in doing next.

6. Hiring Is Hot — & Not Just for Tech

You might think that the only way to find a new job these days is to become a computer whiz. It’s true that Glassdoor’s 2018 disruptions report found that healthcare and tech jobs are steadily increasing. If you work in either of those industries, you’ll have plenty to choose from in terms of potential roles. These trends probably aren’t too surprising, but what’s especially promising for job hunters in 2018 is that more traditional job roles (think: construction laborers, restaurant waiters and truck drivers) are also in higher demand. While a decade ago it looked like computers, the internet and AI would make traditional job roles redundant, they’re actually on the rise. The takeaway? Don’t let a lack of technical skills discourage you from looking for something new.

7. Feedback Has Become a Major Focus

You may have already experienced that annual performance reviews are becoming less popular, with many companies choosing to do away with them entirely. Now, many businesses are opting to encourage feedback on a more frequent basis through regular check-ins and structured learning opportunities. Once you make it to the interview stage, showing you’re comfortable with receiving feedback, learning new skills and making changes to the way you work based on your organization’s current needs can set you apart from the rest of the candidate pool.

8. You Might Not Have to Leave Your Current Company to Try Something New

Another rising trend, according to Glassdoor’s disruption report, is “role experimentation” programs. While only a few companies have formal programs that allow current employees to try out a completely new job role and eventually transition over to that role full-time (provided it’s a good fit), it’s expected that more will become keen on the idea.

Research shows that one of the key reasons people leave their jobs is that their role no longer fits their skills or interests, and businesses are wising up to the fact that in order to keep their most talented employees — who naturally want to grow and change in their roles — they’ll have to be a little more flexible. If your company doesn’t have a formal program for career changers, check in with your HR department about what company policy on the matter is. You might be surprised by how open they are to role-switching.

GlassDoor.com | April 20, 2018 | Posted by Julia Malacoff

Your #Career : How To Sell Yourself For A Job When You’re #Overqualified …Sometimes Being Too Experienced can Work Against You. Here’s What you Can Do to Prevent that from Happening.

March 24, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

When it comes to job searching, we often hear how difficult it can be for recent graduates, who are somehow expected to have years of experience straight out of school, to even be considered for an entry-level position. What happens when the situation is reversed, and your years of experience begin to work against you? How can job seekers set themselves up for success when recruiters keep telling them they are overqualified for positions they’re interested in?

Hiring managers might challenge you by saying you’ll be bored and leave for a better-suited position, or your compensation expectations won’t be met.

In these situations, your context will influence your course of action. Let’s examine what you can do when you’re considered to be overqualified.

Here, you must explain your motivation for applying to a position that you might seem “overqualified” for on paper. Highlight “how the organization can benefit from your experience, and how taking this position can advance your own skill set,” says Alan Zelnicker, executive recruiter. If the job scope is more narrow and the compensation is less than your old position, you must emphasize what you can contribute in terms of added value and what you can get from the role.

How to respond: Make an important mind shift

Going into any interview, you should always project confidenceand take on the mind-set that recruiters are getting a great deal from you, rather than going in feeling like you’re overqualified for the job. You have to drive the power seat and never feel like you’re getting the short end of the stick. Instead, adopt the mind-set that any company would be lucky to have you! Without seeming arrogant, remind recruiters that the learning curve involved with your onboarding will be cut in half, leaving you more time to learn the organization, and giving you a competitive edge.

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How to respond: Re-evaluate compensation

Managing expectations around compensation is a separate conversation. You need to be realistic and accept that sometimes you’ll need to take a step back. Whenever possible, make a direct touch point with the hiring manager over the phone to talk about compensation. This way, you can form a personal connection, and you can articulate all that you have to offer. As mentioned before, what is the win-win negotiation for you that makes taking a pay cut worthwhile?

SITUATION NO. 2: YOU’RE SWITCHING CAREERS/INDUSTRIES

How to respond: Highlight your new career path

It is not uncommon for people to switch industries or careers. In fact, millennials report switching jobs four times in their first 10 years out of school. When working with recruiters, highlight any new credentials you’ve earned to demonstrate your commitment toward this new path you’re taking. Emphasize your desire to learn and retrain to create a new path forward for yourself.

How to respond: emphasize the rudimentary

Though you may have 20 years of experience in one field, you must demonstrate to recruiters that you’re ready to check your ego at the door and learn about a whole new world. That being said, relevant and rudimentary skills can always be transferable and should be considered as your added value.

How to respond: know your worth

When discussing salary, make sure to mention that you’ve done your research, you’re aware of the industry standards, and are comfortable with what these types of roles typically offer.

“Fall seven times, stand up eight.”–Japanese proverb

What not to do: The worst thing you could do is tell a recruiter you’ll take anything just to get a job. Though this often may be the truth, people want to see that you possess the right enthusiasm and fit for the role. You must always sell your skills and highlight how you are the perfect candidate for the job.

Your resume: If you’re having trouble getting through the door and you think your resume might be the culprit, there are some workarounds to try:

If your resume demonstrates work dating back more than 10 years, consider consolidating your experienceand only keeping what is still relevant today
If you have multiple designations and education, consider only keeping what is relevant to the jobyou’re applying for and removing anything that is redundant
Consider reformatting your resume in a way that tells a new story

If you can demonstrate how a role will help you develop, and show how you can be an asset, then don’t let a recruiter persuade you that you’re overqualified! Remember, you need to maintain your confidence throughout the process and let your resiliency guide you as you continue your search.

This article originally appeared on Glassdoor and is reprinted with permission.

