Are You Being An Old Timer In Your Job Search?

By Mill Montejo // Resume Writer // Web Designer // Tech Consultant // Social Media Strategist //

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8 secrets smart ‘young-thinking’ job seekers use to trick recruiters into looking at their shitty LinkedIn profiles and online resumes, SEO reverse engineering science.

Hello friends.

Are you acting like an old timer on the web while you search for a job? Do you find yourself sending out dozens of resumes with no calls or even an email confirmation from a live person?

If you answered yes, it is OK. Many of the smartest job seekers have been duped into this old school method of finding a job from the 1990’s or beyond.  The classifieds in your local newspaper have shrunk.  This is not the way to go.

Here is why. People think that they can still write a quick resume, put on their best suit, and stop by a few companies to drop off their resume. This is nonsense.

Your online brand is what will get you noticed and hired.

Your online brand is an ad about you and what you can bring to your future employer company. 

A cleverly created online brand presence creates an irresistible urge for recruiters to click on your contact info.

They want your experience and skills. And by they, I mean the recruiters scouring the internet, Google, and using keyword searches to find the talent they need for their clients.  They have no time to waste.

Your resume and online profile could bring them the candidate they need to fill a job order from their client company.  Recruiters get a nice commission if they place you!

To get your online profile clicked on, some Geeks (myself included as I work to always perfect the formula) have devised many crafty techniques to trick the search engine algorithm to work in your favor.  I’ve tested this.  It’s increased my LinkedIn profile views in the last year by 40-60%.  This doesn’t happen overnight so start today!  This method comes in handy in making you show up and be found in a recruiters’ search for the skills you have.

Want to know how to do it?

Here are 8 secrets that “old timers” aren’t using, but the smartest job seekers use to trick the Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) into picking…and picking...…their keyword heavy resume over others, moving them ahead of the pack. 

1. Tweak your resume.

Whether you do it yourself with an online resume building tool, or use a template, or hire a professional resume writer, you should look at your resume as a forever changing keyword template.

Sound like a job in itself?  Is it a chore?  It sure as hell is!  But the competition is doing it so what are you waiting for? 

2. Old timer resume?

Can I write a resume without sounding like an “old timer?”  Sure, it’s being done all the time.  Just put down only the last 15 years’ worth of companies you’ve worked for, then include a section titled “Other Experience” where you list the skills gained in the previous jobs.  This way your age is less obvious and you are not dating yourself. 

3. Do keyword research and analysis on the job you want and your current resume.

Go to a job site like www.indeed.com and search for the job you want and logistical area that you want.  Then you’re going to copy and paste the job description into Notepad or a Word document.  This is just to save it in case you lose the page.  Now go to another site called Wordle at http://www.wordle.net/create and copy and paste the keywords from the job description into the text box. 

Sound easy to do? That’s great because it is a must.  

4. Guaranteed results.

Have you noticed that others around you are getting found online, called for phone interview, and achieved in person at as well?  What do they know that you don’t know?

They were doubters too.  They now know that SEO (Search Engine Technology) does work to get their resume and credentials found online by potential employers everywhere.  The country is starting to hire again, but the jobs are still scarce, and only those tech savvy enough to build their online brand will be able to compete and get back into the workforce.  By reverse engineering the process that recruiters use on a daily basis to find candidates,  you can make it easier for them to find “you” online. 

5. Finding negative stuff about yourself online sucks.

Control your online reputation before it controls your future. 

Yes you must be online.  No it doesn’t have to be on Facebook.  Each Social Media platform is used by a different group of people most times with different agendas.  At the very least I recommend everyone have a complete, professional, keyword heavy LinkedIn profile with a visible photo!  Just think about it, would you want to hire a ‘silhouette?’ 

So put on your best professional attire and have a friend or relative take a professional looking picture of you.  For 40-somethings like me, I wouldn’t take a new web photo without coloring the grays in my hair, making sure my hair was looking good, and look as polished and energetic as your “old timer” body can muster. 

6. Use your new professional, keyword heavy resume to build your LinkedIn profile.

We have noticed issues with the Google Chrome browser while importing your resume in order to build your LinkedIn profile.  That was tested and failed to upload resumes last week around 9/11/13.  Not sure if it’s been corrected yet.  The resume upload worked seamlessly with the Mozilla browser which you can get here if you don’t already have it

http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

From the home page go to "View Profile" and hover with your cursor over "Edit Profile."

