Search Engine Optimizing your CV or Resume

As an ex recruiter my clients often ask me what steps they can take to make sure that their CVs are found on Recruiter and Company CV Databases.

It’s relatively simple once you understand the nature of these Databases. Essentially they act like little search engines, mini Googles if you will.

A query run by a recruiter is based on keywords which in turn should be based on the main skills required for their client. You as the jobseeker have a number of ways to manipulate the odds in your favour by using two simple tricks.

Keyword Density

To determine what the best keywords are for your desired role, have a think about what a recruiter would use to find you! If you are a Java programmer, make sure that the word Java is included more times than you currently have, of course without being too obvious. If you have a degree, mention it in your Career Summary as well as your Education section.

The same applies to job titles, industries and so on.

Updating the Recruiter

The second part to keeping your CV high on the list is to make sure that you contact your recruiters via email regularly. Their databases work on a combination of keyword density and recent updating of your file. For example, if the recruiter has two identical CVs in terms of keywords on their database, the one that was updated most recently will rank higher.

Assuming the recruiter or their administrator is diligent in updating contact on their database, (also bearing in mind the larger recruiters have smart software that automatically import emails to a given candidate’s file) sending an email that does not require a response, i.e. “just letting you know that I am still on the lookout for specific roles, feel free to contact me should a suitable role come your way”, on a regular basis will keep you at the top of searches, remind the recruiter that you’re still on the market and will ultimately ensure that you get called before the competition for the right role.

So remember, Search Engine Optimize your CV and keep in regular contact with your Recruiters.

To learn more about CV and Jobsearching advice visit www.mynewcv.ie or contact sales@mynewcv.ie
www.mynewcv.ie is a company dedicated to maximising candidate's chances of securing and steering interviews to a successful conclusion. 

How to get the most from Recruiters

Firstly, I do have to declare my own bias, for good or ill. I’ve had a number of years as a recruiter and have also been a candidate with good, bad and indifferent experiences with recruiters, so please indulge me if you think I’m a bit skewed!

There are certain truths about the recruitment profession and to benefit most as a jobseeker you need to understand these truths.

Candidates do not pay recruiters, hiring companies do, and then generally only when the candidate has been placed, has started and indeed stays with the company for an amount of time. Also bearing in mind that most recruiters are in competition with other recruiters on the same job, and mostly in competition with the hiring company themselves. You, as a jobseeker, are a commodity, a means to an end, and although many many recruiters get great pleasure from getting jobs for people, they don’t get any money!

So, how it generally works from the recruiter’s point of view is as follows.

Their client supplies a requirement, the two companies should agree a fee, based on a percentage of the successful candidate’s first years salary, a jobspec and interview process and ideally a timeframe for filling the role.

Now it’s a race against time for most recruiters, to get the best candidate in front of the hiring manager as fast as they can, before the competition can. This is why you might find some recruiters being abrupt and you may feel pressured into going for a role that may not suit you upon first glance. A point to make here which is vitally important for you as a jobseeker is to get confirmation of your application from the recruiter in writing.

A couple of years ago, when I was still in recruitment, I was looking for a new role and I found that a recruiter with whom I had been in touch had sent my CV to a couple of companies without my express permission and in one case against my specific wishes. Suffice to say I refused point blank to deal with the company again! So, if your recruiter gives any resistance at all to you sending written confirmation that your CV has been sent, walk away.

Back to the process, the recruiter now has to supply feedback to the candidate, but in fairness to them, the majority of times when there is no feedback is due to the fact that there is no feedback from the hiring company. Either that or it’s bad news and the recruiter is spending their time either speaking to more successful candidates or finding new ones. Courtesy would suggest that you should be told as soon as there is feedback, but courtesy is unfortunately often nothing to do with it! Suffice to say if indeed you are being called for an interview, you’ll know all about it.

So, you need to remember that it’s a process, you’re a commodity to the recruiter, if it works well, from your perspective you have one or more people working for you, to achieve your ends, for FREE.

