Beat the ATS!

⚒️ Beat the ATS System

⛔ Don’t Get Fancy:
❌ A PDF file is not the most ATS friendly file type (unless otherwise specified)
❌ Avoid graphics and images
❌ Avoid any lines, underlines and tables
❌ Say no to fancy font, italics or quotations
❌ Headers and footers must go

💯 Keep It Simple:
✅ Use Standard resume format
✅ Use Standard font
✅ Align text to the left
✅ Set 1-inch margins
✅ Use customized keywords in the skills section and work experience
✅ Use standard section headings (Education, Contact Information, Skills, Work Experience)
✅ Full Acronyms and titles
✅ Circular shaped bullet points
✅ Proofread (check for spellings and grammar)
✅ Save as .docx

📶 ATS is here to stay
ATS is the NOW! However much we may dislike the idea of an automated system scanning and filtering our resumes, we have to accept the fact that ATS is here to stay. There could be flaws, there could be technical issues, there could be drawbacks - we just can’t complain about it!

✳️✳️✳️ Follow Kirsty Bonner and register for free on her website www.kirstybonner.com. You will find samples of Cover Letters and ATS resumes. Good luck to everyone!

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The Workings of an ATS

🤔 How does ATS work?

♻️ The ATS collects and stores resumes in a database.
♻️ These are stored for as long as 12 months, until they are marked inactive.

❇️ The system tracks candidates and organizes information about them. This information is used to manage the entire hiring process including screen candidates and schedule interviews.

✅ Some recruiters still prefer to take a quick glance to learn more about the applicant's highlights. So ensure your top skills and qualifications are quick to identify.

✳️ ATS automatically compares a resume to the job description and ranks each applicant based on how well their resume scores compared to the job description.

💠 Recruiters usually filter resumes by searching for key skills or titles.

▶️ For example, if a recruiter is hiring for an Administrative Assistant position out of 100 resumes, the first step would probably be to search the ATS for an Administrative Assistant. The system will scan through and isolate the top candidate matches who have done the exact same job before. Anyone besides that is out of luck.

👍🏻 Use www.jobscan.co to analyze your resume against the job description to show the top skills and keywords that are missing from your resume.

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What is ATS?

❓ What is ATS?

👉🏻 ATS is Applicant Tracking System.

▶️ It is a recruitment software that provides hiring tools for recruiters and companies to process job applications, as they are received.

▶️ When you apply for a job online, the first contact your application has is, with the ATS.


❓ Why do employers and companies use ATS?
▶️ Big companies hire for several jobs at a time and receive thousands of applications.

▶️ Just because applying online for a job is easier, there are many applicants who tend to be unqualified for the job opening - and that's where ATS keeps all these resumes in place, helping recruiters and hiring managers to stay organized.

▶️ The crux of the matter is, these systems help recruiters to save time by automatically screening and highlighting top candidates. But in reality, there can be situations where top candidates can slip through.

↪️ Join me tomorrow to find out How does ATS work?

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What To Include in a CV?

❓ What does a good CV include?

➕ Using action words like “created”, “analysed” or “managed”.
➕ No spelling or grammar mistakes.
➕ Tailor your CV towards the role and the employer
➕ Your email address should be professional

✖️ Do not lie or exaggerate in your CV or job application
✖️ Do not use the word Curriculum Vitae at the top of the page.

✔️ Remember to include a cover letter unless the employer states otherwise.

Listen to the video for more insightful information on What to include in a CV? 👇🏻👇🏻

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What Is a CV?

🤔🤔 Did you know….

↔️ Difference between a CV and a Resume

✍🏻 A curriculum vitae (CV) is a summary of your experience and skills and runs into at least two or three pages. A CV summary is a way to quickly and concisely convey one’s skills and qualifications. (For experienced personnel, jobseekers)

✍🏻 A resume provides a summary of your education, work history, credentials, and other accomplishments and skills. A resume should be as concise as possible and should typically be one page long. (For graduates, freshers)

Listen to the video below for more insightful information.
It is definitely worth the watch.
👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

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Cover Letter Tips

🤔 What is a Cover Letter?

👉🏻 It is a single-page letter that you include with your job application.
👉🏻 It is a short summary of your resume.
👉🏻 It is not mandatory to include a cover letter with your job application.
👉🏻 But it does hold value if you do so unless of course, the job advertisement states not to.

✍🏻 Purpose
♐ Introduce yourself
♐ Mention the job you are applying for
♐ Show that your skills and experience match the job requirements.
♐ Encourage the reader to read your resume
♐ End with a call for action (request for a meeting or interview)

❌ Do not address your letter, “To Whom It May Concern”
❗ Read the job description carefully. Find out more about the job
❗ Look for information online and find out more about the company.

❓ What to include:
✅ Your name and contact details
✅ The company’s name and contact details
✅ The name of the job you are applying for
✅ A list of your relevant skills
✅ A short summary of why you are the ONE for the job
✅ Ask them to contact you

⛔ What not to include:
❎ Typing errors or mistakes
❎ Your resume
❎ Do not overuse the word “I”
❎ Don’t mention other job applications

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Top 10 Tips For Interviews

“Job interviews are like first dates. Good impressions count. Awkwardness can occur. Outcomes are unpredictable.”

