Get Ready to Get Hired

By now we’ve all heard of The Great Resignation – also referred to as The Great Reshuffle, among other nicknames. Workers in all industries are looking for new career opportunities at near record levels. With that comes stronger competition for the jobs that are available.

Maybe it’s been a while since you’ve changed jobs. Or perhaps you’re considering switching to a different industry that may have a more formal interview process. We’ve pulled together a few tips to make sure your application process gets off on the right foot.

Update Your Resume

Keeping your resume up to date does not have to be time consuming. One of the best ways is to take a few minutes out of your day once a month to update, if needed. If you are taking on bigger roles in your job, add that in now so you won’t have trouble remembering when you want to start applying for different jobs down the road.

When job searching, keep an eye out for what the hiring managers are asking for. Look closely at the job descriptions and tailor your resume to emphasize skills, qualities and experience specific to each application.

Ensure Your Voicemail is Properly Set Up

One of the most important aspects of a job search is ensuring your voicemail is set up properly. Create a greeting that is appropriate for when a recruiter or hiring manager reaches out to have a conversation or schedule an interview.

Employers will pay attention to your voicemail greeting in detail. If it sounds unprofessional, there’s a possibility they will hang up without leaving a message, and you’ve lost a potential opportunity to work with them.

Make Sure Your Email Address is Professional

Your email address matters when job searching. You want hiring managers to see a professional address that may have your name in it to help with verification. An email you created in high school may cause them to skip past you in the hiring process. If you’ve had the same personal email for years and don’t want to give it up, then create a specific account just for job searching.

Your email address can include

• Your full name
• First name/last name
• Initials or minor variation

What to avoid

• Using your birthdate, for security reasons.
• Nicknames, hobbies, pet’s names, or any personal information.
• Legacy email platforms like Yahoo or AOL. Using Gmail or other free non-subscription base providers may be your best bet. This information might come as a surprise, but hiring managers may judge technical relevancy based on your email provider.

When using a voicemail greeting or email address that is unprofessional, you give potential employers the impression that you may not be taking your job search seriously. So get your resume and your methods of communication up to date, and go land your dream job!