Download - Career Hacking: Episode 1 - Resume Hacking
Career HackingEpisode 1: Resume Hacking
Rarely do job seekers submit paper
copies of their resumes and
applications anymore. Electronic
submissions are now the norm, and
this changes things for you job
seekers.
What happens to your resume
after you click submit?
You need to understand these
changes and be strategic in how
you craft your resume in order to
increase your chances of getting
noticed among the hundreds of
other applicants.
What is Resume Parsing?
Resume Parsing
In simple terms, resume parsing
is using software to scan and sort
resumes by comparing the
resume content to keyword
searches prepared by a recruiter.
Resume Parsing
So when you upload your resume to
sites like Indeed, Monster, or
LocalWork.com, your resume goes
into a database and the computer
scans it, looking for information in four
categories:
•Education
•Work experience
•Contact information
•Skills
Resume Parsing
The computer determines which
words in your resume fall under each
category, and then organizes them
into the correct fields in your record.
Based on the specific keywords and
phrases that are the recruiter’s top
priorities, each resume is scored
from 0-100 and put in ranking order.
Resume Parsing
Systems like these save employers a ton
of time; many companies receive
hundreds of resumes per open position.
By letting a computer do the filtering,
recruiters can focus on the top-ranking
candidates.
However, resume parsing is not perfect!
Resume Parsing
The majority of resumes are never
even looked at by real people
because they only end up looking at
the ones the computer determined are
probably the best for the position. This
results in some highly qualified
candidates missing out because their
resumes lacked the right keywords.
Resume Parsing
Knowing this is how resume parsing
works, you need to prepare your resume
in such a way that it gets ranked as high
on the list as possible.
What’s the key to getting your resume
to the top?
Resume hacking.
Here’s what to do.
Step 1: Find 3 ideal job descriptions
Step 1
The roadmap for what a company is
looking for in a candidate is their job
description. Most likely, this is what
they will be using when selecting the
keywords and phrases their computer
will search for. So your first step is to
find postings for 3 dream jobs that you
would like to do and that you are
qualified for.
Step 1
Online job searches nowadays are very
advanced and complex.The right job is
out there for everybody, you just have to
find it. To find the right job, try a variety of
searches using different job titles, skills,
keywords, and phrases. Keep trying until
you find what you’re looking for!
Step 2: Compare skills and requirements
Step 2
Once you have your ideal job
descriptions, create a
spreadsheet in which each job
gets 1 column. Copy and paste
the requirements, skills, and
some of the responsibilities from
the 3 jobs into the corresponding
columns.
Step 2
Once everything is in the
spreadsheet, highlight all of the
information about required
experience levels, work history,
industry of experience, or vertical
experience in green.
Step 2
Next, go through and highlight
anything about education
requirements in a different
color.
Step 2
Third, highlight all of the skills they are
looking for in these positions in yellow.
When reading through skills, many times skills
listed are very broad or they include a lot of soft
skills. For your resume, the kind that will stand out
the most are the more specific, hard skills. Sift
through the job descriptions and pick these out to
use in your resume.
Step 3: Tailor your resume to include
the same keywords
Step 3
Now that you’ve picked out exactly
what those companies are looking for
in job candidates, you need to modify
your resume to include those same
keywords and phrases.
Remember, computers will be scanning your
resume looking for very specific words, so you
need to tailor your resume to the exact same way
the job description was written.
Step 3
If a job description states that they are
looking for a high level of proficiency
in MS 365, Sharepoint, Photoshop,
and Illustrator, then those are the
exact words you need to have on your
resume.
Step 3
Why? Because the resume parser is
looking for the relevancy and density of
your resume, and if those specific words
were in the job description, that’s a sign
that those skills are important to the
company and they will likely be looking
for that through resume parsing. That
being said, don’t go overboard. Avoid
copying full sentences or paragraphs
onto your resume.
Don’t use the same resume for every job!
Step 3
Modify your resume for each position
you apply for according to what their
job descriptions say. This may seem
like a lot of work to you, but
remember—all this effort is worth it to
get more attention and up your
chances of getting an interview.
Resume Hacking is the first episode of our
Career Hacking video series on YouTube.
Hit Next to watch it now
or visit this link:
https://youtu.be/dg6N7MqhIr4