Think about that. Think about when you got interviews through a recruiter, what did you get out of it, and what did you give them? Conversely of course, if it does not go well, they were using you for free to make money! So, it’s all in the mind, how it’s taken, so the important thing here is to be very clear that it’s business, not personal. If you feel a recruiter hates your guts, it doesn’t matter one jot as they will place you if they can make money from it. Now that’s not a reflection on their personality or yours, it’s just business.

Recruiters often talk about being in a sales industry where the product is unpredictable, talks back, changes its mind and generally messes them around. But of course, it’s all in their minds too.

There are genuinely lots and lots of honest, ethical recruiters out there, but their function, their loyalty, their paymasters are the companies that use their services. I would put it to you as a jobseeker, that when you start paying recruiters to get you a job, then you can expect top class service from them all, but until that happens, same old same old I’m afraid.

So, what you need to do is to establish who are the best recruiters in your industry. Both companies and individuals. Get your details in front of them using the following steps.

CV - Use MS Word as most of the recruiters use search technologies requiring MS word for their databases. Make sure that the version of the CV you submit is keyword rich, in the same way that google uses keyword density to decide page rank, the same applies.

Therefore some good advice for agency recruiter management is to create an extra page to your CV, a skills matrix if you will, listing in bullet form your skills, experiences and qualifications. This will get you found.

Your cover email must tell the agent what they want to know.

Required salary or rate

Availability to start and or interview

Notice period in current role if applicable

Ability to work in the country, visa issues if any

Desire for contract and or permanent work

Desired physical location of your next role

Industry and anything related they may need to know such as, if you’re getting married towards the end of the year, the prospective employer will need to know that you’ll be on honeymoon not long after starting, for instance.

Don’t send a CV to a lot of agencies and expect them all to be banging your door down. Trust me, recruitment technology is such nowadays that when a role comes up that could make them money they will be onto you very quickly.

However, I recommend that you come back to your list of contacts within the industry and email them on the same day each month. Be it the first or last day, just to make sure that they are aware of you. They may not get back to you immediately or at all, but all that means is that they can’t make money from you.

What to watch out for, how to spot unethical recruiters

Like any industry there are cowboys, so let’s find out how to spot them. Ask for written confirmation as discussed, if it’s not forthcoming, run away, demand that your details be taken from their system and quote Data Protection at them, that’ll do the trick.

Watch out for recruiters trying to get you to take a pay cut! Enough said. Also, request that the CV that was sent to a client be also sent to you, including cover email, to make sure at interview that there have been no lies told on your behalf. It’s important to ask for this, because you could lose control of an interview if this happens.

In conclusion, recruiters are perceived as a necessary evil, but a lot of them do a great job for their clients, but you have to remember that you are not their clients! You are the commodity and as you don’t pay them, they don’t owe you anything.

You in fact use their resources to get a role, their wages, their fixtures and fittings. On the other hand, you have to watch out for the unethical ones.

As mentioned, establish who are the best ones for you, put them on a list and contact them. Then contact them regularly until such time as you have finished your jobsearch.

Ruadhri McGarry of mynewcv.ie on City Channel's Evening Show discussing CVs with David Harvey. Broadcast 23rd March 2010.

Alternatives to the traditional CV

It's probably safe to say that most jobseekers at present have their two or three page CV created and saved in Microsoft Word. It's also equally safe to say that if you're a jobseeker, you're in the same situation as a large number of similarly qualified and experienced candidates, who have similar MS Word based CVs.
A question to ask yourself is, how are you standing out?.
If the answer is that you're not standing out, then perhaps you may want to think about it from the perspective of a hiring manager with a job to fill.
This manager will have a large amount of CVs to sift through, all of them in MS Word or variants. However, here are some simple steps to help your application stand out from the rest.

1: The World Wide Web
There are a number of ways of hosting your CV on the internet, and rather than just emailing your CV to the hiring company, why not consider emailing a link to your online CV or Resume as well?
My favourite site in this area is www.visualcv.com. They allow you to host your CV for free, creating a custom url or web address based on your name, e.g. www.visualcv.com/ruadhri where you can view an example that Ive created.
Also bearing in mind that more and more people are using mobile devices to view their email, why not create a version of your CV that can be easily used and designed for mobile devices?
Here at mynewcv.ie we are pioneering this method, feel free to get in touch to learn more about this service.
Don't forget about sites like www.linkedin.com and www.xing.com, not only are they great networking tools, but they are also places to get recruited!