FastCompany.com | March 23, 2018 | BY STACY POLLACK—GLASSDOOR 3 MINUTE READ

Your #Career : 7 Ways To Make It Easier For #Recruiters To Skim Your #Resume …Recruiters Rarely Read your Resume from Start to Finish. Follow these Tips in Order to Grab their Attention Right Away.

March 22, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

It’s easy to think that after all the work you’ve put into perfecting your resume, recruiters will at least spend the time thoroughly reading it from start to finish. Unfortunately, this is usually not the case. Recruiters are generally very busy.

Resume-writing blogger and long-time recruiter Steve Wang says, “During my more busy weeks, sometimes I have to fill as many as 15 positions at once, and when each position gets over 100 applicants, I can only afford to spend a minute or two on each resume.”

So, like anyone faced with a whole lot to do, recruiters take shortcuts. Instead of looking through every single application carefully, they’ll simply skim through each resume to see which ones might be worth taking a closer look at. Because of this, it’s crucial that even a quick glance at your resume will leave readers awestruck. With this in mind, here are some techniques you can dish out to make your resume super easy for recruiters to skim through and understand.

USE STANDARD HEADINGS

I get it, you want to get fancy with your headings to stand out from the pack, but doing so can have the unintended consequence of making your resume way harder to skim. Recruiters are used to reading the same old headers over and over again. If you change “Work Experience” to “Work Background,” that can throw off a recruiter’s rhythm–even by just a little. So when it comes to resume headings, stick with what is tried and true.

DIGITIZE YOUR NUMBERS

When it’s time to decide whether to spell out numbers on your resume, you might find yourself in a dilemma where you’re unsure whether to use APA or MLA style rules to approach this common concern. While it’s great that you’re paying attention to this type of detail, it’s a lot simpler than you think. Just write your numbers as digits to make information like numerical achievements nice and easy to spot. Whether you follow APA or MLA protocol is the least of anyone’s concerns here.

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

Continue of article:

LIST ALL YOUR SKILLS SEPARATELY

Some job applicants like to intertwine their skills with their job experience. If they used skills A, B, and C while working for Job X, they’ll mention those skills in the same section of the resume that describes the job. While this is certainly a fine way to format your resume, it’s still important to have a separate section that lists out all your skills in their entirety.

USE SHORT BULLET POINTS

One to two lines is an okay length for bullet points. If they get any longer, not only will your resume become more difficult to understand, but it can also hint that you’re trying to get at too many different things at once. Instead, keep your bullet points short, sweet, and to the point.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT TEMPLATE

Some resume templates do a far better job than others at making your content aesthetically pleasing and easy to understand. Make sure that the template you use is taking full advantage of techniques like bolding, USING ALL CAPS, italics, underlining, and even colors to make information like job titles, company names, and dates more distinguishable from one another.

Here’s what I mean:

Job title, Company Name, New York, NY May 2016–Present

This would be considered hard to read. While everything is bolded and italicized to differentiate the entire line from the rest of the resume, individually, the job title, company name, location, and date are hard to distinguish.

Job title, Company Name, NEW YORK, NY May 2016–Present

Here the formatting is far superior. The job title, company name, location, and date all have their own unique style, which makes everything much easier to discern.

If you’re ever unsure about whether a particular resume template might be easier to skim than another, simply test them out by skimming them yourself.

ALIGN DATES TO THE RIGHT

Keeping all your dates to the right allows you to create a clear timeline of your resume. If a recruiter wants to check to see if you have any work gaps, all the recruiter needs to do is look over to the right and all the dates will be lined up as clear as day.

BEGIN EACH JOB DESCRIPTION WITH A SUMMARY

In some cases, even though each individual bullet point on a resume may be easy to comprehend, sometimes they don’t paint a clear picture of the job applicant collectively when put together. This difficulty is exacerbated when bullet points describe assorted one-off achievements at a particular job. To alleviate this issue, it’s often a good idea to use your first bullet point to give a short summary describing what the core of your job is all about. This way, recruiters can better contextualize how your later bullet points fit into the bigger picture of what you do.

Getting recruiters to thoroughly read your resume is a luxury you have to earn. By making your resume more skimmable for recruiters, you’ll position yourself as a strong candidate worthy of being taken seriously.

This post originally appeared on Glassdoor and is reprinted with permission.

FastCompany.com | March 22, 2018 | BY PETER YANG—GLASSDOOR 4 MINUTE READ

Tag Archive for: #resumecontent #resumemistakes

Posts

Flex that structure

Busting resume myths

Show me the data

Befriend the bots

Thinking differently about LinkedIn

WHERE TO LOOK AND WHAT TO EXPECT

SKILL SHIFT

LOOKING FOR DIVERSITY AND EQUITY

MORE TEMP TO HIRE

OPPORTUNITIES WITH EXISTING EMPLOYERS

THE CONTINUED IMPORTANCE OF NETWORKING

1. It’s Easier to Find Exactly What You’re Looking for

2. Transparency Is a Priority

3. Being Well-Informed Is Crucial

4. You Can Job Search (& Apply) Right on Your Phone

5. Your Skills Matter More Than Your Current Job Title

6. Hiring Is Hot — & Not Just for Tech

7. Feedback Has Become a Major Focus

8. You Might Not Have to Leave Your Current Company to Try Something New

SITUATION NO. 2: YOU’RE SWITCHING CAREERS/INDUSTRIES

USE STANDARD HEADINGS

DIGITIZE YOUR NUMBERS

LIST ALL YOUR SKILLS SEPARATELY

USE SHORT BULLET POINTS

CHOOSE THE RIGHT TEMPLATE

ALIGN DATES TO THE RIGHT

BEGIN EACH JOB DESCRIPTION WITH A SUMMARY