 

Importing Information from Your Resume

How do I import information from my resume onto my LinkedIn profile?

Last Reviewed: 06/05/2013

Report Answer Inaccuracies  (copied for reference purposes from LinkedIn Help)

If you don't have an experience or education entry on your profile, you'll have the option to import information from your resume onto your profile:

Click Profile at the top of your homepage.
Move your cursor over the down arrow next to the Edit button and select Import resume.
Click Choose file or Browse to locate your resume on your computer.
Click Upload resume. You'll be taken to a page where you can review the information extracted from your resume.
Double check all fields to be sure the information is completed and correct.
Click Save Changes.

If you don't see the Import resume option, try this LinkedIn guided editing tour to improve your profile instead.

Note: The resume importer only accepts English and French text at this time. 

7. Use your keyword arsenal and get busy editing.

Even if you manage to import your resume into LinkedIn you will still need to tweak and edit the sections with the keywords you analyzed from the job description.  Make sure your activity alerts are turned off in settings and notifications.  This way each time you tweak your resume for a job, your connections won’t see what you are doing (changing skills and keywords activity) on LinkedIn’s version of the ‘newsfeed.’ 

Many of these keyword strategies are best described by someone I consider to be a virtual mentor to me, Mr. Greig Wells.  With his knowledge of the science of SEO technology he had the idea to reverse engineer the use of keywords in a job search to help the ‘recruiter find you.’  

 

8. Combine these tricks together & Brand Yourself before the web brands you unemployable.

Go to www.brandyourself.com and set up a profile.  This service helps your positive Google results rank higher up on the 1st page by helping you to add all your positive Social Media posts, educational, professional, blogs, and other links.  The more positive links that show up in a recruiters search for skills when they find you, the better.  This is what pushes any potentially negative search results down to the 3rd page or later.  Taking the time to do this matters folks!  If you consider yourself an expert in your field, and you have skills to sell that people/companies may want to buy, then that’s why you need to be online.  These are some of the things BrandYourself.com does

  • “Your "Search Score" monitors how many positive vs. negative results are on your ?rst page.”
  • They “alert you when an unidenti?ed result appears on your ?rst page of Google or any of your links rise or fall signi?cantly, so you can have peace of mind about your online reputation.
  • They “tell you any time anybody searches for you online and ?nds your BrandYourself pro?le. For example, discover if you were Googled after that job interview or that ?rst date you went on.”

* https://brandyourself.com/info/about/howItWorks

 

With some of the above tips in use you now have a good start at the keys ‘younger looking’ job search folks.  ;-)

Search like a Guru!

Now you know what your competition might already know, they likely do know....how to incorporate the new digital era job search methods and get the job!  Now lets not forget the complete method also involves real live human interaction which is the ultimate goal in the end.  Eventually you want to meet your new "company insider pal," or potential interviewer for coffee when an email or LinkedIn message won't cut it anymore.  (More on interview preparation in a future post).  The more connected you become on LinkedIn, the more of their associates/connections can see your profile, and eventually you will be getting referred into company’s by one of your connections.  It can happen to you.  It has happened for others.  Give it a shot.  You have nothing to lose and a new job to gain.

Then you can stop being this guy...

And start being this guy...

Now it’s your turn.

Do you know any other dirty secrets used to get a call for a job?

Make the world a better place and share them with me and others!  

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Check out my current project at www.HelpWriteResume.com your weekly mix of food for the job seeking soul. Our goal is an ambitious one – to help local job seekers from all generations get back to work!  

Millennials (born 1984-2002)

Gen X-ers (born 1965-1983)

Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964)

Find work by presenting themselves professionally online! 

Need a killer LinkedIn profile or resume?  Call us at 973-341-3479 or complete inquiry form on our website.

 

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Our team of managers are a team that assists our partners improve their digital presence by producing online marketing services on a regular basis. Our service is transparent and economical, which ensures that you get a great service and results that make a difference when you utilise our services. We arrange many different marketing services for enterprises from small businesses to large corporations to help make the most of of your company's digital and social marketing.

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