What Is ATS and Why Should Jobseekers Care?

Applicant Tracking System or ATS is a software tool that is increasingly used today by the Human Resources Departments of all major companies as well as online recruitment websites. ATS simplifies and speeds up the process of sorting and sifting through the hundreds of thousands of resumes that a company receives electronically.

In other words, the technology used in ATS enables recruiters and hiring managers to screen applications and create a shortlist of the most suitable candidates from the large volume of applicants for a particular position. So when you write your resume, you have to keep in mind that before it is even read by a pair of human eyes, a computer system is screening it to check for compatibility to the position applied.

So, not only does it matter how you write your resume, but it is also important to take into account a host of other simple yet significant aspects. These include the words you use, the flow and structure of your application, punctuation, grammar, the format, the use of graphics and the length or size of your resume.

While the ATS can be a help to hiring managers, unfortunately, it can be a hindrance to job seekers. Fortunately, there are a number of things you can do to make sure your resume is not rejected by the system:

1) Pay attention to the job description.

Let's be honest. In today's world of short attention spans and 140-character comments, it is not very easy to read a lengthy description without getting distracted, especially online. So, despite what you think, you may not really be paying attention to the job description even if you read it.

Why is it important? The ATS is primed to sift and sort through applications received by matching keywords to the job description. So for example, if you are applying for a position of retail manager, it is important that you explicitly mention words and terms that are relevant to the job description. Using so-called creative words such as overachiever or out-of-the-box thinker may not help you much if you miss out on the key words that describe the functions of a retail manager such as display merchandising, stock-taking, inventory control or sales promotions.

2) Check your resume for consistency and relevance.

One of the biggest mistakes that job seekers make is underestimating the ease of sending applications today. Applying for a job is much easier than it was years ago. You don't need to write a fresh resume and mail it out every time you apply for a new job. All you need to do is click, right? Wrong.

The one-size-fits-all approach is exactly the reason why many candidates receive very few or even zero responses despite sending out hundreds of applications. Quantity will never get you what quality can. Be sure to customize your applications for each and every position that you apply to.

3) Make your resume resilient and relevant to ATS.

Imagine playing football in patent leather shoes or going for an interview wearing sneakers. You are killing your chances of succeeding even before you start. This is exactly the kind of mistake that you should avoid to prevent your resume from being banished to the black hole of incompatibility by the ATS.

Here are a few simple yet significant ways you can improve the chances of your resume scoring well in an ATS screening.

• Write keeping in mind the context of the job description. Use keywords that are similar, relevant or derivative of those that are originally used in the job description.


• Avoid keyword stuffing or overuse. Similar to search engines, many ATS systems use contextual parsing to eliminate attempts to fool the system. So instead of using a laundry list of keywords, choose your words cleverly and express yourself as naturally as if you are talking to a human at an interview.


• Make sure there aren't any spelling errors. By all means use spellcheck, but also read and re-read (and re-read!). Many a resume has been the butt of jokes because the candidate used the wrong word. The "utmost importance" could easily be spelled as the "utmost impotence" without your computer's spellcheck picking it up.


• Get rid of the graphics and fancy formatting. ATS systems can choke and reject a resume if it cannot make sense of it because of stylized formatting and images. Send your resume as a plain Word doc or in Rich Text Format. Avoid using headers and footers or sending it as PDF.


• Pay attention to punctuation and grammar. All lower case sentences or SMS language using emoticons and acronyms can potentially confuse the ATS system. If you have to use an abbreviation, then use the expanded full description next to it.


• Always be clear and consistent. For instance saying you have 7 years of experience in one place and 7.5 years in another place can lead the ATS to disqualify your resume on the grounds of inconsistency.

Finally, keep in mind that every word counts. Use every word with the utmost care. Do not crowd your resume with irrelevant or meaningless descriptions.

Donna Bradshaw is a Career Consultant and Speaker specializing in career development and transition guidance for men and women over 40. She can be reached at http://www.cacoaching.com Tel: 201-236-1158 or via e-mail at Donna@cacoaching.com.

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How the Internet Can Help You Sell Your Practice

In the age of the interconnectivity, it is impossible to avoid using the Internet as a tool for marketing and promotion. Not just a place for commerce of the most traditional definitions, even someone who works with finances can use the Internet as a method of communication with prospective clients in a way that traditional marketing never could.

