As a job seeker, you literally only have about 10 seconds to grab the attention of a recruiter. This is because for every job opening, there are thousands of applicants coming in to the company. Recruiters have limited time to review resumes and profiles of candidates. They have to focus on a few quick factors before they can even narrow down the list of candidates to call for an interview.
What can you do as a job seeker to grab the recruiter’s attention? Forget about all the tedious improvements to your resume. Here some better ideas to get the attention of the right recruiters and hopefully a job.
Use Strategic Keywords and Headers
Modern day recruiters use applicant tracking systems that automatically screen resumes based on keywords. Your resume should contain job specific keywords and your professional profiles should follow this too. Read through the job description to locate these powerful keywords. Be sure your profiles and social accounts are coordinated in this effort with strong keyword-driven headers.
Highlight Previous Companies
Even if you’re still developing your professional brand, it’s easy to stand out to recruiters by jumping on the brand of the established company that you work for. For example, if you have worked at a company like Google, Facebook or Macy’s, these are recognizable brands that will impress recruiters. Why is it important to take advantage of the brands of the companies you’ve worked for? If the recruiter wants to look good, they will leverage these brands when pitching you to their clients. Very often companies also want to go after their competitors’ former employees. Make sure you highlight the company that you work for in the past particularly those with well-recognized brands.
Just Be Honest
Recruiters are looking for people with outstanding personalities. This is particularly true with companies with unique corporate culture. With that said, you’ll want to be honest with recruiters and show your uniqueness to them. Share any special hobbies that you have, any skills that grab attention, anything fun that you’ve done, and of course your portfolio of published work if you have one. The goal is to get the recruiter to spend a little extra time perusing your resume and professional profile. If you stand out, you can expect that you will be called in for an interview or you may be referred to other companies for positions that suit your uniqueness.
At Davis Staffing, we’ll listen to your needs, evaluate your skills and interests, then match you with the perfect temporary, temp-to-hire or direct hire opportunity. Contact a top Chicago staffing agency today to get started!