Rethink Your Job Search: A Strategy to Unlock New Opportunities
3 Min Read
A career exploration and networking strategy to pair with a world-class resume tool.
Tick, tock! Did you hear the clock ticking? That's right, in the fast-paced world of job hunting, you've got a mere 6 to 7 seconds to snag an employer's attention.
Picture this: you're navigating the wild terrain of the job market, surrounded by a stampede of competitors, all vying for that coveted position. In this high-stakes game, making those fleeting moments count is your secret weapon.Enter SmartResume – your trusty partner in the epic quest for a standout resume.
We get it, crafting the perfect resume is like trying to juggle flaming swords while riding a unicycle – not exactly a walk in the park. But fear not, intrepid job seeker, for we are here to be your resume whisperers.
Here are 3 ways your SmartResume can turn heads and make you the shining star in the job application galaxy:
No more fretting over which text should be bold or whether to use bullet points or paragraphs. SmartResume has got your back!Our formatting magic ensures you have a polished, easy-to-read resume ready to be exported as a sleek PDF.And here's a tip: aiming for 100% completion will give you the best shot at crafting a resume that's truly kickass!
Describing your work experiences is arguably the hardest part of resume building. SmartResume helps you organize your work experiences so it's less overwhelming when it comes to writing it all down. We've also got options for including experiences that may not have been in a traditional "professional" setting, ensuring equal opportunities for recent college graduates and everyone else!
When considering what work experience to add, include relevant jobs to the role you’re applying for. Depending on your seniority, you can go back as far as 10-15 years. New graduate? Lacking previous experience? You can include summer jobs, internships, etc. Anything that shows your work ethic and previously utilized skills. But only go back about three years; a seasonal job you had at age 15 probably won’t be relevant.
When it comes to writing the accomplishments, use the XYZ rule to structure your sentences. The XYZ rule is: accomplished [X] as measured by [Y], by doing [Z]. It's clear and concise, and shows a potential employer exactly what you can bring to the table.Then review your sentences to include power-verbs to really spruce up your resume! Power verbs are “action based verbs with a strong meaning in the English language compared to other verbs,” like using developed instead of made, or fashioned instead of worked on. Take a look at the job description of what you’re applying for, and identify action verbs. Use those when writing out your accomplishments.
Feeling stuck or overwhelmed? Grab some scratch paper or a document, and write out any sort of work experience you have. Cross out anything that isn’t relevant to what you’re applying for. Rewrite the relevant experience using the XYZ rule and you’re good to go!
Employers want to see what you can bring to the table. There are two different types of skills you’ll want to include: hard skills and soft skills.
Hard skills are “job-related competencies and abilities that are necessary to complete work,” and soft skills are “personal qualities and traits that impact how you work.”
Hard skills are things like carpeting, copywriting, data analysis, and so on. This is where you can include certifications. Soft skills are things like creativity, being a good leader, being self-motivated, etc.
Both are equally important.
To make it easier, SmartResume has a library of over 32,000 skills, saving you the trouble of handpicking the best words. We've got it all covered for you!
Feeling like you need to beef up your skills section? Consider getting some certifications. A quick Google search can show you what certifications will work for you! Websites like LinkedIn Learning, Harvard Business School Online, Quickbooks, Coursera, and many more have tons of fields for you to get certificates in. Certifications give you a lot of credibility, therefore giving you an edge over the competition.
With SmartResume, you can import your credentials from Canvas Credentials, LearnCard Wallet, and Teacher Wallet. Your verified certificates will be displayed as a badge. Employers will be able to access any digitized academic and professional records from our partner institutions you decide to share.
At SmartResume, we're all about ensuring a level playing field. We exclude your profile picture and name to eliminate any potential hiring bias, giving everyone an equal shot at securing that dream job.
So, what are you waiting for?
It's time to harness the power of SmartResume and let your resume shine brighter than a supernova.
Reach 100% on your SmartResume today and watch the magic happen!
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A career exploration and networking strategy to pair with a world-class resume tool.
Is AI the modern foil here to destroy common hiring practices? This interview explores the impact of AI on student job applications for a team at Arizona State University (ASU). Dr. Megan Workmon Larsen, Director of Learning Experience Design at ASU Enterprise Technology, discusses the surge in AI-generated resumes and cover letters during Tech Hub recruitment, which led to a 300% increase in applications. The uniformity of these AI-generated materials posed challenges in assessing candidate skills, prompting her team to revamp their hiring processes to emphasize lived experiences, skills, and personal storytelling. The article also features insights from Ian Davidson of iDatafy on maintaining trust in the hiring process through verifiable credentials, highlighting the need for innovative and inclusive strategies to prepare learners for future careers, in line with ASU’s mission to foster curiosity, growth, and community through transformative educational experiences.
There is no putting the genie back in this bottle. Job seekers hate making resumes and feel like the odds are stacked against them by employers using AI for their own advantage. Employers are getting overwhelmed with too many perfect looking resumes and don’t know who they should interview first. I believe this development will be the forcing function that finally brings employers to the table in terms of wanting to see more Learning and Employment Records and with that move, we will see more LER adoption by job seekers and their education institutions. The stage is set for innovative companies, industry groups and education institutions to create a new path forward.
As employers strive to adopt skills based hiring practices, job seekers must be equipped with a new type of resume.
