Play the patterns

Want your resume to be noticed by a machine? Create a pattern.

Want your resume to be noticed by a person? Break the pattern.

Mint ROI #10: Play the patterns.  Recruitment of 2017 is much like recruitment of 2007, except instead of sourcers mining the world wide web for resumes, bots are – bots with Artificial Intelligence (AI).  These bots are different from the bots of 5 years ago because they have the ability to learn which types of resumes a recruiter is interested in pursuing.  In doing so, they look for trends.

Search –> initial results –> feedback –>candidates–>call list

This works well for creating massive lists of potential candidates of which the recruiter begins calling to hone in on the right candidate.

So how do you get to be the right candidate?

First off – get eaten by the bot.  The bot has to find you.  It’s looking in all the traditional recruitment spaces, LinkedIn, Facebook, Indeed, other job boards, but it’s also looking in some of the wide-net recruitment spaces conference attendee lists, articles, company webpages.  And it’s looking in all those links.

• Use key words and industry tag words, including synonyms – the more the merrier
• Use clean industry-standard titles
• Embed links to sites in your space within your resume (even if hidden), and where possible, link to your resume from as many sites as possible
• In the white space at the bottom, or if you know how to code, embed competitors, conferences, trainings, and other search terms you’d use if trying to find your resume. Turn the words clear so that it does not appear visually to the recruiter (though if they see it, they won’t really mind…they know what you’re doing, and a smart cookie is just the kind of candidate they want to share with their client)

Now if you want to keep doing more of what you’ve already been doing – that’s all you need to do.  However, if you want to do something different than what you’ve been doing – that’s where you’ll need to break out of the box.

Embracing the pattern:

In order to change patterns, you have to first identify what pattern your resume embodies.  Have you always been in HR, Test Engineering, or Sales?  If so, chances are that’s what the resume patterns reflect.

Are you trying to get into something different?  Identify the patterns within that job family, and bring them to life on your resume.  First, to identify patterns in your perspective career, look for others in the position you want (LinkedIn is a great source!) and notate what terms are coming up over and over again.  Now go to work on your own resume.  Don’t mishear me – don’t lie about your experience!!  Just highlight areas in which your experience can cross over into your desired fields.  Here’s some tips on how:

• Add in a brief objectives section discussing the role you’d like to obtain
• Highlight your experience in that area, even if it’s not the bulk of the work you’ve done
• Use the white space, clear text concept to tag your resume to terms you want the bots to pick up
• Use alternative titles that align with that area (if you were an IT product manager, but you’d like to get into Sales, and you provided support in some sales calls, your title should read “IT Product Manager : primary role”, “Technical Sales : secondary role”. Notice the space between the colons?  Some bots would not have trouble if you left out the space because they are looking for any word that contains manager, but other bots will get messed up because they are only looking for the word “manager” not “manager:”.  You want to be picked up by all of them, so be cognizant of simply changes like that.

So now you’ve played to the patterns, you’re on your way to being picked up by the bots.  How do you stay in past the first screen by an actual human?

Break the pattern:

If you’re trying to change careers, chances are, you won’t get past the first screen on your resume alone.  They are looking for the most qualified person, and unless no one else has the experience they want, you’re not likely to be the most qualified on paper – but that doesn’t mean you’re not the most qualified.  That’s where your networking skills come into play.

Today’s typical recruiting is a numbers game.  Exceptional recruiting is still a networking game.  If you lack experience in a particular field, you won’t make it past the “similar to” profiles that funnel in experienced candidates playing the numbers game.  But, if you make the right moves, you can make it in the door with the networking game.  And by the way, this is the way you want to play the game.  Even with all the technological advances, referrals are still the number one source for hires at most companies.

Obligatory Disclaimer: Don’t expect to land a job you’re not qualified for.  If you’re not qualified, don’t even bother applying until you meet the minimum advertised qualifications.  How do you get those skills?  Take on additional side projects in your ideal area while doing your day job well. 

The good news is that companies keep these qualifications to a minimum for a reason.  There’s room for opportunity for someone like you – with a strong competency set and a vast transferrable skillset – to be considered for the role.

Here’s what I recommend:

Find others within the organization that you know and take them to coffee.  Find them through

• Your existing friend base
• Mutual friends
• LinkedIn
• Traditional professional networking groups
• Nontraditional groups like neighborhood meetups

Don’t know anyone? Cold call.  But if you have to go this route, please don’t lead in with your job search and resume!!

Instead, lead in with something that makes them feel special and want to help you.  Be sincere and show interest in their company and learning more about what it’s like to work there and see if you can take 5 minutes of their time.  Ask them questions about their experience, at the end of which, if you still like the company, ask them if they can put you in touch with someone in recruitment or offer to send your resume for them to forward on to recruitment.

You’ve done that already?  Do it again.  Call the same people if you’re friends, or different people.  Call more people.  Make it a win-win.  See if there’s some way you can help them too.  They don’t have to be senior executives.  They can be in any role within an organization.  The closer to your job family, the better, but even an intern or the mailroom clerk can be a valuable resource.  Steer clear of calling the same folks everyone else is calling (recruiters, for example or sometimes even the direct hiring managers for the current open position).  Unless a recruiter is struggling to fill a role OR you’re the most qualified person for that role, they won’t waste their time on you.  Some managers prefer people to reach out directly, others do not, so if you play that game, you’re playing a game of chance.  I’ve had the most success with people who rarely get calls pertaining to recruitment at that company, like line staff.

Once you network, don’t forget that at its core, recruiting is still a numbers game.  For every 100 people you reach out to, you’re going to speak to 30.  For every 30 people you speak to, you’ll have 15 be willing to forward your resume.  For every 15 forwards you get to recruitment, you’ll get 10 recruiter screens.  For every 10 recruiter screens, you’ll get 3 manager interviews.  For every 3 manager interviews, you will get 1 offer.  I cannot guarantee you these numbers – for many it will work out better, for some who truly are not a fit for the role, it will work out much worse.  But this is a numbers game, and you can’t be part of it if you don’t play the game.

Finally, relax and get ready for the long game.  Now you’re not going to like this, but to truly get the job you want, you need patience and perseverance.  Start looking 1-2 years before you plan to land the job.  If you are successful in your networking, you’ll end up with a network of prospective HMs.  Referrals are still the greatest source of hires, and direct hiring manager referrals are 100 times more powerful.  Think of it this way: if each job turns over on average every 18 months, you need to have your foot in the door to be that most viable person for the next move, before the opening ever is created.  If in your networking, you’re finding managers tell you there’s no jobs open now, that’s better than OK, that’s great!  It means that you’ll be at the front of the line when the job finally does open up.  Once you find that manager your job becomes staying top of mind and relevant.  I recommend monthly 5-minute check-ins or emails or, if they’re willing, treat them to a coffee every 2 months.   Treat it like you’re courting them.  If they’re not responsive, step a step back down the personal connection scale (move from coffee to brief phone call to very short email).  If they are responding and you hit it off, take it up a notch.  If you make the relationship beneficial enough to them to continue to connect AND you stay relevant, when an opening does become available, you’ll be the first person they call.