2: Portable Document File
Also known as PDF, Adobes product is an excellent way of creating a static, read only version of MS Word documents.
They print better, look better and cannot be manipulated, plus as they are effectively an image rather than a standard file, they hold any and all formatting, irrespective of the software being used on the hiring managers technology.
The only caveat Id mention about PDFs is that if youre sending the document to a recruiter or to a large company to be held on file, most recruitment searching technology is geared towards MS Word, rather than PDFs.
That's not to say that they're not searchable, but only that its easier not to.

3: Consider the Resume
Especially in Western Europe, the mindset has been to use the CV as the main sales document, however, feedback from hiring companies, bearing in mind how quickly they must decide on candidates for specific roles, a one page resume can get you to the top of the pile.
If your communication skills are such that you can condense your career into one page, then what are you waiting for? It will guarantee that you stand out from the other applicants, and if well written, will leave the reader wanting to know more. Plus its an excellent interview tool, just one page, with space for notes by the interviewer of course can be very useful.

If you require more information on converting your CV to a Resume, feel free to contact us.

Using Social Media for Jobsearching

Firstly, how would you define social media. In my view it simply boils down to the whole web 2.0 concept, interactive web based marketing if you will.

Depending on where you are in your jobsearch you can have different avenues open to you, but if you’re already in employment, its not necessarily a good idea to have your CV absolutely everywhere including in front of your current bosses, who tend to take a dim view of this kind of behaviour

So for this exercise we’ll take the point of view of someone who has their CV ready but is not currently working and attack the market using the web and social media.

For jobsearching using these tools there are three big sites that you need to become acquainted with, namely www.LinkedIn.com, www.Twitter.com and www.Facebook.com.

LinkedIn I believe to be the most effective as it’s purely professionally based, theoretically about business relationships and not fun! Although that’s a matter of perception!

If you’re not on LinkedIn and you are looking for a new role, what are you waiting for? It’s a great place to have your details, even if you’re not looking for a role and allows people to find you or your skillset. It’s also very much a recruiting place to be for hiring managers and recruiters alike. It’s very user friendly and you can import your CV, however, a resume or one page abridged version of the CV is much more useful for this purpose.

There is a guide to help you to create a full profile, but essentially once these steps are followed, you will have entered your career and educational history, plus what kind of contact you’re looking for, job opportunities, contact from old colleagues etc, you can then start to use it in a smart fashion using the following steps.

Use your gmail and or hotmail etc. accounts to find existing contacts who are already on LinkedIn and connect with them. Recommend someone who is not expecting it. This means writing a short paragraph on them and how wonderful they are which they can then display on their own page.

Grab a personalised url, that is, linkedin.com/Ruadhri for instance. This can then be used on your email signature. Get a photo up, not so much because of how you look, but because its now de riguer to do so and you will stand out for the wrong reasons if you don’t have one. But remember, this is a business website so the Xmas party photographs are not the ones to use!!!

Once you have these mechanics created, start getting into it. Use the comment box to say what your current situation is. Those who view your profile will see this as well as those who are connected to you already.

Start seeking out those whom you know and connect with them, browse their connections to see who they know. Of course etiquette as always plays a part so be sensible rather than taking a blunderbuss approach to connecting. Always write a brief note to the person, rather than use a default I’d like to connect paragraph provided.

Once you’re more comfortable with LinkedIn use the Groups Function to get in touch with likeminded people in your sector or position or even use the careers advice group, one great one is Paul Mullan’s Measurability jobs club. Ask questions, or even better answer questions, become an authority and before you know it you’re having lunch with people and discussing opportunities.

The second mentioned site, and of course there are many but we’re focussing on the top three, is of course Twitter. If you’re not familiar with it, well where have you been but it’s a micro blog where you have 140 characters to post on what’s happening. The idea is that you follow people, and they can follow you. However, there is a facility to private message and have conversations off the main site which is where the genius is.