Start Early:

Even a finance industry recruiter would encourage anyone in the field to get acquainted with the Internet early on and get a feel for how useful it can be in reaching out to potential clients and colleagues. In many ways social networks have trumped the importance of after-hour socializing. Combine that with the convenience to be connected anywhere, and the usefulness of the Internet makes itself known.

Keeping Clients:

While the initial connection with clients is a vital skill anyone in a service industry should learn to develop, it is not a guarantee that they will remain loyal clients or clients at all. Social media is a fun way to engage, and has the added benefit of making work more like play, it is not a replacement for an effected Internet presence that can also be considered professional to your clients.

With an effective website, visitors can learn who you are as a financial advisor and what benefits your practice can offer that competitors cannot. Irrespective of the product or service, consumers are known to go directly to the source of the information they seek thanks to search engines like Google and Bing. A presence here helps direct traffic of those seeking financial advisors to you without much trouble.

Having the Right Internet Presence:

When a visitor contributes to the traffic of your professional website or social media profile, it is counted with the expectation that the person looking found what they were initially looking for. This requires a properly display and dissemination of information to visitors who come across you over the Internet whether intentionally or accidentally. With information clearly presented, clients can learn how your services differ from previous financial advisors they may have worked with in the past and even remove some false notions they may have developed about finance or the hiring of an expert to help them manage their finances.

How to Know it's Working:

Though it is an open secret that the Internet can address many marketing woes for nearly all businesses, there has to be a degree of accounting to make sure it is working as intended.

There are customer services methods, such as the option to chat with a live representative or a questionnaire for visitors to fill out in order to know that a particular layout is easy to navigate through, that your site is on par with competitors, and learn of areas that are in need of attention if your business is to grow. Direct feedback is a sign that enough is being done correctly that visitors to your site are willing to hang around long enough to interact with it even when their purpose for being there has been addressed. And with clever design approaches, visitors won't even know they're participating.

Looking for a job in the finance industry? Check out our listing at Willis Consulting Inc. Our finance industry recruiters are always ready to accommodate questions and applications. View the listing here: http://www.willis-consulting.com/financial-advisor-jobs/

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How to Get an OPT Job

If you're already searching for an H1B job, you should be introduced to the OPT by now. If not, read up on the basics and then return to this article. Once you're up to speed, read this post to learn about how to use the OPT to advance your career in America.

First off, to clear away one often told myth, the OPT is not available to students from non-US universities. All individuals from foreign universities should skip straight to articles on the H1B job search. OPT jobs are only open to current holders of the F1 Visa.

Next, you might want to know, how is searching for an OPT job different than searching for an H1B job? The truth is, the process is similar, except for the forms involved. Also, your search for an OPT job should be closely connected to your search for an H1B job. The company you do your OPT time with will likely be your H1B sponsor, and the same types of companies open to H1B applicants are generally open to OPT applicants as well. That's why we say, find your future H1B sponsor, then figure out your OPT.

Once you've found your sponsor, here's what you have to do for the OPT:

1. Get the international students office at your school to recommend you for the OPT. Wait for your I-20 to update.

2. Submit Form I-765 to USCIS, along with photos and a fee.

3. Wait for your Employment Authorization Document (EAD).

You should try to apply 3-4 months before starting at your new position. You do not need to have a job offer before applying. If you need your EAD earlier than 3-4 months from the time you apply, you should ask for expedited processing.

You get 12 months of OPT time, so use it wisely (STEM employees, you get 17). If you use some time up prior to completing your degree, you may be left without enough OPT months to bring you through the next H1B application season (starts in April, applicants can begin working in October). If this happens, you will fall into the H1B cap gap, and have to return home prior to starting your H1B Visa. It's best to avoid this scenario.

The OPT, like your H1B job, must also be related to your field of study. This is why we'll end by going back to a theme at the beginning of this article: find the skill set that's going to get you an H1B employer, then figure out your OPT. OPT is inherently short-term, and is designed to get you from your F1 to your H1B, so use it for exactly that purpose.

