How to Keep Track of Your Job Hunt

When sending out resumes, the last thing you want is to apply for a job at a company you've already sent a resume to for another job role. Such an action, if noticed by the company, demonstrates that you are blindly firing resumes out to every position you see, decreasing your desirability as a potential new employee.

This may not be the absolute truth, but it's still something you'll want to avoid in order to be taken seriously by employers.

These days with the current rough job market, the average job applicant may send out fifty-plus applications before securing a position. Avoid embarrassing faux-pas by making sure you document your applications in a way that makes sense to you.

This could be a written or typed list, but you can also find many applications, including online and personal software, that will take care of this for you.

Here are the top 5 best ways to keep track of your job search:

1. Keep an EXCEL Spreadsheet Log

This is the simplest way to document your job hunt. The unique flexibility of EXCEL allows you to record all the data from each job application that you may want to save.

For example:

• Company name
• Job title applied for
• Company URL
• Company address
• Company phone
• Recruiter/ HR Manager contact details
• Source of job
• Progress of application
• Call log

2. Use Job Templates in Microsoft Office 

If you have a copy of Microsoft Office, the application includes some downloadable job templates, which include a job search log in MS EXCEL.

You can also get a job application tracker in OneNote.

3. Create a Custom Job Application Template

Check out BrandKit’s Job Search Tracker. This template works in conjunction with Google Drive. Simply click on “use this template” while logged in to your Google account... and, done!

 4. Sign Up for an Online Record Tracker

Here are some good ones:

JibberJobber - you can both apply for new jobs, and track your existing applications through this interface.
ApplyMate - document both school, university and job applications. You can also set reminders and sync this site with your online calenders.
StartWire - boasting a connection with over 11,000 companies, StartWire can send you updates from the companies you apply to, increasing your chances of success.

5. Use Tools Built Into Job Search Sites

Applying for a job via a job site can open up the possibility of managing your applications online. Web websites such as Monster, CareerBuilder, and Climber have the very handy ability to let you track all the jobs you've applied for via their website.

The only negative aspect to choosing this route is that these sites aren't linked, so you'll have to manage multiple accounts and login (and.... it's spreadsheet time again). It is also possible that the same job may be posted on every site, so you could unknowingly apply for the same job twice.

Just use a little common sense and read job applications carefully, and you'll be on your way to a well-documented job hunt in no time.

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Are Cover Letters Still Relevant?

If it's one thing that recruiters are constantly asked, it's this: is including a cover letter with my resume still a good idea?

In these days of automatic Applicant Tracking Systems that crunch thousands of resumes per year per company, the obvious answer would be no. However, this fails to take into account the fact that a real live human will eventually get to read the 'winning' resumes that these systems spit out. In that case, not having a cover letter attached to your resume is as big a mistake as it used to be.

Having a really great cover letter is important because it allows your employer to 'meet' you virtually, rather than just reading through a dry resume. Most people's personalities come through in their writing, and your word choice, overall tone and general presentation will allow your potential hiring company to get a much clearer view of who you are and as well as what you have to offer the company.

Here are the top 4 attributes of a great cover letter:

Keep It Simple Silly (K.I.S.S.)

In a cover letter, you are writing an introduction to your resume here, not the next War and Peace novel. Just as really effective resume should be kept to 1-2 pages max, a world-class cover letter should stick to 1-2 paragraphs max. Don't tell your life story - that's what the interview's for.

Tell Them Who You Are

Do you have any personal connection to the company? Did you meet their Head Editor at a conference last year, or have you followed them for many years on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn or similar networking sites? Don't be shy - announce that personal connection!

Tell them Why They Should Hire You

The simple answer should be your obvious passion for the company, which should come through in the way you write your cover letter. Don't just write "I love your company!" - that's too 'on the nose' and akin to blurting out the big 'L' word during a first date, or worse, before it.

Highlight Your #1 Best Attribute

Even with the shortest one-page resume, employers will still skim read. If you've been modest and tucked away the 'little' fact that you saved your company $20 million dollars last year through making a few choice tweeks to the budgeting system, the cover letter is the place to sing it from the rooftops. Be modest about your achievements, but don't hide them, either.

In summary, even though today's application procedures are becoming largely automated, a great cover letter can help the hiring manager draw a firm deciding line between you and a similarly qualified candidate who forgot to include a cover letter.

Keep it simple, be bold, and great forces may come to your aid.

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Resume Tip: How to Eliminate Unnecessary Wording From Your Resume

These days, the golden rule is to try to keep your resume to two pages or less. One page is ideal unless you are a manager with decades of experience.

