Yesterday, I was participating in YouTern's radio show discussing what students should know about resumes and job searches when we got a caller from North Carolina. As a career center adviser for a college, she wanted to know how to equip students in handling employer stereotyping and discrimination. Many of the students she was working with made it to the interview stage, but encountered racism and discrimination that ended up in them not getting the nod to be hired. What an absolutely life-crushing moment. Students emerge from school absolutely idealistic about the opportunities in front of them, only to have their biggest dreams squashed by small-minded employers who can’t see past their own bias to recognize the wealth of experience and ideas these students offer. Discrimination is a real problem that continues to afflict the workforce... whether employers admit it or not. So what kind of advice could the radio show panelists offer the adviser who was advocating for her students? The discussion between the three of us on the show split exactly three different ways. Eric, the moderator, suggested students should be proud and not be afraid to include information about affiliations that might reveal things about race, religion,political affiliations, and gender preferences. Bluntly, he said if employers were going to be discriminatory on those points, then the students probably didn’t want to work there. I absolutely applaud this viewpoint, and couldn’t agree more. But again, I see this as idealistic. The reality is there are a lot of employers out there who do not practice or follow through on diversity initiatives. This further limits the “pool” of jobs where these students can apply. Mark, the other panelist, suggested another approach. Students should be looking at smaller companies and start ups because they are starved for talent and are more quick to snap up qualified applicants regardless of their background. New businesses are definitely looking to gain the upper hand over competitors and the owners are more hungry for energy and talent. But the downside to this viewpoint is while bigger companies might have institutional discrimination at the center of their core, smaller companies often don’t have a formal human resources infrastructure to ensure discrimination doesn’t enter into some aspect of the application screening process. Who is to say at Friday at 5:00 PM the day the application closes, behind closed doors, the employer is sifting through the pile of resumes and sees something they don’t like? You know what happens next: “Oopsie... I never received that document.” My take on how to help the caller: Most career industry professionals counsel clients to leave off any personal activities not relevant to the job in order to neutralize the document from potential discriminatory practices. Does a potential employer need to be informed your religion? Is that relevant to the job being performed? My take: if it is not relevant, leave it off. That can help in getting to the interview. But the real tool in helping students navigate through the tricky waters of discriminatory employers lies in networking. Anything they can do to learn more about the target company culture and what they value is going to help them get past the interview… and into the job. By activating an internal advocate at the company, not only does that put more weight and gravitas to the student’s application, but this company “mole” can also give advice on what the employer values and if diversity is truly a company culture advocacy area. Many businesses purport to be focusing on diversity initiatives but stop short before actually “walking the walk” – so having someone on the inside can help give students a better perspective about a culture fit.
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
BigstockMake a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
- How did I learn about this job?
- How did I apply for the job?
- Did I earn an interview?
- What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
BigstockAre you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
Let's start with resumes!
Every resume should be tailored to the position in order for it to stand out to recruiters and hiring managers. It may seem like a lot of work, but it's actually less work than submitting the same resume over and over again and never hearing back.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
BigstockYour job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
- Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
- Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
- Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.