VisaJobFeed is a niche job search engine dedicated to supplying international students and graduates with H1B, OPT, and other Visa job postings. Our database contains tens of thousands of jobs posted by the leading H1B sponsors, and that meet the specialty occupation and prevailing wage requirements for the H1B. We also supply tips on the H1B process for job applicants in our VisaTips blog, which you can find here:http://www.visajobfeed.com/category/visatips/.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brian_Gilbert

Health Benefits and Your Job Offer

Back in the early 1990's when I was a relative newcomer to the recruiting and staffing world the candidates were far more interested in what their salary offer would be than caring about what the company benefits were. Today that mindset has changed significantly thanks to the cost of healthcare. While salary will always play a key component in the job offer, future employees would be wise to consider what kind of health coverage their employer will be offering. For independent souls like myself, I continue to bear the cost of healthcare 100% but for many workers they depend on their employer to assist with healthcare insurance coverage.

We all know healthcare costs have risen in the past few years but the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals the cost for employers paying their share of the premiums have actually skyrocketed. The premium for a single employee in 1999 was $2,000 today that same single employee premium runs an average of $6,000. That's a staggering 200% increase to pay the premium for just one employee. Employer coverage for family premiums is even more daunting with the average cost in 1999 being $6,000 and today that same family premium cost close to $17,000.

Employers aren't the only ones feeling the pinch as they must pass on an even greater burden of sharing the cost of the healthcare price increases. Employees find they are stuck with higher deductibles and increased co-payments.

According to a 2014 report by the Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research and Educational Trust Employer Benefits Survey, Fifty-five percent of firms offer health benefits to their workers. The likelihood of offering health benefits differs significantly by size of the firm with only forty-four percent of employers with 3 to 9 workers offering coverage but virtually all employers with 1,000 or more workers offering coverage to at least some of their employees. Even in firms that offer health benefits, not all workers are covered. Some workers are not eligible to enroll as a result of waiting periods or minimum work-hour rules.

When it comes time to negotiate your job offer keep these facts in mind and consider yourself one of the rare lucky ones if your employer actually pays 100% of your healthcare premium. If your employer pays any portion of your premium, consider the consultants and independents that have to pay 100% of their healthcare cost thus putting in perspective your overall job offer package. Here's to good job offers and staying healthy!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kelly_A_Smith

6 Tips for Success in a Remote Job Interview

When you apply for a job in another city or country or when the manager is away on a business trip, you may get a remote interview. Such job interviews are becoming ever more common due to the globalization of the job market and the advancement in technology. They are usually conducted via an instant messenger such as Skype or over the telephone. It pays off to be properly prepared and to use the right strategies for success.

Get prepared technically.

You need to get all the equipment and software necessary for the remote job interview in advance. If you cannot invest in a computer camera, for instance, you can borrow one from a friend. You have to check the connection no matter whether you will be interviewed over the internet or over the phone.

It is equally important that you get well familiar with the hardware and software which you will be using. You have to know how to adjust the settings and how to troubleshoot basic problems.

Do the required research.

You will have to conduct extensive research to learn as much as possible about the company and its culture. You should check not only their website, but their profile on the different social networks. You should get enough information which will help you to present yourself as the problem-solver which they are looking for. You should also get an idea of how to dress and how to approach the interviewer.

Get some practice.

This is really important especially given the fact that you will have to handle the technology while focusing on the essence of the job interview. You can practice with a friend who should give you feedback on technical things like volume, light and interference and on personal performance aspects like confidence, clarity of the answers and professional conduct. Take note of any weaknesses and work to eliminate them to ensure that you will pull the best performance.

Arrange the right setting.

For the remote job interview, you will need a quiet room which is well lit. You have to ensure that the background which the interviewer will see is neat and tidy. The background should be as professional as possible. Avoid having personal items like family photos behind you. Books are a much better option.

Approach the interview professionally.

You should dress professionally from top to bottom as if you are going to a traditional interview. Make sure that you are on time and that your equipment is ready. You should focus on having a positive attitude and on smiling even if you cannot see the interviewer. While the person talks, you should make it known that you are listening by saying "yes" when appropriate.

Use helpful cues.

Even if you use a camera, it has a limited range. This enables you to keep cues on the side of the computer. You can prepare notes with information on the company, statistical data and the questions which you plan to ask. Just remember that these are just cues. You should not look into them all the time.

