I was thrilled to be featured on the local NBC evening news last night with Brenda Wood, her regular 11 at 7 segment. AT&T has 900 open positions currently in Atlanta, good news! I wanted to share a few of the pieces of advice we talked about regarding how to stand out in your job search, what to include in your resume and how to handle social media when you’re searching these days.
1) If you’re applying for a job, like the positions at AT&T, what can you do to make yourself stand out?
Know your brand and how to articulate it! Practice in the mirror before a networking event. Know your competition, review the LinkedIn profiles of others in your industry to understand how you stand out and what your unique selling points are.
Resumes are pretty these days. It’s not just a text document with your work history. People are using text boxes, light shading and other formatting tools to enable a recruiter or employer to quickly scan their resume and determine right away why they are qualified for the job!
Keywords, make sure you use keywords that are relevant to your industry in your resume and on your LinkedIn profile. This will enable employers searching online for prospective employees to find you quickly and easily.
2) An updated resume is a must when you’re looking for work. What are some key points people need to include?
Have a summary of qualifications at the top. You can call it a professional profile, summary of qualifications or executive profile whatever you feel is most appropriate. But tell them right up front why you are qualified for their job.
Put a link to your LinkedIn profile at the top in the contact information section.
Focus on results and accomplishments, and your resume is not the kitchen sink. Only include items that are relevant to the position. Adding things that are not diffuses your message.
3) In the day and age of social media, how does it play into an applicant’s favor, or is it a disadvantage?
Google yourself! The employer will. You want to know what they will see. Clean up what you can if there is anything you would rather not be visible.
Review your Facebook profile if you post often to ensure everything that should stay personal remains that way. Use LinkedIn and other networking sites to your advantage to expand your network, identify contacts for informational interviews and land a job. Some employers are reporting that up to 80% of their recruiting efforts are conducted through LinkedIn. Social media can be a good thing for your search, just use it wisely.
Hallie Crawford
Ideal Career Coach
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