Keywords are your resume's best friend

Things we know already:

*85% of jobs are NOT advertised. (Why is that?)
*Advertised jobs rarely lead to a call or an interview. (Again - why is that?)
*95% of advertised jobs get a minimum of 500 resumes during this economy - even unqualified/ underqualified people are slipping their resumes in "just in case something I'm qualified for" magically pops up. (Not much bugs resume sifters more than sifting through a fresh batch of email resumes with "Brain Surgeon Application" in the subject and "#1 McEmployee in August last year" in the first paragraph of the resume - trust me, it's a sure way to get your resume deleted if not your email address blacklisted too!)

Have you seen Up in the Air yet? Great movie, I loved it but then again any reason to see George Clooney dance or look studly in a tux is what I live for these days (he was great in Men Who Stare At Goats too.)  Why did I mention it? Well, the movie centres around this theme of taking the human contact element of things that require a human element, in that case it was firing people by a new remote program that had been developed. (I won't tell you any more except that I would love to go to a wedding with George. Really good movie - see it if you haven't.) For me, it's a coin toss whether the lack of a human element is worse than stupid human element, but that's another post. Here's what I mean:

You'll notice Big Companies out there placing ads on Big Job Boards that cost serious coin. Here you are. You do your job search on a jobsite and pull up yet another ad from The Humungous Corporation and think "well, frig, I registered and uploaded my resume last month and the month before that and they sent me a generic 'no thanks' e-letter. WTH is up with that? I was perfect for that job? Why didn't I get a call?"

I hear you, it's frustrating as heck, isn't it? There are a few reasons you're getting that e-letter, and trust me when I tell you that the headhunting and recruiting business is guilty of all of this as well (and you were right when you were cussing your suspicions into your coffee!) There are a number of possibilities but the biggies are:

1. There is no job.
Nope. No job but either Big Company is planning on expanding or recruiting for a similar position in the future, they want to keep their database full of potentials. They may or may not be trying to look busy to the competition.

2. You used your Standard Resume that you send to everybody else.
YOU knew when you applied that you had everything they were asking for in a perfect candidate - why didn't they call you? What a slap in the face! Who needs to work for them anyway? (You do. That's why you applied.) It's a great resume, maybe you spent a lot of money getting somebody to do it for you but...

This is where Hot Recruiter Mom is going to repeatedly say over and over TAILOR EACH RESUME and HAVE MORE THAN 1 RESUME. This is also where Up in the Air comes in - who exactly are you sending your resume in to?

Big Job Boards and Recruiting Companies cost money. Big money. So Big Company and the rest of them thought they'd beat the system by bypassing the Job Boards and Recruiters as much as possible. They invested in things like Taleo who are online resume processing/ database systems. Taleo is costly too, but Big Companies thought they were being wickedly self serving by indulging in their own internal database system. (NOTE: At least good recruiters not only talk to the owners of the resumes, but we guarantee our hires too - another plus for Big Companies to work with us. When we're niche & specific (like me), we're worth our weight in gold to Big Companies - we already had you in our system and could've had you in to them for 2 interviews by the time they posted and "processed" the shout out for the job!)

The thing is, that 90% of qualified people are being passed over because of these non-human database systems. It's an electronic game of match-up.The humans aren't around to puruse the resumes and see what matches. The database system has been programmed to scan for KEYWORDS. If they aren't on a resume, the resume gets stored and collects cyberdust somewhere. That's where your resumes are right now.

What you need to do is to check each and every ad and make sure those KEYWORDS are on your resume somewhere. What I used to teach in my basic resumes 101 classes was to copy/paste the job requisites and paste them in the "Summary of Qualifications" part of the resume. Somebody has carefully scripted a wishlist of qualifications, so to have an internal database pick up the resume to be looked at by a human being, a carefully re-crafted summary of qualifications will nail that part. That works for the not-so professional jobs. For anything that requires special degrees or computer programs or experience that you have, make sure that you mention exactly those terms as often as possible ie: whenever you used them on a job or got the certification.

On the other end, somebody who is going to look through those resumes is logging in and pushing a couple of buttons to tell the database system to go through all those new emails and see who qualifies. Keep in mind, whoever is doing the resume grunt-work is probably not an expert in what you do. If they're not using a database and only scanning emails or faxes, their beady little eyes are looking for whatever is on the job description they were handed. They probably have no clue or interest in any of what you do, have or did. They're just trying to play match-up.

So lets say database makes some matches. Resume Scanner Person opens it up and all of those database pre-programmed words are highlighted. Resume Scanner Person decides whether to pursue it further. You can be put into the YES pile or NO pile before your resume even gets seen by human eyes simply because of the KEYWORDS - or lack of them! How cool is that? Not, to the job searcher. (I'll rant about HR people, God love'em, some other time.)

Think of how many qualified people are going ignored because of the lack of human contact! That's unfortunately the name of the game. Now it's up to you to beat them at their own game.

For each and every resume you submit, make sure the KEYWORDS are in your resume and cover letter.

Did you really want that job? REALLY REALLY? Then phone the company politely ask for the person in charge for recruiting for that job. Talk to them. See if they saw your resume. Ask for feedback. Expect different scenarios and have the return question.They hired? Do they expect any other positions in the future? They haven't started interviewing yet? Ask to speak with the Hiring Manager. Politely. (But if you don't have the KEYWORDS in your resume, don't expect to hear much more than "you don't seem quaified".) Be nice. The person on the other end of the phone could be your new best friend!

Two thumbs up - you're awesome and a Hireable Desirable. Everybody has something to offer employers. There ARE jobs out there, the choice is up to you!