You are now ready for nailing the remote job interview.

Get the The Career Push which you want with comprehensive advice on career choice, job application, resume and cover letter writing and job interviews. Start building a successful career today!

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Importance of Online Content for Your Business

Writing online content is an art that has intricately woven itself into all forms of business. Most people believe it's good enough just to put up the business plan on the website. But they cannot be further from the truth as content writing is not a Do It Yourself craft that you can glue together in a few seconds.

There is a skill in writing articles online that makes a reader want to read and come back for more. Three things are an absolute: perfect command of language, an entertaining spirit, and passion.

The article should be optimized to bring out the most of the business idea. In this age of the world-wide web, the importance of search engine optimized online content cannot be underestimated. A website owner or copywriter must not only follow SEO guidelines but also choose between the creative article and blog styles of writing that will best suit the voice and tone of the business.

Every business should find a place for each of the above mentioned genres involved in content writing. Some fail to develop their own websites when it comes to loading it with engaging and useful content.

Without good online content, your visitor will skim through the different pages before moving on to another website.

For one, if you are selling products, the longer a person lingers, the more likely they'll find something that they would like to purchase. For example, they might stumble upon an article about home furnishings on your website and while reading it, their interest in home décor will increase.

If at the bottom or side of your page you have ads for home decors you have on sale, their minds have already been conditioned that they would like home furnishings. As a result they will be more amicable to purchasing some from your site.

Having good SEO or online content on your site depicts that you are knowledgeable about your craft to the eyes of your reader. To them, you don't simply own the business, but you are an expert and a thought leader in your industry. From your informative articles filled with facts and helpful tips for customers you earn your company credibility and an increase in conversions. If your business is new in the World Wide Web, people might feel hesitant about buying from a relatively unknown company.

To this effect entrepreneurs who own these websites should make sure that they post SEO optimised articles about their products or services on a continuous basis. Eventually, they will earn authority from their online readers as well as maintain consistent high Search Engine rankings.

Businesses nowadays have realized the value of good online content to help them boost their inbound marketing strategies. Outsourcing SEO writing services is ideal especially for those firms that have no in-house staff with SEO skill writing and may not want to settle on training, Companies like Ardor Content or Martlan Designs offer which offer SEO article writing services can come in handy and give good value for money.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ian_Karoki

How Can a Recruitment Agency Help You to Find a Job Abroad?

You have decided that you want to work abroad. This is a great way to explore different lifestyles and cultures and to gain valuable work experience. Besides, you can have better chances of earning a higher salary and advancing in your career. The question is how to secure the perfect job and move to the foreign country. Find out what a recruitment agency will be able to do for you and how to select the ideal one.

Placement and Immigration

The job of a recruitment agency is to match talent to available job positions. The recruiters work on behalf of employers and have to adhere to their requirements. Typically, it is easier for employers to hire local workers. However, there are exceptions to this rule. Most often, foreign workers are considered for a particular type of job for one of two reasons. The first one is the lack of local employment seekers with the required professional skills and experience. The second one is the lack of interest of local job seekers in the position.

Given all this, you will have high chances of securing a job opening which is not taken by a local worker if you sign up with an agency. Still, it is best if you research the opportunities available to foreigners in advance. This will enable you to evaluate your chances before you enter the local job market.

It is important to note that usually, the recruitment agencies provide recruitment services only. They may be able to assist you with the immigration process, but their help will be limited as they are not specialists in the field. You will either have to work with an agency which operates in cooperation with a migration service provider or one which employs such specialists.

Specialisation

You need to keep in mind that recruitment agencies typically offer professional jobs only. These are jobs for which certain high education qualifications and professional skills are required. If you are looking for a non-professional job, you can consider the use of a service which focuses on such placements.

The Right Agency

Should you choose recruiters in your country or in the country which you plan to work in? The latter option is preferred. A local agency will have better access to the local job market and offer more diverse opportunities. You may get more effective assistance and support due to their extensive local knowledge.

Finally, you should keep in mind that your chances of finding a great job abroad will depend on your qualifications and effort as well as on the expertise of the recruitment agency.

Take advantage of the comprehensive range of services of Recruitment Agencies across New Zealand. Make the first step towards finding your dream job today.

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