A lot has changed in the job-seeking world since the corona virus hit, and we are not only talking about revolutions such as "quiet resignations" or resignations in general. It seems that a workplace, in its dry definition, no longer exists.
First, it's no longer called a workplace but it is rather a work environment. Since a vast majority of the world has shifted into a hybrid working model, when employees work from home that is their new workplace. Even if we take our mobile phone to a coffee shop we can still work, and the coffee shop will be considered our work environment.
Employers know this and adjust their job offers accordingly, with luring work-from-home conditions and comfortable hours. Since such a revolution has already begun in the job-searching process, it is only logical that the conservative CV-writing task would undergo a similar "revolution" as well.
Submitting a regular CV will not help us stand out from the competition. Today, tech jobs attract dozens and sometimes hundreds of applicants. Companies know this and so they run aggressive recruitment campaigns, costing hundreds of thousands if not millions of shekels. They hire big talents to star in those campaigns, ranging from Lior Suchard to Udi Kagan.
And if these campaigns are being broadcast on every media platform possible - just think about the number of resumes the hiring company is getting. An article published in Mako tells us about how over 1800 CVs were sent to the company LSports since the beginning of their 'A month of life as a gift' campaign. So even if we have all the skills required for the job, the competition is still not easy.
We’ve gathered several important tips to help you stand out from the competition in today’s new world of employment.
The traditional way - A Standard Resume in PDF format
No matter how much time will pass or how many revolutions the market will go through - the good old PDF resume is still the most popular way for job application. It’s not that we have anything against it, it’s just a regular Word file saved as a PDF, made to be easier for recruiters and word scanning software to read.
While Word-format files don’t always look good on mobile devices, PDF files are adjusted for mobile view. And today, for those of you who remember, when our work environment is just about everywhere, a mobile device fully functions as a desktop. Therefore, it’s also important to make your CV adjusted for view on mobile phones.
Another reason to not send Word formatted documents is they can be edited. In a case where a recruiter might accidentally delete something from your resume and then pass it forward, it’s now out of your hands. Keep the Word files for drafts, and for job applications send the PDF only.
LinkedIn - a social network designed to find us a job
A resume is nice, but many companies and employers today are on LinkedIn. According to a study conducted in 2017, 122 million female and male candidates were interviewed through LinkedIn and 30% of them were hired through their connection with the recruiter. As of today these numbers are much higher. And according to LinkedIn itself, every 7.5 seconds a recruit is made through the platform.
For those of you who don't know (and it's about time you do), LinkedIn is a business-focused social network. Sort of like Facebook, only your profile doesn’t contain lots of photos and exciting posts, but its focus is on finding the next job.
From your profile picture which should be professional, to the nature of the things you post - LinkedIn is the place to market yourself professionally.
Groups, as we might know from Facebook, were also business-converted on LinkedIn. Less "dogs and memes and everything in between", and more "digital world" and groups designed to promote our profile passively with tips, or actively with training workshops.
Another very important thing you might notice, is that most profiles are usually in English. We said business, didn't we? Ads for tech jobs will usually display the position in English, so it is important that both your CV and profile be made in English. Also, the more technological jobs will require a certain level of English, so it is important to show knowledge beginning with your LinkedIn profile.
Networking - Recruit a friend
LinkedIn goes hand in hand with networking. We’ve talked about why LinkedIn is important, so creating connections and making friends with people from your company (and others) is just as important. You’ve probably received the generic “sorry but we have moved forward with another candidate” message after sending in your application for a job. Who hasn’t? Sometimes these messages are wrong, or are just sent automatically. Your chances are higher if you send the resume through someone within the company, or even the recruitment department - and you will receive a human response.
So yes, we are sorry to say that the "rise of the machines" in the field of recruitment has probably failed. If you have the opportunity to make contacts with recruiters - even through LinkedIn - and pass the resume through them, it’s better than sending your CV in bulk.
Don’t send too many CVs. If you want to get a referral from someone within a certain company you might find that your resume is "already in the database", and in that case you will have to wait a certain cooling-off period. Sometimes there might even not be a possibility to submit your resume again at all.
Designed CV - a way to stand out from the competition
We’ve already talked about how a regular PDF resume will probably not give us any amazing advantage over dozens or hundreds of candidates. So how can we stand out? That’s right - a designed CV.
Don't worry, this article is not going to teach you design. Today everything can easily be done online, and this is precisely where AI comes in our favor. While there are many ways to design your resume, including by yourself, or paying a designer hundreds and sometimes thousands of shekels, we recommend using an online CV builder - super convenient!
In 5 minutes you will have created a designed resume that will help you stand out. All you have to do is just choose a desired template, enter details (such as work experience, academic experience, a short paragraph about yourself) and you are done! The file will be sent to your e-mail in PDF format of course, we have already talked about the importance of this.
Bottom line
The employment world as we know it is changing, along with the way we approach jobs. There are several ways to stand out from the competition, and we hope that with the tools we have brought you in this article you’ll find the way that suits you best, or combine several ways to stand out and get the desired job.
Good luck to everyone!