A poignant view of what's happening out there AND a look at my secret dream of kissing George Clooney on the steps in high school. *sigh*












If your library or employment centre don't have these available to use, this is a pretty good program to easily make a resume and be able to change your KEYWORDS for each resume.













You can download the first chapter on the author's website. I've just ordered this one too. It's about focus and keeping your eye on the prize. It works on jobs, relationships, and all the good stuff we want out of life.

Survival Jobs

Jobs are a hot commodity.
So are you.

It's hard to keep a positive frame of mind when it seems like it's slim pickins out there. Sometimes we have to start looking for the Plan B while Plan A is panning out, or even to take a whole new route to a whole new destination.

No, I'm not saying give up looking for Your Job. I'm saying that while you're waiting, the bills need to be paid and food put on the table. That's where "Survival Jobs" come in.

A lot of us need to take what I call a "survival job" while we're waiting for the "real job" to happen. Maybe we've been made obsolete, been let go, just out of college - there are a ton of reasons why we're on career hold.
Survival jobs are usually where you would be in your free time - shopping or getting a coffee - only on the other side of the counter and maybe wearing the dreaded uniform (Shudder. Been there. Done that. Lots.).
The good thing is that these jobs pay the bills and take the heat off panic mode for awhile. Another good thing is a lot of these survival job places offer benefits and insurances that sitting at home worrying doesn't provide. (I'd be a millionaire if THAT paid off!)
It's nothing any of us want to do but when the crunch is on, what the heck. You always looked good in orange baseball caps, right? It's all in the perception and here are a few tips to keep your perspective.

1. The thing you have to keep in mind is that no matter what anybody else says (ie: in one of those standard, vague, letters of rejection) or doesn't say (ie: Why isn't that phone ringing to say they're hiring me?), you're needed and valuable.
2. If you're in a job finding slump and you've done all the traditional "take a break, take a walk, take a bubblebath" things, then take a step back and see what you can tweek.
3. Your resume - how many do you have? Your PhD is going to look mighty pretentious to the Hiring Dude at the 24 Hour U-Mart. It might be time to create a new one. In fact have a look at what's out there that you feel you might be qualified for and create a whole new resume for it.
4. Make sure in the Summary of Qualifications that you're mentioning what they're looking for in their ad especially if the ad was on the net. KEYWORDS are what are in the ad, KEYWORDS are what internal databases read from incoming resumes, KEYWORDS are what the person who is sighing through the hundreds/thousands of resumes is looking for.
5. Don't be afraid to put "re-entering the workforce" if you think it'll boost your chances of not being overlooked. You might have been on parental leave or making a career change for all anyone knows; the idea is to make your resume so enticing that they just have to bring you in for an interview to ask why. Remember, you want an interview and then you can sell yourself. Get that interview first.
6. No, you're not "too old" or "over qualified". Semantics. It's all in the words you choose. If you're trying to get a job in retail, think like a retail person thinks. "Mature work ethic" is a boon to any employer whether you're 16 or 116, and that's just one of the great qualities that a lifetime of experience in Life 101 gives you as a career boost.
7. If your gut tells you you might be "overqualified" instead of "perfect!", put your status a few sections below, if at all, under "Other experience" and chunk it down if you need to.
8. Are you willing to relocate or commute? Let'em know.
9. Do you have any related experience? See if you can reword it. Don't forget that "Sanitation Engineer" is the new "Garbage Man" on a resume and vice versa.
10. Check your nearest library for resume books. If you're editing down it's good to see other examples. The internet isn't alwasy the best place for free advice on this one. Go to the library or an employment centre, see what you like that you can apply to yourself.
11. No, it might not be your dream job but if you feel bad about your resume it's going to reflect somehow. Love your resume or make one that you can.
12. Survival jobs are not the end of you or the end of the world. They're not permanent. Whatever you learn will probably come in handy; whatever you have to offer will definitely come in handy. Like, remember that co-worker or boss that irked you before? They're everywhere, just in a different form. You have the skills to deal with them wherever they may pop up in life. No problem, right? "CAN DO!"
13. YOU ARE NOT YOUR RESUME. None of us are. It's just a summary of some of the things we're capable of. And we're always capable of more, better, transforming and morphing into better - it's the nature of that beast we call Life. Which leads me to
14. It's ok not to put everything you did as President at XYZ company on a resume applying for Local Call Centre. Tweek it to reflect all the great customer service skills you provide but not necessarily that you managed global marketing to the tune of 3.7 billion dollars.
15. If you can join a support group or job leads/ networking group, jump in! Not only does misery love company, there are nuggets of wisdom, job leads (hopefully someone will be complaining about being interviewed by Candii with two i's who is a manager at 22) and inspiration, AND more often than not, free coffee!
16. If you've decided to wait it out for the dream job, think about the scenariothat is unfolding. Somewhere, right now the dynamics are in motion for you to get that job. Either a company is getting more orders and building up the feasibility to hire you or...somebody's getting pregnant or moving somewhere else so you can move into that job or somebody's screwing up so they'll be fired - the scenarios are endless - rest assured that ineveitably the forces are in motion. Keep breathing and sending out those resumes!
17. None of this is forever. Chin up. Smile on. How's your resume collection going?

More on the nitty gritty details of resumes in upcoming posts.

Two thumbs up - you're awesome and a Hireable Desirable. Everybody has something to offer employers. There ARE jobs out there, the choice is up to you!
Today's Survival Job recipes are at http://www.drtoast.com/departments/toast-recipes. It'll take your mind of the job search for a few minutes and hopefully put at least a tiny grin on your face for a few minutes - it put one on mine!


Search Amazon.com for job hunters survival guide