Career HackingEpisode 1: Resume Hacking

Rarely do job seekers submit paper

copies of their resumes and

applications anymore. Electronic

submissions are now the norm, and

this changes things for you job

seekers.

What happens to your resume

after you click submit?

You need to understand these

changes and be strategic in how

you craft your resume in order to

increase your chances of getting

noticed among the hundreds of

other applicants.

What is Resume Parsing?

Resume Parsing

In simple terms, resume parsing

is using software to scan and sort

resumes by comparing the

resume content to keyword

searches prepared by a recruiter.

Resume Parsing

So when you upload your resume to

sites like Indeed, Monster, or

LocalWork.com, your resume goes

into a database and the computer

scans it, looking for information in four

categories:

•Education

•Work experience

•Contact information

•Skills

Resume Parsing

The computer determines which

words in your resume fall under each

category, and then organizes them

into the correct fields in your record.

Based on the specific keywords and

phrases that are the recruiter’s top

priorities, each resume is scored

from 0-100 and put in ranking order.

Resume Parsing

Systems like these save employers a ton

of time; many companies receive

hundreds of resumes per open position.

By letting a computer do the filtering,

recruiters can focus on the top-ranking

candidates.

However, resume parsing is not perfect!

Resume Parsing

The majority of resumes are never

even looked at by real people

because they only end up looking at

the ones the computer determined are

probably the best for the position. This

results in some highly qualified

candidates missing out because their

resumes lacked the right keywords.

Resume Parsing

Knowing this is how resume parsing

works, you need to prepare your resume

in such a way that it gets ranked as high

on the list as possible.

What’s the key to getting your resume

to the top?

Resume hacking.

Here’s what to do.

Step 1: Find 3 ideal job descriptions

Step 1

The roadmap for what a company is

looking for in a candidate is their job

description. Most likely, this is what

they will be using when selecting the

keywords and phrases their computer

will search for. So your first step is to

find postings for 3 dream jobs that you

would like to do and that you are

qualified for.

Step 1

Online job searches nowadays are very

advanced and complex.The right job is

out there for everybody, you just have to

find it. To find the right job, try a variety of

searches using different job titles, skills,

keywords, and phrases. Keep trying until

you find what you’re looking for!

Step 2: Compare skills and requirements

Step 2

Once you have your ideal job

descriptions, create a

spreadsheet in which each job

gets 1 column. Copy and paste

the requirements, skills, and

some of the responsibilities from

the 3 jobs into the corresponding

columns.

Step 2

Once everything is in the

spreadsheet, highlight all of the

information about required

experience levels, work history,

industry of experience, or vertical

experience in green.

Step 2

Next, go through and highlight

anything about education

requirements in a different

color.

Step 2

Third, highlight all of the skills they are

looking for in these positions in yellow.

When reading through skills, many times skills

listed are very broad or they include a lot of soft

skills. For your resume, the kind that will stand out

the most are the more specific, hard skills. Sift

through the job descriptions and pick these out to

use in your resume.

Step 3: Tailor your resume to include

the same keywords

Step 3

Now that you’ve picked out exactly

what those companies are looking for

in job candidates, you need to modify

your resume to include those same

keywords and phrases.

Remember, computers will be scanning your

resume looking for very specific words, so you

need to tailor your resume to the exact same way

the job description was written.

Step 3

If a job description states that they are

looking for a high level of proficiency

in MS 365, Sharepoint, Photoshop,

and Illustrator, then those are the

exact words you need to have on your

resume.

Step 3

Why? Because the resume parser is

looking for the relevancy and density of

your resume, and if those specific words

were in the job description, that’s a sign

that those skills are important to the

company and they will likely be looking

for that through resume parsing. That

being said, don’t go overboard. Avoid

copying full sentences or paragraphs

onto your resume.

Don’t use the same resume for every job!

Step 3

Modify your resume for each position

you apply for according to what their

job descriptions say. This may seem

like a lot of work to you, but

remember—all this effort is worth it to

get more attention and up your

chances of getting an interview.

Resume Hacking is the first episode of our

Career Hacking video series on YouTube.

Hit Next to watch it now

or visit this link:

https://youtu.be/dg6N7MqhIr4