In terms of personal branding it’s important to stay on message and as mentioned in previous podcasts, try to stay away from being controversial.

Anyway, get yourself a username and a good image or picture of yourself and begin to follow people. Do this in a similar way to your LinkedIn profile, find people you know, respect and or like and follow them. Chances are they’ll follow you.

However, the popular idea abroad is that Twitter is some kind of game where you try to get as many followers as possible. I don’t buy that, the trick is to create a dedicated news channel if you will, following what’s going on in your sector by getting the smartest people in it to tell you. Also, many many recruiters and job boards and hiring companies “tweet” their jobs so keep your eye out.

Going even deeper into twitter, I recommend downloading the free tool TweetDeck.com where you can have various columns of styles of tweets, predefined searches, so that as soon as someone tweets “Project Manager, Dublin” you’ll know about it in real time. Get your application in first! Also, check out Tweetdeck’s integration with TwitJobsearch.com, this is a tailored job search engine using whoever is already on Twitter. It’s a tiny bit technical if you’re not that way inclined but give it a go, it’s really easy once you get into it. There are lots and lots of roles out there, but if you don’t know about them…..

Feel free to email me on sales@mynewcv.ie if you require hints and tips, for instance who’s good to follow. Bill Gates tweets now, but chances are he won’t tell you about a job, but people like mneylon from Blacknight hosting or the aforementioned Paul Mullan may!

Finally on the big three Facebook. This comes with a health warning as if you go on Facebook with only the aim of getting a new role, and your boss sees you there and requests to befriend you and you either let her see what you’re doing or say no…..you can guess the rest.

Having said that, there are tons of groups, lots of people to get back in touch with and so many people to whom you can communicate your current situation to.

For instance, if you search “job” “Ireland” under the business drop down list, there are 95 dedicated groups including support groups, recruiters, hiring companies and job boards. Facebook themselves have sourced a large proportion of their employees through this method.

Another health warning with Facebook is that it can be great fun, very time consuming and you may find yourself sidetracked with getting that email out to the guy you were in secondary school with and saying aaaah over pictures of his honeymoon when you’re supposed to be finding your dream role. But if you must go all social, make sure your contacts know that you’re looking for that dream job and write down what it is on your “wall” or homepage. Because you can bet your life that someone is looking for you but will they find you?

Some quick hits here Monster.ie The best CV database (bar enigmasearch.com of course) many many hiring managers and recruiters have access to this database so get the CV there and make sure that you fill out the correct parameters. If you can’t get to the job you want, you should take pains to make sure that it can come to you!

Visual CV.com is a favourite of mine, this will allow you to create your own CV, looking rreally good and professional using a series of templates, and a printable PDF Adobe document page too. More and more hiring companies are viewing Visual CV, so get your bespoke URL or web page, e.g. visualcv.com/Ruadhri and put this on your email signature too!

Moving onto Blogging. Anyone can go to bloggertone or google’s Blogspot and create their own page. The trick is to talk about what it is that you are an expert on. Blogging can be time consuming and you often can find yourself thinking about what it is that you’re supposed to say! Having said that, if you’re not going to position yourself as a subject matter expert, why not use a google based blog like blogspot.com to get your CV online on a platform that’s supported by the biggest search engine! Makes perfect sense and of course, as more CVs go on the internet, more people looking for strong candidates are using google and bing etc to find them. Bespoke tools like enigmasearch.com and CVfox utilise google’s Custom Search engine to find these exact candidates for free, so remember the Irish Sweepstake Slogan, “if you’re not in, you can’t win”.

Forums such as boards.ie and askaboutmoney.com have excellent places to ask questions, but again, be conscious of your internet profile, always vanity search, that is put your name into a search engine and see if there’s anything up there that a potential employer will view as a negative.

Perception is Reality - How a CV must be a Sales Document - By Ruadhri McGarry - mynewcv.ie

Perception is Reality - How a CV must be a Sales Document - By Ruadhri McGarry - mynewcv.ie

So you've gotten your CV ready, it's two pages, it looks good, but you've not gotten any responses to your applications. How can this be?

