To start this off like a million other blogs on the topic…hasn’t the employment market in Australia Changed over the last 5 years? From the giddy heights of the Mining Boom and the launch of what was expected to be a massive domestic Oil and Gas industry. We had insane growth in all of the associated support industries across the country, from Hospitality and IT to Logistics and Geotechnical…to what we have today. Close to record low prices for all of our natural resources and a slump in permanent, full time work across the nation.
To add salt to the wound we have ever increasing competition from the international workforce, be it through offshoring the work or investment deals opening up opportunities for international ex-pats working in projects here in Australia where once these jobs would have been filled by a local.
Layoffs, redundancies, contracts being terminated early…It doesn’t seem fair to a lot of employment seekers out there, unfortunately however, it is the current reality.
So what do YOU do to ensure you maximise your opportunities in a market where you could be competing in a pool of 150 plus applicant for every job? Here’s some tips from Resumes Done Right:
- Make sure your application is done right – You may have once had 4 job offers from every 5 applications with that resume you have had since high school. Has it been that effective lately? Not since 2012/13 would be our guess. In 2016, Recruiters and Hiring Managers have less time to fill a position and more candidates to choose from than at any time in the last 20 years. This means if you don’t get the essential information across quickly, you stand the risk of being passed over from someone with a better Resume.What is this information? Who you are; What you do, Tickets, Licenses and Qualifications; Industry Specific Inductions and a brief list of who you’ve worked for and where. Follow that up with an extended career history outlining the specific technical details of your employment over the last 10 years (no more) and any significant, measurable achievements. If your resume doesn’t have this information in it, in the right order and in an easily readable format, then you are going to be applying for a lot of jobs for a minimal return of interest.….and that’s just frustrating and depressing.
- Don’t apply for just any job – In today’s market where the majority of recruitment agencies and major employers are using applicant tracking software (ATS) and other similar database systems to help them maximise their job filling efficiency. You may think to yourself “Hey I can do that, I drove forklifts back in the 90’s”, but if the agency can’t search the required key words in your CV, then you aren’t going to get a call. They have too many other people with current experience to choose from.The best way to get bang for buck for your applications is to narrow your focus to roles where you have significant proven experience in the same or similar role within the last 5 years (preferably 2). That’s the only way to ensure that the ATS will see the words the recruiter is looking for and further, that the recruiter will be able to recognise quickly that you can do the job you are applying for.“I’ve applied for 150 to 200 jobs in the last 2 weeks and not a single call back” is the most frequent statement we hear at Resumes Done Right.
- Use social media – Social Media Recruitment is taking off and there are ways to connect with people who can influence your employability or even hire you on almost all of the social media sites you can think of.If you use it right, LinkedIn can give you direct access to hiring managers and recruiters who can directly help you with finding work. Remember, these people are incredibly busy and are frequently contacted by people who think “Hire me!” in a direct message will actually get a positive response. Be polite, ask good questions regarding the business and employment opportunities, and if there is mutual interest, it will flow on from thereFacebook on the other hand can give you enormous access to peer groups, common interest pages and unique businesses that want to engage with you personally and professionally to assist your job hunt. This is where a lot of employment is happening at the moment. From advertising job opportunities in industry groups giving you access to opportunities that won’t make it to seek to specials on industry training and professional services to help your job hunt be successful.Social Media is a gold mine for job hunters if they know how to use it effectively. Ask your colleagues and peers where they go to find opportunities. You might be surprised.
- Get to know the best recruiter or recruiters in your field – Largely, employment in most industries is made up of Labour-hire / contingency, Permanent and Contract positions. If you have been having no luck finding a full-time, permanent position get to know if your industry can offer contract or labour-hire positions. They can be seen as less glamourous, but they can offer a good income if you are good at your job.There will be a number of recruiters that specialise in this type of recruitment in your area. Get to know them, be interested in what they have available, say yes to short term roles more often than you say no and work in each position like you want it to become permanent…Because it might just do that. Even if the role doesn’t become permanent, being reliable will result in being offered more positions by that recruiter…after all, they want to do their job as well and as efficiently as possible, so if they know you are available and will make them look good, it’s almost guaranteed that they will offer you short term roles whenever they have them available?Contract and Contingency recruiters also have relationships with Permanent Placement Recruiters…get networking! You never know which conversation will turn into a job!
- Use your contacts…but not too much – Staying in touch with past employers, managers and workmates in the field you are/have worked in and being referred to an open position is still the single best way to be employed.You know what you are getting yourself into and the employer knows how you work or at least can be confident you don’t want to let your mate down. Employees last are happier and last longer in jobs where there has been a referral involved.There is a limit however to the amount of times you can hassle your mates or old employers before they will be fed up and not want to help you out. If you speak to them every 6 to 8 weeks you will stay top of mind when a position you suit comes up!
- Network, network, network – Remember to use other sources of networking to put the personal touch on your job hunt. There are social media groups, industry forums both online and in your nearest city. Depending on the major industries in your town/city, think about joining the Lions or Rotary clubs, local Toast Masters if your chosen career requires it. If you are a small business / sole trader, think about joining the local Chamber of Commerce to meet people from across industries in your local area.If all of this doesn’t give you a positive response in the short term, it will at least get you out and engaged with the community. This will help you stay positive and being positive on the phone or in an interview is a major, major plus for any recruiter or hiring manager.
There are many other factors to job hunting that I haven’t covered in this blog E.g. Industry Training, Inductions and Certifications, applying interstate and internationally effectively, and how to address differing experience across your career in multiple resumes as just a few.
Resumes Done Right are a team of recruitment and employment industry professionals with over 25 years combined experience. If you have questions regarding the employment industry, we would be more than happy to see what we can do to help.
You can contact us directly on 1300 39 30 39 or by email [email protected] or at facebook.com/resumesdoneright
Look forward to hearing from you.