EXPAND YOUR NETWORK OF CONTACTS
More than 85% of the job offers are not published. There are several ways to access these unpublished offers, one is through spontaneous self-candidacy and the other is by managing your network of contacts.
We need to know how to manage our face-to-face and/or virtual networks very well. You must be willing to help others and to contribute, “networks are not one-way street”. Think that among your 10 contacts there may be someone willing to help you and who can open the doors to employment. Generate opportunities by letting your contacts know that you are actively looking for a job. Establish contact and cultivate relationships with people who can help you find job opportunities.
THE CURRICULUM VITAE AND THE LETTER OF PRESENTATION: are the key tools to get interviews.
“Many candidates are discarded in the selection processes, because they do not have a good resume adapted to each job offer, despite having the necessary skills for the position. You must invest time to prepare a good resume customized to each job offer,” says Maria Luz Pomares.
“Use keywords that define your profile, add professional achievements and recommendations, include the most outstanding knowledge and your most important skills for the position, but, above all, stand out as a candidate and be different from the rest. Remember that the most important thing is that each resume you submit must express your value proposition for that job. Emphasize what makes you different, your strengths and your specialties. Personalize your application with a cover letter,” says Pomares.
Use keywords in your CV
Competition for jobs is high. Our first objective is that the company reads our cv. No matter how good our resume is, how nice it is and how well our profile fits the position they are looking for, it will not help us if no one reads it. And for that they must find our curriculum among the tens, hundreds or thousands of ctvs. that the recruiter has in the database of his company, LinkedIn or within the job offer he has published in a job portal.
Why should we use keywords in the resume?
So that we can be found in search engines: LinkedIn, company databases or even within job offers published in job portals.
The first thing the recruiter will do is visually search for keywords that match the position they need to fill. For example, if they are looking for a Java programmer, they will take a quick look at your cv for the word Java. If he finds the keywords he’s looking for, he’ll take a closer look at your cv.
What keywords should we use?
To know the keywords to use in your cv you need to know what companies are looking for. Read carefully the job offers of the positions you apply for and find the words they usually use to describe those positions.
Put yourself in the place of the recruiter, if you had to do a search on the Internet, to find a professional like you, what words would you put in the search engine? For example, for a search of a commercial executive of a pharmaceutical company, the recruiter could search for the following words: pharmaceutical salesman, medical visitor… Think of all the possible words by which they can search for a professional like you, and include them in your cv, in its corresponding section and with sense.
A large number of searches are made using the name of the position. If the name they give to your job, in your company, is specific and is not used by other companies in the sector, I recommend that you change it. It would be more appropriate to use the generic title that best suits your functions.
If your profile is technical, I’m sure you already have a section in your cv where you list all the technologies you know. If not, create one now. Even if your profile is not technical, don’t forget to include the software you know. If, for example, you have worked at user level with SAP, don’t forget to put it on your CV. Most searches are done using these technical words.
Many job portals, company databases and LinkedIn, have a section to include skills, knowledge…it’s like a keyword list, don’t overlook it. Add anything that fits your experience and knowledge.
IMPROVE YOUR COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Develop your skills and communication abilities because it is important that we know how to communicate what we know how to do and what our interests are in order to pass a job interview and be able to apply for a good job.
Communication is a highly valued skill that is increasingly demanded from workers because the job requires relationships with other team members, with bosses or collaborators, as well as with customers, among others.
Non-verbal language is also fundamental and we must improve these skills in order to perform our work well and to be able to work in harmony and improve relations with the rest of the team.
ACCESS THE HIDDEN MARKET
How to access the job offers that are never published (which are 85%)
How to access the job offers that are never published and remain in the so-called hidden market?
Surely you did not know that more than 85% of the vacancies that exist in companies are not published, because that is the case. As then we can have access to these vacancies: well through two ways fundamentally: YOUR NETWORK OF CONTACTS AND SPONTANEOUS SELF-CANDIDACY.
The CURRICULUM VITAE is the key tool to get interviews, but the “Soft Skills” are essential to get the so desired job.
From MLP we point out the most outstanding ones for both junior and senior management profiles:
“To manage the selection process, some of the most important competences that we take into account for the junior profiles are: motivation towards the position and/or sector, adaptation capacity, initiative, teamwork, communication skills, commitment and responsibility, as well as assessing whether the candidate has any practical experience in the company; for the senior profiles, results orientation, decision-making capacity, strategic vision, planning and organization, persuasion and influence and/or negotiation capacity, innovation and proactivity, as well as the capacity to work under pressure. In both cases, among the most valued by companies are, continuous training, knowledge of English language and mastery of digital skills. Mª Luz Pomares; Director of MLP people + business.
“The job market requires candidates to be constantly updated, with a good level of English and digital skills”. Mª Luz Pomares; Director of MLP people + business consultancy.
Edited by María Luz Pomares Soler. MLP people + business Director
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