Applying for everything... hearing nothing?

The job search can be disheartening!

So many people giving you lots of conflicting advice?

Searching on Seek, Indeed, CareerOne and other job boards every day?

Seeing lots of jobs you could do and upload your resume for a quick application?

Stop that right now!

Why?

Because it is the worst way to land a job!

Think about it... if you are doing this, that means there are 100s of other job seekers doing the exact same thing!

Which means most advertised roles would be receiving 100s of resumes that haven't been targeted to that role!

If everyone sat there flicking through the jobs, saw a job they could do and applied with the same resume... how many of these people could they interview?

It is the absolutely worst way to ever get a job.

Recently I spoke with a client who had applied for 556 jobs within 6 months and he'd had - not even a handful of interviews!

He had 2 versions of his resume - one was 12 pages long and the other 14 pages!

Below is a section of one job - image if everyone had this laundry list?

Again - please STOP!

Why?

Because your resume isn't working!

Your resume's main job is to get a recruiter or employer to pick up the phone and ring you...

If you aren't getting calls...

It's not working!

The trouble is that most resume templates were created on a typewriter... and are now 20-30 years out of date!

This resume template was something that took hours to type and recruiters understood that it wasn't easy to change details as well as guessed that there was a big pile of scrunched up paper next to it!

Nowadays with technology, it takes no time to change, adapt or amend your document.

So there is NO EXCUSE to have one resume to fit all!

What is a New Generation Career Resume?

The most important step to take in getting your resume to work is to target it for the job you are applying for.

The first thing with your resume is to target the job.

Create a heading...

Look at the types of jobs you want to apply for and use those keywords.

TARGET THE JOB

An example:

So just under your name and contact details on the resume would be:

Electrician | Maintenance

You could follow it up with:

Then follow with a summary that quantifies your value, highlights some achievements and meets their criteria - making every word count within 3-4 paragraphs or bullet points.

KEYWORDS

You then need to highlight keywords from the industry or job advertisement.

This helps get through ATS and recruiters quick scan.

Search through key responsibilities, experience and other similar jobs to find common words...

Then bring them into the front end of your resume above the Experience section...

From here it's very important to back these keywords up in the main body of your resume under your Work History | Experience section.

Don't just say you have had exposure/experience - give strong quantifiable examples.

Create bullet points that show how you overcame challenges, met deadlines, resolved issues, created better methodologies.....

It's a fine line - your resume is about you but not about you!

Does that make sense?

It's not a list of everything you have done in your career.

It's a strategic document to show the reader what value you offer them,

So to help them make the decision to pick up the phone and call you for an interview..

Show them what you offer to meet their needs.

So if you aren't getting calls from your job applications, flick me your resume and we'll work out what's going wrong!

Or join our private Facebook group - YESUME - for great resume reviews, HR/recruiter interviews and tips for your career development.

I'd love to hear how many job applications you have put forward... please share