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Have Applicant Tracking Systems Made Recruiters Less “Resume Smart”?

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Resumes have undergone many changes over the years; most recently, Applicant Tracking Systems and social media have been game changers. With Applicant Tracking Systems zooming through resumes to pick out only the ones that match certain keywords and with social media providing a whole new set of insights into candidates, have hiring managers and recruiters become less “resume smart”—less interested or tuned in to what a resume says?

The short answer is: no. The long answer is that hiring managers and recruiters have sharper resume smarts than ever and will reject any candidate who makes the following resume errors:

  • Overstating accomplishments. You should describe your accomplishments on your resume, but there is a very clear line between honoring your successes and exaggerating them. When human resource managers were polled in a 2018 CareerBuilder study, 75% said they had caught a lie on a resume; in another survey, 57% said the most common lie is an exaggerated list or description of skills. So hiring managers and recruiters are definitely resume-smart when it comes to lying about skills, education, and accomplishments.
  • Ignoring social media or misusing it. Hiring managers and recruiters are searching social media for candidates—in fact, in one survey 73% of employers said that they had hired a candidate through social media. They are also checking social media to confirm or add to the information on a candidate’s resume. So if you have the bare minimum of a LinkedIn profile, if your online information contradicts your resume, or if you use Instagram to flaunt your latest drunken escapade, now is the time to rethink your use of social media.
  • Fudging your employment or industry experience. Hiring managers and recruiters still check the employment history on your resume. There are no federal and few state laws governing what an employer can say about you, as long as it is the truth. If you try to hide a layoff or gap in employment, the hiring manager or recruiter will find out. The same applies to industry experience. Many skills are transferrable, and a professional resume writer can help you frame your resume to make the most of those skills. But hiring managers and recruiters are resume-smart when it comes to tracking down the truth.

Given the resume smarts of hiring managers and recruiters, it simply makes sense to use a professional resume writer to make sure your resume is truthful and complete and to strengthen your social media presence and transferrable skills. If you want a professional resume writer with decades of experience and the latest information on the expectations of employers, please contact Robin’s Resumes® today.

4 Steps to a Resume That Advances Your Career

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If you are looking to move on to a more responsible, higher paid, or more interesting career, then your resume has to reflect your preparedness for that new role. Just as employees are told to “dress for success,” your resume must dress your past experience for your future role. Here are five important steps to take when writing or revising your resume for the job you want:

  1. Be clear about your goal. Research job titles and responsibilities for the position. Do not assume that every industry and business awards titles in the same way. In one company, a Director might outrank a Vice President—in another company, the responsibilities and rankings are reversed. Check job postings and advertisements for job responsibilities so that you know exactly what to highlight on your resume.
  2. Put the emphasis in your resume on skills, education, and accomplishments that match the position you’re aiming for. It’s great that you were chosen to select the new copier at work; but if that accomplishment is not relevant to the management job you want, leave it out. Use the space instead to focus on your leadership, mentorship, budgeting, and other skills that are transferrable and important to a management position. Or show how your role in selecting the copier illustrates your leadership, analysis, and communication skills. Whatever direction you choose, always keep your goal in mind.
  3. Make sure you are prepared. Once you are clear about your goals and the expectations of future employers, do everything you can to meet those expectations before you apply for a job. If opportunities arise in your current position to take more responsibility, grab them. If you need certifications or educational credits in a certain area, earn them. Begin a brag book to list current accomplishments that fit your goal before you forget those accomplishments or begin to downplay them in your mind.
  4. Resist the urge to panic or backpedal. If this is truly the next step in your career, embrace it. You don’t need to make excuses on your resume for any gap in your skills and accomplishments. Skills can be acquired, and accomplishments will come naturally as you grow into the job. Your resume is not the place to defend yourself. However, if you want to emphasize your practical experience over educational, or your ability to learn new skills over your lack, there are ways to do that.

If you are struggling to clarify your career goals, reframe your resume for the job you want, and emphasize the positive in your resume, please contact Robin’s Resumes®. We are here to help.

New Emphasis on Skills by Hiring Managers

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A recent article in BusinessNH Magazine discussed how colleges are rethinking degree programs to provide credentials in the specific skill sets that companies and hiring managers want most. The article told the story of a general manager in a large company who was asked what degree would be helpful for his employees. The manager could not name any degree, but he could give a list of specific skills.

