Blog
August 26, 2024
Recruiters’ Tips for Securing Your Ideal Role
In today’s job market, finding the right job can feel like a big challenge! From perfecting your resume to nailing the interview, job seekers face many obstacles in their search for the perfect position. To make this journey a bit smoother, we’re excited to share a few of our “recruitment secrets.” We’re hopeful these tips make your job search easier!
Tailoring Your Resume and Application
Gone are the days of sending out hundreds of generic resumes and applications. If that works for you, great! If not, then it’s time to switch things up. As recruiters, our job is to find the perfect candidate for each role, and it goes a long way when we receive personalized applications that show genuine interest in our company and the position. Instead of spreading yourself thin with countless applications, focus on tailoring your resume and application for a few roles and companies.
Instead of spreading yourself thin with countless applications, focus on tailoring your resume and application for a few roles and companies.
Take the time to understand each organization’s culture and align your skills and experiences to the job requirements. Don’t stress if your resume goes beyond one page—it’s perfectly fine as long as it reflects your experience. Customizing your resume and application not only makes you stand out but also showcases your dedication and attention to detail. I promise, making this tweak in your job search will only help you!
Building Your Personal Brand
In today’s digital world, your online presence plays a huge role in how companies perceive you. After viewing your application, the first place that recruiters tend to look is your LinkedIn—think of it as the Instagram of the professional world! Your personal brand is how you present yourself and sets you apart from other candidates, so it’s worth taking the time to show off who you are and why you’re the right fit for the job.
Now you’re probably thinking, where do I start? Highlight your strengths, passions, and accomplishments; ensure your LinkedIn profile is up to date and aligns with your resume.
Highlight your strengths, passions, and accomplishments; ensure your LinkedIn profile is up to date and aligns with your resume.
Use both your resume and LinkedIn to tell your story and make a memorable impression on recruiters and hiring managers. Have fun with it and let your personality shine through!
Optimizing Your LinkedIn Profile
LinkedIn is one of the most popular job sites today, for both job seekers and recruiters alike. Our role as recruiters involves finding candidates with specific skills. Purely applying to jobs can be exhausting, so help us by letting us find you as well!
How do you do this? Optimize your profile so you are discoverable. Just as you should include relevant keywords on your resume, it’s equally essential to incorporate them into your LinkedIn profile, too. For example, rather than simply stating you’re a Software Engineer, list the entire tech stack you are proficient in. Pro-tip: Being active on LinkedIn—by responding to messages from recruiters, applying for jobs, and expanding your network—will increase your visibility in recruiter searches.
Being active on LinkedIn—by responding to messages from recruiters, applying for jobs, and expanding your network—will increase your visibility in recruiter searches.
Mythbusting: Why can’t I beat the Applicant Tracking System (ATS)?!
Many candidates feel that when they apply for a job, their resume gets lost in a dark, deep hole and it is never read by a real person. A common misconception is that the ATS, the software that manages your application, automatically rejects resumes.
We’re here to set the record straight: your resume is only rejected before it meets the recruiter if you don’t meet the specific ‘knock-out’ questions we created. For instance, if a position requires experience in a specific cloud platform, you might be asked, ‘Do you have experience with AWS?’ If you answer ‘no,’ your resume won’t advance to the next stage, and you will receive a rejection email. Another example would be if a position requires at least five years of experience with that cloud platform, and you answered ‘2’ when asked how many years of experience you currently have with AWS.
The truth is, recruiters often receive hundreds of applications for a role. To screen resumes and do our jobs effectively, we simply have to narrow that number down. How do we do that? You guessed it: keywords, keywords, keywords. Tailoring your resume to match the job description is crucial.
Attain Partners – Talent-sourcing Expertise
Your organization is only as good as your people. At Attain Partners, finding and placing extraordinary team members is what we do. Leverage our talent services to take your institution to the next level.
About the Authors
Brielle Cassidy is a Talent Acquisition Professional at Attain Partners. Her knowledge of recruiting and her genuine passion for connecting with people drive her work each day. She currently lives in Washington, D.C. with her closest friends. Outside of work, you can find her in HomeGoods splurging on everything home decor, playing pickleball, indulging in Sunday brunches, and boating in Annapolis with family and friends!
Kara Simms is a Senior Talent Acquisition Professional at Attain Partners specializing in technical recruitment. She has shown a commitment to understanding each candidate’s unique strengths and aspirations throughout her career and she cares deeply about career matchmaking and building meaningful relationships. She resides on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and enjoys good bourbon and wine, cooking Italian dishes, and live music with friends!
