• Make Search Algorithms Your Best Friend- More than 22 million Americans have lost their jobs in the last month. Unemployment rates are the highest that they’ve been in decades and the volume of incoming claims is overwhelming state unemployment agencies causing major delays in payments. Tell you something you don’t know, right? This means employers are being flooded with talent and are relying on technology more than ever to help them pin point their next hire. Your resume absolutely has to have the critical keywords that are relevant to the role you are seeking. Important keywords to consider are: any licenses or credentials you have, software programs you are fluent in, machinery or equipment that you have experience in and details of your typical responsibilities. Think of your resume as precious real estate and make the most use of the space. You can impart your soft skills during an interview but your core experiences must be marketed on the resume.
• Check The Job Posting Date- Many employers were forced to send staff home immediately with stay at home orders. This means jobs that were posted for what were immediate openings, are now on hold yet may still be posted online. Be sure to sort listings by posted date and apply to the newest jobs first. Most job boards also allow you to sign up for email or text alerts when new jobs meeting your search criteria are posted. This is a great way to get your information in front of hiring managers right away.
• Partner With A Recruiter- Many employers will be apprehensive to bring on full time employees until they are certain that their business can sustain it. In previous economic rebounds a large number of employers looked to staffing firms to help them bridge this time period and hired the employees in permanently once business was more stable. A recruiter typically only presents an employer with 3 or less candidates for consideration, drastically increasing your chance for hire in comparison to an employer evaluating hundreds of applicants.
• Stay Fresh- Staying active and in your normal routine will absolutely increase your chances of interviewing and presenting as well as you did before this pandemic hit. Stay engaged with your industry through podcasts and online blogs. This will give you great ideas to bring to a new employer and give you some great topics for discussion during interviews. Be sure to be knowledgeable of how local and state pandemic restrictions may impact your future role and employer.

While certainly more difficult, it is absolutely feasible to land your next role during this pandemic. Many essential businesses are up-scaling their teams to meet the increase in business demand and are eager to find new talent for these roles.

The Trillium brand of companies is privately owned by René Poch and provides more than 30 years of industry leading recruitment and staffing services through its divisions including: Trillium Staffing, Trillium Construction Services, Trillium Driver Solutions, Trillium Technical, and Trillium Environmental. With approximately 100 offices nationwide and nearly 400 internal recruitment professionals, the Trillium brand is proud to be recognized by Staffing Industry Analysts as a Top 35th Largest Industrial Staffing Firm in the U.S., a Top 100 Largest Staffing Firm in the U.S., a Top 100 Fastest Growing Staffing Firm in the U.S., and a 2018 winner of National Best and Brightest Companies to Work For. For more information please visit www.trilliumstaffing.com.

The first step in this process is to first assess what it is you actually are looking to do. Ask yourself “why do I want this job?” or “what is it about this job that truly sparks my interest or relates to what I WANT to do in my career?” Once you are able to convince yourself that you are right for the role and this position makes sense for what you want, convincing the hiring manager of the same realization will be a cake walk.

It is important to remember that using the exact same resume for every job that you apply for may not be the best strategy. You want your resume to be tailored specifically for not just the job you’re applying for, but to the outlined job duties. Be sure to update and highlight specific job description details from past employment on your resume that are easily and readily recognizable as transferable skills. You want to focus on past experience that can directly relate to the new role in question. In an effort to try and match up your experience to a new role, do your research. Get to know the company’s culture and all around mission to grasp a better idea of what type of position this may be. This will help you be prepared to prove to the hiring manager how you are THEIR solution and not just another resume.

Unless you work in some form of design, fashion or other creative industry, less is certainly more when it comes to the formatting and layout of your resume. While you want your resume to look professional and stand out, if the layout, font, colors, etc. are too distracting, the hiring manager may not even bother reading it. It is important to keep your resume simple, concise and with a lot of white space. Although, you may feel it necessary to list all qualifications, duties, etc. on the resume, by keeping it simple and to the point, you can better convey your value to the Recruiters reading it.

Whatever you do, do not rely solely on applying online or leaving your resume out there on a job board, hoping that someone will locate it. If you want to stand out among the crowd, you need to be proactive in your strategy. Try reaching out directly to Hiring Managers or start building relationships with individuals in your industry. Networking can be huge when it comes to getting in front of the right people. By cultivating these meaningful relationships, you may find out about openings before they are even posted and could, in turn, get your resume in front the proper decision makers before your competition.

If you have concerns about your resume or are trying to figure out why you are not getting any hits or responses, take these tips to heart and maybe re-evaluate your current job seeking strategy. Your resume should never be the only arrow in your quiver; but should be the catalyst to get you noticed so you can truly sell your skills and value to your future employer.

The Trillium brand of companies is privately owned by René Poch and provides more than 30 years of industry leading recruitment and staffing services through its divisions including: Trillium Staffing, Trillium Construction Services, Trillium Driver Solutions, Trillium Marine, Trillium Technical, Trillium Environmental, Trillium Hospitality and Trillium Techs. With approximately 100 offices nationwide and nearly 400 internal recruitment professionals, the Trillium brand is proud to be recognized by Staffing Industry Analysts as a Top 25 Largest Industrial Staffing Firm in the U.S., a Top 100 Largest Staffing Firm in the U.S., a Top 100 Fastest Growing Staffing Firm in the U.S., and a winner of National Best and Brightest Companies to Work For. For more information please visit www.trilliumstaffing.com.