Industry has long offered credentials in a specific skill set (think Lean, Six Sigma, or FINRA certifications) but colleges have always focused on degrees, not certifications. In fact, in many industries and positions, a degree bears little or no relationship whatever to the hard and soft skills required for success. This lack of relationship does not mean that a college degree has no value; however, colleges are now recognizing that, in many cases, credentials mean more to hiring managers and recruiters than a specific degree.

How does that affect your resume?

  • You should be aware that your college major is not a sentence for life! If you majored in accounting, for example, and truly dislike it, aim for another career, perhaps one where your accounting background is an asset but not what you do daily. It is the job of your resume to target the position you want while selling hiring managers and recruiters on the value-added that you offer.
  • If certifications in your field are offered at your college or in your industry, consider becoming certified in addition to or in place of pursuing a college degree. When you come to an employer with certifications in hand, you are automatically more desirable. It is the job of your resume to promote the certifications you have gained.
  • Any experience in the workplace is better than no experience because you acquire transferable skills in every position you hold. It is the job of your resume to convince employers that those skills are in fact transferable.

Robin’s Resumes® helps you to make sure that your skills are described in a way that makes you a valuable prospect for hiring managers—even in fields that differ from your degree. Contact us today.

Resume Q&A: How Do I Handle Many Short-Term Jobs?

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Q. I have bounced around a lot from job to job during my career, and now I am looking again. Part of the problem is that I get bored easily, sometimes I got laid off, but also I am in a career where people just do not stay long at any one company. How do I write my resume so that I do not come off as a flake or someone who gets fired from one company after another?

A. Four ways are available to you to turn your short-term jobs into an asset rather than a drawback.

First, if short-term jobs are common in your field, then you truly do not have a problem. In fact, you might have a problem if you did not move from job to job. Being laid off is not an issue, especially if you were able to find another job in your field fairly quickly, demonstrating your value.

Second, your job changes may have given you experience in industries and positions that other job applicants might not have. You may also have developed contacts, learned software programs, or acquired other knowledge and skills that your next employer would appreciate. Review your resume from that perspective: what have you gained during your frequent job changes and how would that benefit the next company you work for?

Third, if your job changes are the result of a career in consulting, consider grouping them under a “Consulting” headline that spans a greater period of time. That way, each company represents a new client, not a change in career.

Finally, if you are so bored with every job that you cannot wait to leave it, consider career coaching. You may have a lot of transferable skills now that can carry you into a career path that you will truly enjoy.

For help in making an asset of your short-term jobs or transitioning your career, please contact Robin’s Resumes® today.

Resumes for Sales Reps

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In some ways, sales representatives have an easier job quantifying their skills than many people in other positions. If you come in at or over sales goals; if you bring in hundreds or thousands of dollars of new business; if you have a high closing rate, you are already well on the way to convincing a company to hire you in a sales position.

If your measurable skills are confidential, give percentages or ranges (for example, “reached 130% over sales goal by closing a multimillion-dollar deal”).  You should be sure to mention any awards you have received. Awards testify to your ability without requiring specific numbers.

You may be expected to have familiarity with a particular product or service (for example, new or legacy software, pharmaceuticals, or financial packages) or familiarity with a territory, industry, and specific type of client. You may need skill in certain software programs such as Salesforce.com.

But good numbers and experience in preferred areas are not the only accomplishments that recruiters and hiring managers expect in a stellar sales representative. They are also interested in soft skills such as:

  • Your ability to communicate the customers
  • The depth and speed of your understanding of products and services
  • Your ability to adapt to the company culture
  • Your networking and pipeline development skills
  • Your ability to work with a team (remember: if your successes occurred as part of a team, they are still your successes)
  • Your negotiation and closing skills.

For sales reps, these soft skills—especially the ability to connect with current and potential customers—are just as important as measurable skills. Sales reps need to be good representatives of the company’s products, services, and culture at every interaction.

As always, customize your resume for the position you want by carefully reading job postings and advertisements for the keywords and key accomplishments that should find a place in your resume. That way your resume covers both the measurable skills and the soft skills that companies are demanding.

I have written resumes for sales representatives in many fields, including technology, pharmaceutical, healthcare, and finance/insurance. Please contact me if you need help positioning yourself as the sales rep that any company would be happy to hire.

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