A successful job search is all about nailing the interview. But you’ll never have the opportunity to do that if your resume can’t pass the automated screeners – and dazzle the human ones.
As an executive recruiter in the Accounting and Finance space, one of the roles I most often partner with employers to fill is the role of Controller. As a CPA myself, I'm no stranger to updating my own LinkedIn profile to attract the attention of a hiring manager in this space. More importantly, I've partnered with dozens of companies throughout the midwest to help them find and vet top talent, with the goal of finding the perfect fit for their vacant Controller role.
You’ve just gotten word about a great job at a company you admire and, from everything you’ve seen so far, it’s perfect for you. Next step: submit your application, resume and cover letter. Next step after that: sink into a state of fear and paralysis. Why? Because, not long ago, your career hit an ugly little speed bump. You were demoted. And while the personal pain of that event has started to subside, you worry that it has put a permanent stain on your resume – and your career aspirations. As an executive recruiter, I am often struck by how highly competent professionals can remain haunted by a past demotion. While no one can whip out a magic eraser and undo what has happened, I can offer you something better. I can tell you what works. Here is a realistic strategy for dealing with a demotion on your resume, in five simple steps.
Experienced recruiters are expert relationship builders and career coaches. They have a skillset that allows them to connect their clients with top candidates that the client would never have been able to find alone. But how do recruiters do it? Well, every recruiter has their own special talents, but many of the most successful/efficient recruiters use an ATS to stay organized and speed their searches. Believe it or not, there is such a thing called an "ATS-friendly resume," and we'd love to share some tips on how to achieve this with yours.
6 Things Every Candidate Could Add to Their Profile Now
Like all of us at SkyWater Search Partners, I get a lot of questions from candidates about their LinkedIn profile. What works? What doesn’t? How can you get the most out of your profile? In my recent conversation with Ben Lehmann, Director of Sales Recruiting at SkyWater Search Partners, we talked about makes a profile really stand out, especially for sales leaders.
Here are the 6 most important – but often misused – profile sections, along with our tips for improving them.
“Don’t quit your job until you’ve lined up a new one.”
How many times have you heard that little chestnut? (In full disclosure, it’s advice I routinely dispense, myself.) But like all good rules, this one has some important exceptions. When you’re trapped in a toxic job, the path to “something better” can be a steep, rocky, exhausting – and increasingly treacherous – climb.
If you’re stuck there now, you simply may not have the luxury, mental energy, or emotional wherewithal to launch a winning job search. More importantly, though is this little fact that’s too often overlooked in the heat of the moment: you might not be in the best head space to really know what your next job should be. Figuring th
at out requires time, introspection, and ideally, a little healthy distance.
Here’s What We’re Really Looking for On Your Resume...
Recruiters and hiring managers go through hundreds of resumes every week. Sometimes, we might sift through more than a hundred resumes for a single position. Even for the strongest candidates, it’s not always easy to break through the clutter. But there are certain tactics you can use to make your qualifications stand out. I recently asked Ben Lehmann, Director of Sales and HR recruiting at SkyWater Search Partners, what leaps off the page for him when he’s reviewing resumes. Here are his top 7 tips.
Trying to be all things to all employers just doesn't work any more, if it ever did. The candidate whose resume says "Project Manager" AND "Engineer" must decide which she is. Otherwise, she comes across to potential employers as confused, unfocused and possibly desperate.
Is your resume up-to-date? You may think it is if you’ve been diligently adding every new role and accomplishment as you’ve been racking them up over the year.