Being a skilled job seeker can be an art form. Even candidates who are under qualified or have less experience than others applying for a position, can gain a competitive edge in the interview process simply by being a strong interviewer. Here are some key components to landing your first job:

• Preparation is key.– Nothing jumps out to a hiring manager or HR rep faster than someone who is unprepared. Preparation for a career search can be timely process and being thorough is key. Many candidates complete the obvious such as obtaining contact information for references and preparing a resume, but don’t forget to think of how the recruiting market has changed in the past several years. Make sure that your social media landscape is separated by your personal and professional images. Having an employer locate you on LinkedIn with a professional profile that appropriately highlights your greatest attributes in your career field can quickly lose it’s power if your Facebook profile reflects less than a professional image. Keep in mind that the average recruiter spends less than 10 seconds reviewing your resume. Make sure your resume sells you quickly.
• Maintain an active network. Want to stay up to date on the latest trends in your industry? Do you want to be the first to know of excellent career opportunities in your field? The best way to gain and maintain up to date information in your field is to network with others in it. Social media and sites such as LinkedIn, provide excellent opportunities with little time commitment to stay informed and build relationships with others in your field. Make sure that others in your line of work know that you are looking for career opportunities. A simple update on your LinkedIn profile can quickly open doors. Sharing information and industry trends in groups and through status updates can quickly show others that you are knowledgeable and passionate about your field. In a recent survey by Salary.com as many as 72% of respondents reported using social connections to land a job.
• Do your research. Most employers will do a decent amount of research on you including reference checking, background screening, testing, and credential verifications. Show them that you have invested time into the process as well. Be educated and informed about their company, industry trends, their reputation, and their goals. Make it clear that you want to work with them and that while you have other options, partnering with them to meet their objectives and goals is something you are passionate about. Arrive early and dressed appropriately for your interview. Simply dressing the part and some simple research on the company can give you some added confidence in the interview, something employers are looking for. If you appear unsure, uneasy, or uninformed an employer may get the impression that you are uninterested or unprepared for a position with their organization. Strong interviewing skills can quickly progress you ahead of your peers.
• Partner with an industry expert. If you are a recent graduate or are entering a new line of work, your career search may prove more difficult than others with more experience in the role. Many employers are seeking candidates with prior experience or a more proven ability for their open positions. Getting a foot in the door with these employers can often prove to be more difficult. Working with an industry expert recruiter can significantly increase your chances of landing a position in your field. Partnering with a recruiter allows you a foot in the door, more inside information about the company and its objectives, interviewing and resume support and guidance, with the ability to prove your skills and abilities to an employer for a contracted period of time before they make a hiring commitment. Many employers prefer this flexibility and are more likely to hire an entry level candidate through a staffing partner due to the additional testing available. A contract to hire position also allows you to determine whether or not the position or company is the right choice for you, while building experience and skills for your resume.

Regardless of the profession you are looking to enter, remaining confident during the job seeking process is a must. If you find yourself becoming overly frustrated or discouraged, consider taking a few days off from the job search or partner with a staffing partner for more assistance. Often time candidates who are frustrated with their job search results can come across as lacking confidenence or negatively during an interview.

Are you a stand out professional or technical professional seeking contingent, temporary, or long term career opportunities?  Visit our job seekers section for more information!  Want to learn more about how you can gain access to Trillium’s national network of professionals and skilled workers? Contact us today!

Trillium, a national leader in staffing and recruitment is a valued staffing partner to over 5,000 companies nationwide. Trillium is privately owned by Oskar René Poch.

• Capture their attention. The average employer spends less than 10 seconds reviewing your resume or CV. Bullet points highlighting skills that are relevant to the position are most likely to catch their eye. Avoid distracting formats or designs that could quickly take their attention away from your qualifications.
• Make it professional. No matter the level of creativity required for the position, this is not the place for a self portrait. According BeHiring.com, there is an 88% job rejection rate if you have a photo of yourself on your CV. Keep your resume free of personal information including family status, age, photos, and most importantly do not include your social security number. Your resume is a professional sales platform, use it to sell your professional abilities and accomplishments.
• Review Your Contact Information. Placing phone numbers that you are not likely to be easily reached at or that may be answered by someone that is not likely to pass on the message can certainly cost you an interview quickly.  Are you including an e-mail address? If so be sure to check it regularly, a growing number of employers prefer to contact candidates via e-mail to help cut down on phone traffic volume. Keep in mind over 75% of resumes are ignored if the e-mail address listed is unprofessional.
• Triple check it for errors. Make sure that before passing your resume along you have checked it for spelling and grammatical errors. Do not rely on spell check to proof your work. Be sure to have several people review it. Chances are, they may find an additional skill or accomplishment that you forgot to highlight as well. Submitting different resumes for various positions? Be sure to have each version proofed and saved separately. If you continuously change or update the file you are more likely to include an error.

Keep in mind with over 200 resumes received on average for each open position, your efforts to land an interview cannot stop after submitting a resume. With hundreds of thousands of resumes being uploaded weekly to sites like Monster and Career Builder, setting yourself apart from the masses is crucial. Proper interview and follow up etiquette can go a long way in setting yourself up against the competition.

Are you a stand out professional, technical professional, or skilled worker seeking contingent, temporary, or long term career opportunities?  Visit our job seekers section for more information!  Want to learn more about how you can gain access to Trillium’s national network of professionals and skilled workers? Contact us today!

Trillium, a national leader in staffing and recruitment is a valued staffing partner to over 5,000 companies nationwide. Trillium is privately owned by Oskar René Poch.