As the Job Seeker Luncheon approaches this Friday and us job seekers, freelancers, and others gather to talk about the local job market and how we can gain an employment edge, we must not forget that our resumes are still an important piece of the hiring puzzle that should not be overlooked.
We've all heard that 80-90 percent of the jobs out there are in the "hidden" job market of networking and relationships, one of the reasons our Launchpad community is so great for Job Seekers and Employers alike. But just because you may have "an in" through a personal connection, does not absolve you from having a properly polished resume that has stand-alone-value. While an inside recommendation is great, more often than not, you'll still need to jump the customary hurdles of the application process for a company.
One of the more useful tools I've found out there is RezScore, which allows you to upload your resume for free, instantly get critiqued, and get advice on what you can improve. While the process is a bit of a "black box" mystery, From following their advice on things such as length, sentence structure, and refocusing highlighted strengths, I was personally able to change my RezScore from a 52nd Percentile, to 90th percentile. The real factor for me is that when I read my resume, I can tell it's better after making their recommended improvements.
While I take RezScore's ranking with a grain of salt, consider this: Many companies now use software to prescreen resumes for certain keywords, structure, experience, etc. and reject your resume based on these metrics. I've personally applied to jobs which I either felt I was perfect for or even overqualified, only to have an automated rejection sent to me an hour later. What Gives?
Well no matter how qualified you may be, if you don't communicate it properly through your resume, you may never make it to the interview process, or perhaps even get your resume in front of a human being! While it may seem unfair to some, letting a program like RezScore or a local professional help you optimize your resume for these automated services is critical in this day and age.
Good Luck!