How To Get Noticed By Recruiters

Feel like you’ve been looking for a job forever but you’re just not getting the calls? Why is it that some people are constantly being contacted by recruiters and others not? You have the same credentials, the same experience and you’re awesome, right?!

Well, the game has changed.

When we were at school we were taught that our CV is key. It must be well written, have good grammar, have no spelling mistakes and be concise. While this is still true there is another step to get right in order for our fab CV to get noticed by the right people.

Recruitment now works with databases and big data sources. If you have applied for a job somewhere online or with a recruiter your details will live in a database somehwere (don’t freak out, that’s a good thing!). It could be an online job tool or some kind of CRM system – it’s where your info is stored and generated for searches. For CV is important sure, but in order to get it seen your data in the system has be right in the first place –  it has to create the right flags so that YOU show up when a recruiter searches for candidates with your experience and skill set.

There are thousands of databases out there and millions of different people and resumes. Here are some tips to help get yours to the top of a recruiter’s search results:

1. Repetition; the power of 3’s. Database searches work with key words. The more experience you have the more the database expects the key words to be repeated in your profile or in your CV. For example, if you are looking for a job as a java developer then make sure that the precise term ‘java developer’ appears at least 3 times in your C.V. That way, the system thinks it’s a core skill set of yours.
2. Get on the phone. Getting off the computer and speaking to a recruiter in person allows you to make a personal connection and to update the information listed in their CRM to make sure it includes the right stuff. You also get the added benefit of being more top of mind should a role come up.
3. Use buzz words. If there are buzz words relevant to your role and industry then use them! We humans may get sick of them but computers don’t and they are often used in role descriptions sent to recruiters by employers to help them look for candidates.
4. List your technical skills. Recruiters generally don’t sit down and search for candidates with words like “team player”or “passionate” but they will search for skills. So list them all and repeat key ones that you want to be noticed (back to the power of 3’s!).
5. Think like someone looking for YOU. If you were looking for you, how would you find yourself in a search? Or if you were looking for someone similar, how would you find them? It helps to get in the mindset to evaluate your communication impartially.
6. Graduates, write ‘graduate’ on your CV! Because you dont have much experience it is harder to show up in searches – there’s less words and key terms to pick up on, after all. likely won’t show up, at all. Include the word “graduate” in your CV or on your profile. This is what recruiters are looking for -graduates to fill graduate roles! You must also include relevant qualifications and the title of those such as “HCS” and “ATAR” as they are also important search words.

The digital age requires a shift in thinking. Think not only about the product – your CV think also how that product will reach your market, recruiters. The game may have changed but all thats needed is a tweak in approach.

This article was written by Lydia Smith, founder of the interactive children’s book ‘Bookywoo’. Explore her product online and follow @BookWoo on social media!