For those of you who have read The Street Smart Approach to Job Search many of these observations or techniques will be familiar.
Surviving Round One
Let’s start with the gatekeepers, screeners or whatever term an organization uses. There are two types; machines and humans. I’m obviously referring to computer based systems in regards to machines. The computerized systems are set up in a classic if...then program. While the sophistication of technology has improved greatly in the last ten years, it isn’t anywhere near a true artificial intelligence level to replace the hiring managers experiences or biases. Keyword search is the rule of thumb, so you need to ensure that those keywords are in the resume. The information that you include must be accurate, so make sure you can display what you have presented. The desired keywords can be found in several areas. Look at what they’re asking for in the job posting or Want Ad. If you have what they are requesting review your resume to make sure the words are in there. Research further into the company’s Web site to see what other useful information can be obtained to include in the resume, cover letter or electronic text that you’ll be submitting.
Remember, all of this information will be scanned and stored, don’t bury the information and don’t get fancy. Keep it simple. Scanning refers to human or computer. Even the hiring manager will scan your resume before he/she actually reads it.
Follow all of the rules to get into the system, and then research the organization and network to get to the decision maker to bend the rules. You need to make sure that the right person says yes or no before moving on.
Examples of effective words
First, make sure that the technology words are a match. Again, using information from the posting or Web site will provide those specific words. Some of the following are the supportive, function or application vocabulary*. (* Molly Joss, “Choose your words carefully when crafting a resume”, TechRepublic 2/11/05)
- Researched
- Tested
- Improved by... (Followed by quantitative results)
- Evaluated
- Managed
- Decreased/Reduced/Consolidated
- Supervised
- Created
- Trained
Surviving Round Two
Yippee, you made it to the hiring manager’s desk! You’ve gotten this far by following and/or bending the rules. In this phase the manager will have your resume along with the parties in Round One. Many companies have a policy of “If you’re not in the system; you don’t exist”. You’re saving everyone the time and trouble of using that as a barrier of your progress. Again, the process of exclusion or elimination occurs quickly. Now your task is staying in the loop to get the interview. Having researched the company or networked to know more about the hiring manager’s background or needs will pay off at this level.
Only the manager really knows what he or she is really looking for. Their work and life experiences will influence their decisions. Remember, biases can be positive or negative. No electronic or human screener (or gatekeeper) will be able to match this process. Often the managers look for tangible and intangible factors in your background. Their past employers, projects, associations/affiliations, alma mater, etc. all come into play. The more effort you put into research and networking, the more effective you’ll be in finding these factors or values.
Good hiring managers realize that they can not be dependent on HR or automated systems to find the best candidates. These suggestions will help you to be included, not excluded which will make their jobs easier.