Why candidates have to think beyond resumes
Here is a familiar scenario that evokes the déjà vu feeling in most candidates hunting for a job.
You have applied for a job through an online portal with a professionally written resume that mentions all relevant skills and qualifications required for the job. Yet, you don’t hear back.
Why do you think your resume did not have the desired effect? There could be a few reasons not linked to your resume. Perhaps, your resume:
- Lacked clarity and originality
- Looked a bit too tailored to the role
- Matched other resumes that came in through referrals
- Did not generate confidence in the screening personnel
- Had no differentiating factor to offer
By now, you understand that even a professionally written resume may not necessarily help you land that dream job. If you analyse and understand the reason behind this paradigm shift, you are better armed for what lies ahead.
The phenomenal shift
The hiring industry had shifted gears to leverage technological advances in the pre-pandemic era to overcome the challenges of traditional processes. Whether time, cost, bias, lags or ineffectiveness in finding the right people, the woes abounded.
The pandemic heightened these issues and brought home the effectiveness of technological tools in turning around outcomes. Automated screening and scheduling and customised online assessments became the norm. Evaluating candidates beyond their technical skills became a key priority. With organisations opting for a holistic evaluation focussed on behavioural and on-the-job skills, resumes became defunct.
Let’s understand this change through some thought-provoking insights.
- A single job posting gets more than 250 applications on average, with less than 10 clearing the screening stage.
- You need about 10–20 applications to land an interview.
- To get an offer, you would have to attend 10 to 15 interviews.
- A resume is only 10% of why you get hired.
Even if you had mentioned all the right skills, your resume may not make it past the automated screening. A recent HirePro report found that 56% of candidates claim skills they barely know. Talent acquisition professionals are now well aware of the resume manipulation done by candidates.
What’s the impact of all these on recruitment? The HirePro study says that currently recruiters do not trust resumes as 85% of candidates lie in their resumes. The resume is now similar to the business card of a marketing professional who drops it, hoping to get a call back. But with multitudes of resumes showcasing similar credentials, it’s time to think beyond. And more so if you want to change your career path. The HirePro study found that 92% of career switches happen within organisations.
The way forward
How can you prove your worth for a job differently? Here are a few tips.
Networking
If you have not yet tried the employee referral option, it’s high time you did. Here’s why.
- Employee referrals account for 30–50% of all hires.
- Referrals are four times more likely to be offered a job than website applicants.
- 88% of employers rate employee referral programmes as the best source of applicants.
The trust factor in referred candidates is very high, especially in the backdrop of manipulated resumes. How can you find those referrals? It’s simple: networking. Find the right contacts by exploring and expanding your network to get insider tips on jobs and opportunities. Networking even helps you find jobs that are not published.
Build a network relevant to your role and industry to increase your chances. Some other options to network effectively are:
- Join LinkedIn groups
- Attend industry events
- Reach out to ex-colleagues or alumni
Exclusive communities
Nowadays, candidates have many avenues. You can join some exclusive communities to showcase your talent convincingly. For example, MyCareernet, a unique talent solution portal from Careernet, enables employers to create hiring challenges and curated events to hone in on the right people. Candidates can participate in these challenges to showcase their skills effectively to get hired.
Participate in events
Watch out for corporate events like hackathons or specific campaigns. Such events are a viable avenue to showcase your expertise to the right stakeholders. It will give you the much-needed visibility and confidence.
Leverage social media
Create curated content related to your industry or role and use your social media accounts to highlight it. You could create blogs and videos or share perspectives, innovative solutions, code discussions, research updates, etc. To get noticed, work towards being a thought leader.
If you are on a job hunt, switch from the traditional approach to a more effective one suited for the digital era. Leverage networking to find those referrals or prove your credentials innovatively to land that dream job.
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