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#JobSearch : What Is The Magic Number For How Many Résumés To Send Out? For Some, The Answer Exceeds 500. What’s Your Number?

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The job market can be challenging for job seekers, and many factors can impact their ability to find new employment. However, it is essential for them to be persistent and to continue to apply for jobs that are the right fit for their skills, experience and background, as the application process is a numbers game.

But how many résumés must a job seeker submit to be successful in their quest for a new role? For some people, the number has soared beyond 500 job applications, according to Bloomberg.

This data point illustrates how tough it is for Americans to find a new job in this current economy. Some may send out hundreds of résumés without receiving any offers. Job hunters must also contend with rejections, ghosting and rude treatment along the way.

 

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What Skill Sets Do You Have to be ‘Sharpened‘?

 

Did you know?  First Sun Consulting, Llc (FSC) is celebrating over 32 years in delivering corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, the UK, & Mexico!   Visit us @ www.firstsun.com  OR Ask for a Quote for Services at  info@firstsun.com

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

 

Article continued …

Why Is It So Difficult?

The days of the Great Resignation are long gone—when workers held all the bargaining power and were quickly hired to meet business demands. With employers now having the upper hand in the labor market, they are being picky. Companies have hyperspecific job requirements for candidates, and if they fail to meet all of these requisites, they are out of contention for the role.

Employers are slow-walking the hiring process, as they are in cost-cutting mode. Research by human capital advisory firm Josh Bersin Company and workforce solutions business AMS found that the duration for global hiring is at an “all-time high.” Many positions remain vacant for two to three months or more, which the report calls “unsustainable if companies are to remain competitive and keep pace with the fast-changing needs of their industry.”

Employers will still post job listings to appear as if the company is growing and thriving, but in reality, it’s a ploy to gain a pipeline of résumés for the future, when circumstances improve.

By receiving high volumes of résumés, corporations can get a good sense of the labor market. Knowing that there are more job seekers than positions open to them, in their industry and at their skill level, employers may degrade their pay scale because of supply and demand.

Some companies are just not hiring at the pace in which they did in the past. This is due to various factors, such as economic uncertainty or decreased consumer spending.

People are desperately applying for any job, even if they’re not qualified. It’s a case of “shooting their shot” or “spraying and praying” their résumé everywhere, hoping that they will eventually get a company’s attention.

The Job Market Has Softened For White-Collar Professionals

Hiring managers are hesitant to hire new employees if they are concerned about the state of the economy. They may be worried about having to lay off workers, if the economic outlook continues to dampen.

As we approach the holiday season, the hiring pace begins to stall, as key decision-makers are out of the office and may not be as focused on hiring new employees.

The job market has cooled considerably compared to 2021. Layoffs, hiring freezes and pullbacks in certain sectors, like tech, have reduced opportunities. For instance, over 1,000 companies have laid off more than 246,000 professionals in the tech industry, according to Layoff.fyi.

Job Hunters May Need To Rethink Their Strategy

If you are not gaining traction in your job search after months of trying, it’s time to take stock of what you’ve been doing. It makes sense to conduct a self-assessment and audit of your job search strategy to determine if you are self-sabotaging.

Take a fresh look at your résumé, LinkedIn profile and social media presence. On the logistics side, you must ensure that your grammar, punctuation and spelling are accurate. Remember to include a phone number and email address so people can contact you. Poorly formatted résumés could be reducing callbacks

Your responsibilities, past accomplishments and achievements should jump out at the reader and make them take notice. Be specific and quantify your success with data, numbers and examples. Ensure that your résumé, LinkedIn profile, elevator pitch, social media profiles and postings highlight your success, brand and core responsibilities. Let the reader know what you want to do next, so that they understand your goals.

If you bombard a company with résumés and application submissions for over a dozen different job listings, this approach will epically fail. The human resources and talent acquisition professionals will assume that you’re taking a scattershot approach to your job search and couldn’t care less about the job or company. To them, it’s like you’re throwing things against the wall and hoping it sticks.

Forbes.com | October 31, 2023 | Jack Kelly 

#JobSearch : How To Leverage AI And Use ChatGPT In Your Job Search, According To Résumé Writers And Career Coaches. A MUst REad!

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ChatGPT has taken the world by storm. The chatbot saw a meteoric rise, gaining 1 million users within the first five days of its November 30, 2022 launch. By January, it became the fastest-growing platform with 100 million users, reaching 1 billion visits in February alone. To put ChatGPT’s ascendency into perspective, it took social media app Twitter five years to reach 100 million users, while Instagram took 2 ½ years after its launch and TikTok nine months.

ChatGPT’s resonance with its global users and overnight success can be attributed mainly to the chatbot’s many uses and its human capability. OpenAI’s technology platform managed to score in the 90th percentile on both the college-entry SATs and the attorney bar exam.

