Our team has over 10 years of experience recruiting for technical roles throughout Western Canada. Our aim with candidates is to always understand their goals, skills, and career aspirations before connecting them to an opportunity. This Tuesday we are applying our expert knowledge to help job seekers simplify an otherwise tedious, overwhelming, and demoralizing process. Follow these five tips to improve your job search and application processes!

1. Update Your LinkedIn Profile

Most Hiring Managers and Recruiters use LinkedIn to search for new candidates. Providing up-to-date information on your LinkedIn profile transforms you into a more appealing candidate. Investing time in updating the Profile, About, Experience, Education, Interests, and Skills sections of your profile allows recruiters and employers to learn more about you. Also, enable the #OpenToWork feature (Follow this link for instructions). This feature lets recruiters and your network on LinkedIn know you’re open to new job opportunities. Your profile tells a story, and adding details to your story makes it more engaging and informative.

2. Update Your Resume

This step is a no-brainer! Updating your resume goes hand-in-hand with updating your LinkedIn profile. However, the main difference is that the process of updating your resume is more ambiguous. In this step, we provide three helpful articles from reputable business publications to improve your resume formatting skills.

How to Write the Perfect Resume – Forbes

 In this Article, Wasim Hajjiri provides tips on harnessing Applicant Tracking System software (ATS) and tailoring your resume to a specific job description which will improve your chances of getting an interview. “Over 75% of companies use an ATS to find job candidates” (Forbes, 2021).

How to Get Your Resume Notices (And Out of the Trash Bin) – Harvard Business Review 

 Similar to Hajjiri’s article, Kristi DePaul writes about the use of Artificial Intelligence in Resume screening. DePaul lays out the Do’s and Don’t’s of making  your resume stand out and “Outsmart the Robots”.

We Asked a Career Expert to Build the Perfect Resume…– Business Insider 

Business Insider and career expert Amanda Augustine put together a strong sample resume as inspiration for Job Seekers.

3. Create Profiles on Popular Job Posting Sites

As recruiters, we use ZipRecruiter, LinkedIn, and Indeed to search for and reach out to candidates. Make sure to maintain a presence on each platform to improve your chances of finding the right job for you.

4. Beware of Job Scammers 

A study conducted by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) discovered that employment scams targeting job seekers in a turbulent pandemic job market are on the rise. The BBB found that in 2020, roughly 14 million victims with $2 billion in direct losses related to job scams. Job scammers use fake job ads to commit identity theft, employment scams, and write fake checks. Follow this link to read more about this issue and learn tips to avoid job scams.

5. Be Honest

Lying on your resume prevents you from being successful in your new role. Many people pad their resumes because they think it will improve their chances of getting a job. Resume padding means adding false or exaggerated information to your resume to enhance your credentials for a job. Instead of lying on your resume, highlight your experience and state that you’re eager to learn and enhance your current skillsets. 

Have a topic you’d like us to write about? Send your request to info@torustalent.com!