You're an expert in your field, with lots of specific achievements and everyone speaks so highly of you!

What you may be missing is the title of this piece. Perception is reality.

You are the one who's created such excellent benefits for your employer. You know and everyone you've worked with knows that you're the "go to" person on a range of issues, the subject matter expert, the one who holds it all together, dependable, professional and a real leader.

Does your CV say this, loud and clear????

If it doesn't, it needs to and you need to do it today!

Your CV is not the place to be modest, above all else, it's a sales document. Think about it this way. If you are writing a tender for your employer, pitching for business, you are going to boast and probably exaggerate (a little bit, that's allowed) to make sure the reader of the document sits up and pays attention!

You are going to say, firstly, you've found what you need. You won't have to waste any more time reading any more tenders because my company will solve your problem, ease your pain, and allow you to sleep at night.

If you're taking it seriously, you will approach your CV in precisely the same way.

This part of the job seeking process is in your control, so you need to take control of it. You have the chance to hold the reader's reality in your hands. He or she will perceive what you give them, so give them your best!

If you're not getting results from the CV, STOP and start again. Give it to someone you trust who has a good business mind and take the following steps.

Ask them for one hour of their time and effort and ensure your friend has a pen and paper ready because they'll be taking notes (whether you tell them or not is your call but this is a "mock interview).

Write down or print the next set of headings and pass them to your friend. (I will refer to you in future as the jobseeker or JS).

1: Ask JS to summarise their career for you in two minutes. When they finish, ask JS why they are a good employee. Write down the answers.

2: Read each line of the CV to JS. When you reach a full stop, ask "what did this achieve?" and write down the answer.

3: Repeat step 2 until you complete the document.

4: Ask JS question one again. Write down any variations on the first answer.

5: Hand your answers to JS.

Now, JS, I feel we're getting a little closer! At this point, you need to take the answers that your friend has given you and amalgamate them back into the CV.

Make sure that every feature has a benefit. Every piece of experience that you've had has a related upside for the employer.

This is precisely how to boast properly in a CV and exactly what hiring managers want to see.

If you don't do this, if you just list a bunch of things that you did, without the impact of them, the perception is that there has been no positive impacts and you're dead in the water.

Make hiring managers perceive the reality of your experience and do it now!

How to Avoid Career Suicide in the Online World by Ruadhri McGarry www.mynewcv.ie

In the business of job hunting and recruiting, both parts of the process are relying on and using the internet, social media and blogosphere more than ever. This of course, is a natural business evolution. No problems there.

However, more and more prospective employers are not only finding candidates and prospects online, but they are also making negative choices based on what any one individual may have posted on certain social media sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and others.

If you are a jobseeker, I implore you to conduct a “vanity search” using your name in a search engine. Find out, if you, or anyone you know, has posted negative comments, or portrayed you in a bad light online. This can be fatal to a job search. Should you find anything negative before a prospective employer does, get it offline as soon as you can, and take steps to ensure nothing like that happens again.

If your CV is online, be it on LinkedIn, Monster or VisualCV.com, have a third party check it for you to make sure there are no glaring errors and that all of the information posted is correct.

Should you use a photograph or image to represent you on whatever media, ensure that it’s “work safe”, that it is not offensive to anyone and that again, a third party has approved it.

In Ireland recently, a candidate for a local council election found less than politically correct pictures of her from Facebook splashed across the national media. These pictures were in fact from a friend’s page, not her own. This is a great example of how not managing your online brand can tarnish a reputation. (As it happens, this particular candidate was elected. Just.)

In the future, tomorrow’s graduates, who are extremely switched on to media such as social networking, may find youthful misadventure coming back to haunt them if they are not made aware of the potential harm to a career that this can have.

In conclusion, it is vital that this element of risk assessment through “vanity searching” be performed regularly to maintain control of your online brand and avoid a potentially disastrous outcome.

To learn more about CV and Jobsearching advice visit www.mynewcv.ie or contact sales@mynewcv.ie