Cutting-Edge Job Seekers See An Advantage To Using ChatGPT

Forward-thinking job seekers are also leveraging artificial intelligence in their job searches. According to a February survey from ResumeBuilder.com of 1,000 current and recent job hunters, nearly half (46%) of job seekers are using the chatbot to craft their résumés or cover letters.

Seventy percent of respondents saw a higher response rate from companies when using ChatGPT. Seventy-eight percent of candidates who used the chatbot scored interviews, while nearly six in 10 job hunters were hired after using the AI tool during their application process.

However, it is worth mentioning that 11% of job seekers were rejected once it was learned from the hiring company that the candidate used ChatGPT.

With the AI platform disrupting the job search, I spoke with career coaches about the manner in which they were advising job seekers on how to gain a competitive advantage by using ChatGPT to streamline and guide the application and interview process.

 

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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 32 years in delivering corporate & individual outplacement services & programs to over 1200 corporate clients in the U.S., Canada, the UK, & Mexico!   Visit & contact us @ www.firstsun.com

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

 

Article continued …

Here’s What Career Coaches Are Saying About The Benefits Of ChatGPT And Some Challenges

Hannah Morgan, Job Search Strategist

“ChatGPT is empowering job seekers. It can provide answers to their specific questions beyond what a basic Google search will find (articles and videos). For example, ChatGPT can help develop a list of questions a job seeker can ask during an informational meeting. It can help job seekers identify alternative job titles in a new industry. It can even help them make a career shift to something totally different. Plus, it helps get rid of writer’s block. It can craft a rough draft of a cover letter, thank you note or even a follow-up email.”

Samantha Foster, Executive Recruiter

“ChatGPT is a great ‘complementary’ tool. I just started using it and it cuts the time I spend rewriting boring job descriptions and preparing better interview questions. For candidates, it is definitely helping them stay organized when applying to and interviewing for several positions simultaneously.”

Sweta Regmi, Career And Résumé Strategist/ Interview And Branding Coach

“Job seekers have the power to use AI just the way employers have been using it for years for recruiting.

I tested ChatGPT as a job seeker by providing the prompt. I asked ChatGPT to identify core competencies based on the targeted role and added four job postings. Now, I have the resources with soft skills and hard skills to create a résumé. It helped me understand my strength, weakness, opportunities and threat (SWOT) to self-reflect.

As an employer, I created job descriptions to test out. It saved me time on productivity. I still have to have knowledge of HR and employment laws in my country and city. AI can only help if you have the skills or knowledge.”

Marti Konstant, Workforce And Career Agility Trainer And Writer

“Use AI as your personal genius bar and you will not lose jobs to robots. You will only lose out to those who embrace AI.

AI use cases for job search: conduct job research; compare your transferable skills to open up ideas for new role possibilities; create project planning examples to demonstrate your understanding of the work requirements; extract language and requirements from job description to use in your job search process and ATS; develop branding phrases and talking points that integrate your competencies and strengths; feed in your accomplishments, milestones and your “about” section via LinkedIn (requires specific prompt crafting) and identify case studies in your area of expertise (digital marketing, product development and learning and development) and include these in your written and verbal talking points during the outreach or interview process.”

Ruth Sternberg, Job Search And Résumé Writer

“AI can help you when you’re preparing your materials for a job search by providing a compilation or list of expectations from job postings, all in one place; providing rough organization of your career history—an outline to give you somewhere to start and helping you identify new job possibilities.

When you feed it your résumé, you can ask to see jobs that seem to align with it. ChatGPT can give you a list of what’s important for a particular role, based on descriptions and other developed material, so you can compare your own job history to see if you match up. You also can ask the software to suggest ways you could improve what you’ve written based on a particular job. It can help you determine what types of jobs match a particular college major.

It also could translate résumés into other languages; add keywords from a particular industry and help you spot incongruities or flag unusual claims in your narrative to prompt a fact check.”

Virginia Franco, LinkedIn And Résumé Writer

“I see AI tools serving as powerful tools for job seekers, who will be able to use it to support interview prep and even outreach. AI could disrupt ATS systems as we know them! I’ve tested it out by plugging in the résumé I wrote and a job posting and asking it to write a cover letter. It provided a great start, but a so-so final product. Once I edited it, it was good!”

Adrienne Tom, Executive Résumé And LinkedIn Profile Writer

“Job seekers must understand the limitations of AI. Content is not always accurate, customized, or personalized. So, AI support may only be a starting point or a booster, not the complete solution. The output of AI is typically only as good as the input or questions it is asked. So knowing what to ask is critical.”

Shennee Rutt, Executive Résumé Writer And Career Strategist

“I think as AI evolves, and more shortcuts from writing a résumé, applying for a job, interviewing could potentially eliminate highly qualified candidates due to bias in scripted computer-generated content. It also removes the “human” in human resources and talent acquisition. Since humans write the codes, it could be biased and adversely impact job hunters.If the human-being who writes the code has biased discrimination and it is interpreted in the code written, this could impact candidates and job seekers with disabilities or pre-existing conditions.”

