Make your resume ‘searchable’
The hunted have become the hunters as the job market has switched from heaven to hell for those seeking work.
‘We are seeing automated systems that scan resumes and then spit out a shortlist’
It’s a jungle out there. If you haven’t visited it for a while, you may find that the job market landscape has changed dramatically since your last tour.
Only a few months ago it was a candidate’s paradise, but now expect an employer’s wildest fantasy-a smorgasbord of job hunters with a heavy skills menu from which to pick and choose. Where once there were a plethora of positions, coveted spots are now rare. Forget trying to bluff your way into higher pay-employers now have their magnifying glasses out inspecting each candidate with renewed vigour.
Those are just the changes in the past 90 days. To job seekers entering the market after being made redundant from long-held positions, this new world of recruitment agencies and online social networking may seem alien. Forget notions of hand-delivering resumes or even posting in hard-copies-many companies will only take electronic submissions and abhor personal presentations.
But the essence of the hunt hasn’t changed-it’s a slow, laborious dance between someone who wants to work and someone looking for a worker.
Hines Management Consultants executive director Geoff Hines says he has seen relentless change in the recruitment industry since he started the business in 1983.
He’s seen the public service transformed through a recruitment program of private sector business leaders. He’s also seen women take high-ranking management roles with increasing frequency.
“There have been so many comings and goings in the employment market,’’ he says. “There have been a number of downturns in 25 years and where once being made redundant was seen by employers as a stigma, it is not at all any more. On occasions I have had entire shortlists of people who have been made redundant. Employers understand now that redundancy is not the fault of the worker, it’s just something their employer had to do.’’
And he’s witnessed technology take over the process. “The major thing that has changed is when I started there was no email or even fax machines, so everything was sent by mail. Now 99.5 per cent of applications come through email,’’ he says.
Web marketing consultancy Top Left Designs owner Greg Tomkins says the use of social networks and viral marketing in the employment market is only in its infancy, but is quickly growing.
“The catchphrase is that it’s gone Web 2.0-meaning that recruiters and employers are using social networking technology to supplement traditional websites,’’ Tomkins says.
“I have heard of some companies getting 50 per cent of their new staff from Facebook contact. At the moment it is still largely driven by the traditional search websites.’’
Technology dinosaurs need to adapt to the new world of online job search and resume scanning software.
“Change the way you thought you should be writing a resume. Nowadays we are seeing automated systems that scan resumes and then spit out a shortlist. They search for keywords, look for particular skills,’’ he says.
“I visited an employer six months ago who said he spends 90 seconds reviewing a resume. That was scary. It is very hard to get noticed.
“A lot of the search systems come with standard dictionaries (of words for which they are searching), and then users can dictate the terms they want to find. It is hard to find out what words the systems might use, because often the organisation is not named in the job ad, and invariably they are light on detail.
Talk to the recruitment consultant or employer, and ask direct and specific questions about the role, and ask them to describe their expectations. Research the industry and find relevant words to use.”
Edmunds Paterson’s Ian Edmunds says because new technology makes it easy for information to be circulated, it’s important job seekers know how to protect their privacy. That means knowing exactly where and to whom a recruiter is going to display your work history.
“Don’t lose your sense of ownership over your CV,’’ Edmunds says. “Make sure it is not going to get copied and sent far and wide.’’
