JOB SEARCH TIP

* Go the extra mile when sending your application. Many online job postings provide a link or an email address where applicants can fill out an application or send their resumes. This is a necessary step, and applicants should follow the directions in the posting. But applicants who really want to get noticed can take the extra step of finding the contact information for the company’s hiring manager and sending their resume directly to that person’s email address. Include the title of the position you’re applying for in the subject line of your email, and cut and paste your cover letter into the body of the email. In addition to sending your email to the company’s hiring manager, consider CC’ing the person who might be your boss if you were to get the position.

JOB SEARCH TIP

* Tighten things up. Your resume should reflect your work experience, but you want to focus primarily on the experience and skills that are relevant to the position. You can list past positions or internships you’ve had, but keep the synopsis of those positions brief if they bear little relevance to the position for which you’re applying. The main focus of your resume should be the things you have done in the past that make you the best candidate for this job. This might change as you apply for various positions, but tailor each resume to each specific position.

JOB SEARCH TIP

* Make your resume download-friendly. Applying for positions but getting little response despite your qualifications? Chances are your resume might not be download-friendly. Bullet points and boxes might look good to you, but if the hiring manager on the receiving end of your resume does not have the same version of the program you’re using, that resume might look like a scrambled mess by the time the it’s downloaded. In such instances your resume is almost certain to end up in the scrap heap, no matter how qualified you might be. When uploading your resume to a company Web site or emailing it to a hiring manager, choose a format they can easily download. A PDF, for example, is a format that’s easy to download and unlikely to scramble.

JOB SEARCH TIP

* Beware of hyperlinks. Adding hyperlinks to a resume can be hit or miss. When it’s a hit, a hiring manager can click on a link in your resume and be taken directly to samples of your work. However, if you’re asked to submit your resume via an online application instead of sending it directly to a hiring manager’s email address, then those same hyperlinks might be relegating your application to the trash bin before it’s ever seen. That’s because the database may be programmed to associate any documents with hyperlinks as spam, in which case the hiring manager will never see your application or resume. Hyperlinks can be useful and help you stand out, but only when they’re employed under the right circumstances.

JOB SEARCH TIP

* Include social media profiles. More and more companies want employees who are familiar with social media, which can work to an applicants’ advantage or prove detrimental. If you have been responsible regarding your use of social media, conducting yourself in a professional matter and even benefitting your existing employer, by all means share these profiles with potential employers. But if you have traditionally used social media purely as a social tool and not in a professional manner, then it bears little relevance to your job search and likely won’t help you stand out for the right reasons.

RESUME TIP

* Show accomplishments rather than responsibilities. Many hiring managers are experienced enough to know the responsibilities of a certain job title. So instead of listing your responsibilities as a Regional Sales Manager, list what you accomplished during your time in that position. Be as specific as possible, listing any sales goals you exceeded and awards you might have won. Your achievements are what set you apart from other candidates with similar work histories, so use your resume to highlight those achievements instead of listing your responsibilities.

RESUME TIP

* Keep things brief. Brevity should be your friend when accentuating your accomplishments on your resume. Your resume should highlight those accomplishments and that should be enough to secure an interview. When you get that interview, that’s when you can go into greater detail. But try to keep your resume to one or two pages.

RESUME TIP

* Remove older positions. Older positions, such as a long-ago college internship, have no place on a seasoned professional’s resume. On a similar note, if you have long since changed careers, you may not need to include much about your previous positions in another field, especially if your work experience in your new field is extensive. Hiring managers likely won’t be interested in a past work history if it’s irrelevant to your current field.

RESUME TIP

* Consider a new format. Few job postings request applicants to send in their resumes via snail mail, so unlike the days of old, you probably won’t be printing your resume as a Microsoft(R) Word document and mailing it to prospective employers. As a result, you might want to consider a new format when submitting your resume via a company’s Web site. Word documents might be acceptable, but such documents can easily become encoded in the uploading process or won’t be readable if the hiring manager has a different version of Word than you do. Consider uploading your resume as a PDF or as plain text, as such formats are less likely to become scrambled during when they are uploaded or downloaded.

RESUME TIP

* Upload your resume to a professional networking site. Many professionals are initially hesitant to upload their resumes to a business networking site such as LinkedIn(R) out of fear that their current employers will feel they are looking for a new job. But so many professionals are now members of such sites that it’s no longer associated with a job search as much as it is an easy way to keep in touch with professional contacts. In addition, many recruiters rely on sites like LinkedIn to find qualified professionals, which only makes it easier to find your next job.