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It can be frustrating to look at job boards and see all those open positions, especially when your cover letter and resume are being ignored. And it’s hard to ignore all those ‘Help Wanted’ signs you see whenever you’re driving through any town’s business district. After all, if there are that many companies in need of employees, why can’t you land those interviews you need?
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How is it that your resume is being passed over time after time? Why is it so hard to find a job? First, recognize one thing: many companies and hiring managers have no intention of filling all those job positions. Many promote from within.
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Others simply solicit resumes on a regular basis to build up a reservoir of potential candidates they can turn to when positions do come open. As a result, the job market may not be as wide-open as it appears at first glance.
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In short, don’t assume that your job search is any more difficult than any other job seeker. The fact is that you’re all competing for a finite pool of available jobs. Here are some other reasons why it's so difficult to find a job:
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Many opportunities that employers post are not exclusively open to external applicants. If a company is hiring for a position, that position is usually also available to people within the company. The hiring company might look more favorably on a candidate they already know.
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An external candidate must be able to make a strong first impression in order to be given equal consideration to an internal candidate.
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An applicant tracking system, or ATS, is a tool used by over 90% of employers to parse and sort resume submissions. As we detail in our post on how to format your resume for an ATS, "ATS resume scanning software is designed to scan a resume for work experience, skills, education, and other relevant information."
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For many workers, the ATS may be a real obstacle to finding a job in the digital age. These applicant tracking systems are used to screen resumes based on keyword usage. Yes, it is a questionable way for humans to hire other humans--but it’s also an unfortunate reality.
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Job seekers who are not sufficiently aware of how an ATS screens a resume may find it difficult to overcome that obstacle. Later in this piece, we’ll offer some ATS-related advice that can help you with this challenge, and introduce you to a tool to check your resume for ATS compatibility.
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Companies are looking for a mythical “perfect candidate.” A quick review of many job descriptions will paint a picture of an experienced, highly educated expert with a wide variety of skills and experience in a broad range of categories. If these candidates exist, there aren’t enough to fill all these positions.
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Instead, employers need to find candidates who check the most boxes on the perfect list of qualifications. It’s also important to recognize that the job market has changed. Decades ago, employers would hire candidates with the intention of employing them for life. They viewed those hires as long-term investments.
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That meant that they could take a chance on a new hire, train that person, and get a return on their investment over time. These days, that dynamic has changed dramatically. Most employees move from job to job throughout their careers. Companies are no longer as loyal to their employees as they once were.
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Because of that changed relationship, employers need to get an immediate return from their hiring investment. That’s led them to become ever more selective about who they hire. They need to know that you can provide immediate value to the firm.
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For many struggling job seekers, the problem is as simple as their resumes. Employers are looking for resumes that stand out from the crowd, so those old, outdated resumes are not the best option these days.
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When it comes to finding a job, successful candidates will have resumes that effectively showcase their value as employees. Unfortunately, many of today’s job seekers have no idea how to craft that type of resume!
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For example, does your resume still rely on the objective statement to capture a hiring manager’s attention? If so, that could be a major mistake. Objective statements on a resume focus on what you want from your career, rather than how you can meet the employer’s needs.
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A single job posting can see hundreds of applications. For an application to be successful, it must be able to draw the employer’s attention. Having a large number of applications can limit how much time an employer can devote to reading over application materials. Submitting a distinct, strong resume can pique an employer’s interest.
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The good news is that the job search process doesn’t have to be an excruciating experience. There are, in fact, many things that you can do to improve your odds of landing a job. Most of them are focused on just a few key areas of concern, though.
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There’s no way around it: if you want to maximize your odds, you need a stellar resume. Sure, there was a time when resumes were all but a formality, but they carry a lot of weight these days. If your resume is mediocre at best, you won't have much luck landing your dream job.
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Your application is likely to be passed over time and again during the job search for other candidates with better resumes–even if you’re just as qualified.
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Now that you know what your resume is up against, you can adjust your resume to have a better chance of performing well on the ATS test. Once you've made some changes to your resume, Zipjob has a free resume review tool that will give you the results of an ATS scan and an expert's opinion of your resume.
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Remember those ATS screeners we mentioned earlier? Do yourself a favor and learn how to use keywords in your cover letter and resume. That will help to ensure that yours gets past the machine and onto the desk of a hiring manager.
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Are you applying for the right positions? Too often, many people fail to choose positions that best match their skill sets. Other times, they fail to properly showcase the right skills in their resumes. Remember, most hiring managers only spend a few minutes on an initial examination of your resume.
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If it doesn’t catch their eye in that time, it gets tossed aside. Make sure that your most relevant skills and experience are the ones required for the job opening–and make sure to highlight them in your summary statement.
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If you make contact with an employer and earn an interview, it is a good idea to follow up about your next steps. Once you have made an impression, you want to remain memorable when the next phase of the hiring process begins.
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Connecting directly with a hiring manager can seem intimidating, but it is often an expected part of the application process. Following up gives you an opportunity to make an even better impression and increase your chance of success. To be effective at following up, take these measures: