subject: Resumes and Robots: Using Technology to Get Noticed [print this page] Resumes and Robots: Using Technology to Get Noticed
You're Invisible
You have years of experience, a wealth of skills, and qualifications like no other. Yet you submit resume after resume, and you never receive a call for an interview. How can this be? Why isn't anyone interested?
The fact is that there ARE companies that are interested in you. And based on your credentials, they'd hire you immediately. The problem is that they can't find you. You are invisible.
"But that doesn't make any sense," you say. You submitted your resume. You listed your skills and your experiences. You highlighted all of your best qualifications. The resume practically speaks for itself! That's good enough! Or is it?
Unfortunately, no. Hiring processes aren't as simple -- or as personal -- as they used to be. Once upon a time, you'd submit your resume, and it would go directly to a hiring manager who would review it and, if interested, would select you for an interview. That is rarely the case in today's technology-driven hiring processes.
Now, in most cases, when you submit your resume, it immediately goes into a corporate resume database. If you apply online, this typically happens automatically. Even if you mail in a paper copy, your resume will be scanned in, converted to text (poorly), and added to the database. From that point on, no human will actually see your resume unless it's retrieved from the database.
That is the very reason why companies never find you. Once your resume enters the murky depths of the database, it never surfaces. This may happen for a couple of reasons. If your font or document format is difficult to interpret and convert to text, the results in the database may be nothing but a scrambled mess of words and letters. Also, if you don't use the right keywords and/or phrases, your resume may never show up in database search results. In either case, your resume is virtually lost, never to be seen again.
Think Like a Robot
Many corporate processes are driven by automated systems. And the key to getting your resume noticed is to think like those systems. Think like a machine -- like a robot that is tasked to read, sort, and file documents. Consider how your resume will be automatically scanned, interpreted, and searched. Make no assumptions that it will ever touch human hands. Then consider what could go wrong. Is there anything that might confuse the system?
If you are submitting a formatted document file or print-out, think about how a text-only system will interpret it. Don't use stylistic fonts that are difficult to scan. Also, maintain a linear flow to the text. Columns and tables may be visually appealing to human readers, but they will only confuse a text interpreter. Since the interpreter won't understand the concept of tables and columns, it will simply read the text in order -- left to right and top to bottom. This may mangle sentences and mash words together, leaving your resume completely unreadable.
It's also important to think about how a database search engine will see your resume. In most cases, a database will provide a very simple keyword search to its users. If someone enters a specific keyword, the database will literally search for that term -- and only that term. Unfortunately, this approach will ignore many related terms. For example, a search for the term 'telecom' may completely miss the resumes containing the terms 'telecommunications' and 'telephony'. As a consequence, the searcher may unknowingly overlook many qualified applicants.
Step in Front of the Target
Databases and search engines are not going to adapt to your writing style, so you must adapt to them instead. Employers will be aiming at particular keywords and phrases, so it's best to just step right in front of their target. Update your resume with the most popular buzzwords for your particular industry and skill set. Include a few variations if you are unsure which words are most common. If you have specific expertise, include the most common description first, then follow that with details. This will greatly improve the probability that someone searching the database will find you.
But how do you find the best keywords? The most common method is to tailor your resume to a specific job posting. Identify several key skills listed in the posting and include them in your resume. This works well if you are aiming for one particular job, but it greatly limits the broader searchability of your resume.
Another option is to scan through multiple job postings. Look for hiring trends and patterns to identify the most common terms. Unfortunately, this method can be tedious, since it may take hundreds of postings to really find any significant patterns.
The best option is to take a technological approach and use an automated tool to analyze the latest hiring trends. If you are a software developer, you might write a program to do this. But for those without the skills or ambition to take on such a project, you can rely on another source. NoNovice.com provides two unique features to help technical job seekers find just the right buzzwords to maximize their visibility. Both of these features are based on analysis technology that continually tracks the latest technical hiring trends. One feature is the Industry Buzzwords page, which provides an interactive list of top keywords and technical terms for numerous technical disciplines. The second feature makes things even easier. The Resume Analyzer page will automatically analyze your resume, score its relevancy, and then suggest keywords to improve its quality and visibility.
With these ideas in mind, recognize that technology can either be a hindrance or a help to your job search. Choose the right perspective and you can use its weaknesses to your own advantage.