Top 10 TIPS for Interviews

👉🏻 Research the company and the interviewers (if known)

👉🏻 Practice answers to common interview questions

👉🏻 Read the job description over and over again

👉🏻 Use the STAR method in answering skill based questions

👉🏻 Find a friend to practice answering these questions

👉🏻 Dress smart, look sharp and don't show up empty handed

👉🏻 Make a first great impression and project enthusiasm

👉🏻 Listen carefully, pause to think and answer truthfully, with authenticity and positively

👉🏻 Keep your answers concise and focussed

👉🏻 Ask questions and end on the right note

Don’t forget to follow up

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Top 10 Tips For CV Writing

"No one creates a perfect resume on their first try. Writing a perfect resume is a messy process, but the easiest way to start is by simply getting in the right mindset and putting pen to paper."

Top 10 TIPS for Cover Letter/CV

COVER LETTER

✳️ Always send a cover letter

✳️ Keep it presentable and to one page

✳️ Do your research and Do not rewrite your CV

✳️ Reflect your qualities and personality

RESUME/CV

✳️ Include personal details

✳️ Put education/employment sequentially and also extra curriculum/volunteering activities

✳️ Keep it concise, clear, direct and focused

✳️ Use doing words (developed, organized)

✳️ Proofread

✳️ Tell the truth

🗣️ Always ask someone to check for feedback

Stay tuned as I will be covering a more detailed post on Cover Letters, CVs and ATS next week.

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Networking Is Marketing

Networking is Marketing.

Marketing yourself, marketing your uniqueness, marketing what you stand for.”

Top 10 TIPS for Networking on LinkedIn

✅ Determine your goals and develop a plan

✅ Develop a great profile with a professional headline

✅ Use a professional photo and a professional banner

✅ Write an awesome summary

✅ indicate the types of people you wish to connect with

✅ Write a context/reason for wanting to connect

✅ Endorse the top 3 skills once you connect (your connection will do the same)

✅ Ask for recommendations

✅ Create your presence by posting value-added content

✅ Take it up a notch by commenting on other people’s posts

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Believe To Succeed

“Believing in yourself is the first secret to success”.

Top 10 TIPS for SUCCESS

10 highly successful people share their Success Hacks.

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Plan. Plan. Plan.

“Dream Big. Set Goals. Take Action.”

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Prep Up!

"Be bold enough to use your voice, brave enough to listen to your heart, and strong enough to live the life you've always imagined."

🤔 Being rejected is completely normal. But how do you deal with it?

👥👥 There are thousands of people out there, applying.

🆚 Remember, there is a lot of competition but you need to have that winning mentality and keep applying.

❌ The lack of preparation for a basic interview is a no-no.

❗ Be confident but not overconfident. You need to be smart and value your time. You need to find the right keywords and the main values of the company and the position you are applying for.

❗ Don't spend two weeks just writing one cover letter - maximum a day.

🛃 In today’s technological world, not many humans read all the applications that they receive.

💢 If it's a big company, it is normally a software system a.k.a. ATS that scans through all the targeted keywords in your application. If those keywords are not there in your application, then your application gets automatically rejected.

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Fight Or Flight

“The real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress, and grows brave by reflection.”

😞 You might get rejected from your first application or your first interview.

🤔 You figure out what was wrong, where your weaknesses lie, or what you couldn't answer correctly.

👍🏻 Go back and make sure to work on it. Take it to the next step and be ready for the next interview.

😳 Remember, you might not be successful the second time, or the third 🥺 or the fourth time 🙄 but by the time you get to that fifth time 🧐, you would have come by far a long way from your very first round, just from picking up on that knowledge base from each interview.

🗣️ So, if you can always try and get feedback on the interaction you had with each company or employer and figure out where that knowledge gap is, it would help improve your interview skills.

❓ Now would these prospective employers be happy to give you feedback?

😬 Maybe not. It doesn't happen all the time and it depends on what stage you are at.

✅ But the best approach is to follow up with a targeted email. Sometimes, they tend to be forthcoming with feedback.

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I Can And I Will

“You never know how strong you are until being strong is your only choice.”

Recovering from a job rejection - What are you doing?

No one likes being rejected. It is annoying. It makes you doubt your self-worthiness. But you need to use this rejection to propel your job search forward.

Have a winning mentality approach.

Don’t let it affect you personally.

Failure should not be an option.

You need to enhance your skills and develop what you can offer to prospective employers.

Tailor each application to each employer to grab their attention. Otherwise, it’s like saying, why should I hire you, if you are not interested in what I am doing as a company? Why should I be interested in you, as a future employee?

If you don't show that passion and that drive in your application, it is very unlikely you will get an interview. It is absolutely very necessary and important to do that research. It is crucial that you take the time to do a high-quality application, even if it takes a little longer to complete.

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Managing Job Rejections

“We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.”

Managing Job Rejections

#pocketsofwisdom

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Featured!

"Put yourself at the top of your to-do list every single day, and the rest will fall into place."

🌟 Featured on THE FUTURE OF EMPLOYMENT IN 2020 AND BEYOND, a webinar held by the Konkan Yuva Team and the Dubai Jobs Hunt community (03rd July 2020).

Have a look at the video 👇🏻👇🏻 and listen to be inspired and motivated.

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Put In The Time

🤩 Optimize your LinkedIn profile.

👩🏻‍🏫 Make sure you get a good picture, a summary section, articles and posts showing interest in whatever field you are in.

🤔 The first thing any individual will do is, be curious to know who you are and take a look at your profile. If it isn't appealing, then that's the first roadblock towards your success route.

➡️ Self-development, helping a community, setting goals, and a lot more

➡️ These are ways you can set yourself apart from others.

➡️ Set small personal and professional goals, on a daily or weekly basis, ensuring you are still achieving them. This helps to motivate you to move forward.

➡️ This is a great time to assess yourself, learn, apply and self develop.

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