If you are struggling to follow this rule and shorten your resume, a great way to do that is by re-reading your resume and cutting down your text to eliminate unnecessary job description and excessive verbiage.

Here's what to look for:

Trivial Job Tasks

This is perhaps the easiest text to cut. Most jobs have trivial tasks involved which do not need to be listed in the job description.

For instance, if you're a graphic designer, employers take it as written that you'll know how to print out your own work and purchase new printing supplies and paper. Listing these tasks wastes valuable resume real estate, as well as hijacking space that would be better put to use listing real achievements that will set you apart from the crowd.

If you've listed any trivial tasks like these, get rid of them right away:

• Restocked office supplies
• Tidied office, took out the trash each night
• Refilled coffee machine on a daily basis
• Kept my workstation clean and tidy
• Key-holder responsible for opening up office every day

Basic Computer Skills

If you're applying for any IT or tech-based job, it is assumed that you have basic computer skills. Listing every single program you know how to use - especially those not related to the job you are applying for - creates unnecessary clutter that is annoying for the hiring manager to plow through.

For example:

• Troubleshooting Windows issues (unless you have advanced Geek Squad skills)
• Creating documents in Microsoft Word and Notepad
• Daily use of printer and associated software
• PC literate (if you are Mac AND PC literate, list that. If you only know one system then it's not worth listing).

Overlong Descriptions

Are you guilty of writing the next War and Peace when a short amount of text would suffice? Follow these 3 rules to shorten your resume naturally:

• Too many 'Ands' in a sentence. Each sentence should only contain one or two 'ands' or else things get confusing. Break up sentences with excessive 'and' usage with full stops and semi-colons. For instance: "My job duties included creating purchase orders and website templates, and also writing and printing brand mock-ups" should be edited to: "My job duties included creating purchase orders and website templates. I also wrote and printed brand mock-ups."
• It is far better to write about your achievements in the position, rather than listing every tedious task you performed. For example, if you're a janitor, write: "Improved upon previous standards of cleanliness by cleaning restrooms every hour, exceeding to the previous year's requirement to clean restrooms twice daily." This is better than "Cleaned restrooms hourly. Took out trash. Scrubbed floors. Refilled soap dispensers."
• Eliminate overly descriptive words and phrases. You're not writing a novel here, so unless you're applying to be a writer in a fiction department, your resume should avoid overly colorful job descriptions. For example: "Java Programmer, responsible for coloring the digital space on the Interwebs with melodious cascades of code."

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5 Reasons Calibri is the Best Font for Your Resume

1. 12-point Calibri produces perfectly sized resumes of 550 to 750 words on two pages. If you need more space, 11-point works well too.
2. Because of this, Calibri focuses writers on telling their readers a 100% relevant story of reasonable length — the best kind.
3. Research has shown that readers associate Calibri with stability. Employers like stability in an employee.
4. Calibri was made to be read on a computer screen, which is where most people read resumes. It renders beautifully.
5. Calibri is Microsoft Word’s default font. Thus, it’s familiar to readers and easy on their eyes. The more resumes they read, the more that matters.

Yes, Calibri, when it comes to resumes, you’re simply fontastic!



IMAGE: © VEGE – FOTOLIA.COM

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The Top 5 Reasons Recruiters Reject Your Resume

What do recruiters like and dislike most about resumes? A couple of university researchers in Australia had nothing better to do than try to answer this question. And I had nothing better to do than read the results of their study. By far the most impressive part of the study was that they managed to convince 68 managers and HR professionals who didn’t have to to read a bunch of resumes and cover letters.

Here’s what they found:

When the readers LIKED a candidate it was, in order of importance, because:

1. They had experience that was relevant to the job at hand.
2. They liked the format of the applicant’s resume.
3. The applicant met the qualifications (things like education, etc.) for the job.

When the readers NOT LIKED a candidate it was, in order of importance, because:

1. They lacked experience.
2. Their resume had a poor format.
3. Their resume lacked information.
4. Their resume lacked achievements.
5. They had a poor cover letter.

The takeaways?

1. You better have relevant experience.
2. Your resume better have a good format.
3. You better tell your readers what they want to know and tell them about your achievements.
4. Oh, and the cover letter? This study supports the notion that your cover letter can hurt you more than it can help you. Beware!

Source: The Impact of Competency Statements on Resumes for Short-Listing Decisions, Jim E.H. Bright & Sonia Hutton. International Journal of Selection & Assessment, Vol. 9, No. 2, June 2000.

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