 

Forbes.com Author Jack Kelly :  Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website or some of my other work here.

 

Forbes.com | April 3, 2023 | Jack Kelly

#BestofFSCBlog : 5 Resume Hacks To Pass ATS. Applicant Tracking System (ATS) Software Scans Resumes to Weed Out Applicants. A MUST REad!

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Applicant tracking system (ATS) software scans resumes and cover letters to weed out applicants based on factors set by the employer. This can include keywords, design and layout, length, and salary requirements. If your resume doesn’t make the cut, you won’t be asked for an interview.

Other companies direct applicants to apply online using one-word or drop-down responses and auto-fill resume features. One wrong response and, presto, you’re out!

This process can be incredibly frustrating to job seekers. Especially for those that are qualified for the position. With 98% of Fortune 500 companies use an ATS to vet credentials, it isn’t going anywhere soon. But there are some things you can do to increase your odds of passing ATS.

1. Focus on keywords. Read the job description thoroughly and circle keywords. Present keywords and phrases throughout your resume — but be honest! Here are tips on how to use ATS keywords on your resume.

  • Always include the company’s name and the exact position title on your resume.
  • Include a few role-specific keywords in the education and hard skills portion of your resume. Copy and paste keywords, not sentences from the job description. Include action verbs and specific skills from the job posting.
  • Do an internet search for relevant industry keywords to include. Compare the job posting to similar job announcements to pull keywords.
  • Don’t stuff your resume with keywords. Remember, at some point a real human being is going to read your resume.
  • Never lie about your abilities. If you cannot back it up, don’t write it down.

2. Stay away from PDFs. Often ATS misses pdfs, so use a Word document instead.

3. Ditch your headshot. Unless the posting specifically asks for a headshot, it is not necessary. Instead make sure your LinkedIn and social sites include a professional photograph. (And clean up anything on your social sites you wouldn’t want your employer to see … 67% of employers screen candidates using social.)

4. Avoid overused jargon or buzzwords. Never use clichés or overused phrases such as “self-starter” or “attention to detail.” Use a show, don’t tell approach on your resume and cover letter. Instead of “I am a self-starter,” write “I initiated a company-wide volunteer program that resulted in 1500 prepared lunches for school age children in impoverished areas.”

5. Avoid fancy graphic designs. Be basic. Use bullets to get your points across. Be succinct. Make sure that the information on your resume is easy to find and easy to read. In positions where design matters, you’ll be asked to present a portfolio where you can showcase your style.

Eventually, your resume will be read by a person. So, you want to be sure that it is easy to navigate, readable, professional, and includes information pertinent to human eyes … not just ATS. Here are some tips:

1. Highlight relevant experience. Make it easy for recruiters to pick out relevant experience over longevity of experience.

2. Use bullet points and short sentences. Hiring managers and recruiters spend an average of six seconds reading your resume.

3. Include a link to your LinkedIn profile. While you’re at it, update your LinkedIn profile especially concerning dates! (Pro tip: update your LinkedIn profile URL so that it is your name: example https://www.linkedin.com/in/yourname/).

4. Include a link to your portfolio, personal website, or social media sites. Make sure to include or include links to relevant and requested information. Not every position will require a portfolio, but if yours does, you better include a link.

 

Like this Article?  Share It!    You now can easily enjoy/follow/share Today our Award-Winning Articles/Blogs with Now Over 2.5 Million Growing Participates Worldwide in our various Social Media formats below:

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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?

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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, the UK, & Mexico!  

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

 

Article continued …

Just as there are things to include, there are aspects of a resume to ditch. Here are some tips to tighten up your resume:

1. Omit your GPA. Unless you recently graduated magna cum laude, there is no need to include your GPA. Work experience is more relevant.

2. Don’t include every job you’ve ever had. Part-time jobs, non-relevant jobs, and side hustles should not be included unless they specifically demonstrate why you’re qualified for the position.

3. Avoid discriminating against yourself. Unfortunately, age discrimination is real and it is really easy to slip information about your age onto your resume. Here are some tips to age-proof your resume:

  • Avoid using AOL and Hotmail email domains. Register for a new email on Gmail that is succinct such as your first and last name.
  • Remove graduation dates from your education section. De-emphasize irrelevant degrees. Instead, highlight relevant training and experience.
  • Avoid including jobs that are older than 15 years.

Job hunting is a laborious process, but you can increase your odds of an interview by following a few common sense tips. Also, be sure to use spell and grammar checks. Independently check for types (pro tip: read your resume backward so your eye catches typos more easily).  You can’t trick an ATS, but you can increase your odds of getting your resume in front of HR or a recruiter.

 

Forbes.com | December 12, 2022 | Ashley Stahl