Monday, December 23, 2024

Six Essential Tips to Achieve Results with Your Online Job Search

2. Post, post, and post more!

During my time being unemployed, I found that the key to getting a response is to stay active. Meaning, once you have your resume created and saved to your computer, post it online to every major job site. One of my other friends, who happen to be a contractor as well, asked how I keep getting responses. My only suggestion was to treat the days as if you are at work. Post to all the sites, and register your account to all the main ones; Monster, Indeed, CareerBuilder, Dice, ZipRecruiter, and my personal favorite, Reference Hive.

3. Update and update often

Anytime you acquire new experiences, certifications, and contact information, make sure to update your resume accordingly. Schedule an update every 3-6 months for minor edits like adding more tasks to your current position or change your title. This cuts so much time for updating when you find yourself looking for a new job-unexpectedly or planned.

4. Make it searchable, or it will be lost and not found.

The most important tip for creating a response-invoking resume- you must have SEARCHABLE TEXT. Depending on the industry, it is important to insert searchable keywords that relate to your field or the desired position, that will catch the eyes of recruiters. For instance, if you are an office administrator, make sure you specify keywords for common, ideal skill sets like “Microsoft Office” (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint), accounts payable, or file management.

Also, I’ve been told most recruiters use OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software. This software scans for keywords per recruiters’ instructions. So, OCRs filter resumes to the recruiter preferences. This means, if you do not insert the desired keywords for the position, the OCR will not select your resume for the recruiter’s review. A great way to avoid being lost in the void, use keywords (related to your skills) from the job posting, and insert them into the resume.

About the Writer

Bennie Brimage is a Business Analyst/Entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in Information technology.

He was awarded the 2017 Warnock Fellow in Baltimore, MD for his startup “Reference Hive” and later nominated for Innovator of the Year.

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