The rules of job searching have evolved tremendously over the last decade. These changes have fueled a lot of misconceptions that can hurt your chances of getting your dream job. Here are three common myths we hear from job seekers and the facts to set the record straight.
1. Myth: Your resume must have a can’t-be-ignored objective.
Many career coaches believe a resume objective is a dated concept, and recommend professionals skip that section completely. This opens up precious space for more important points that better catch recruiters’ attention, like how you increased sales by 500 percent or developed new processes that streamlined outcomes. These points tell a real story and make for great conversation starters when you get to an interview. Having an objective about “reaching your full potential” does not add any substance and likely will just get ignored by the hiring manager anyway.
2. Myth: Your resume must be stuffed with keywords to get past the ATS.
Applicant Tracking Systems are causing Algoriphobia: an applicant’s fear that keyword-based algorithms will always favor other applicants. This fear is causing people to stuff their resumes with keywords, jargon, and industry lingo so that it’s virtually unreadable when it reaches a human eye. Resist going overboard and instead strategically use keywords from the job description and your industry to construct a compelling resume that gets flagged by the bots, but is also readable to a person. After all, a human will be deciding who gets hired, not the software program.
3. Myth: Get creative to stand out in your application.
From hand-delivering donuts to dancing the tango, we’ve all heard fun stories of people who got creative with their application and scored an interview. However, getting creative can backfire, and often it’s a waste of time. The best way to stand out is to be the best candidate. To showcase your skills, develop a killer resume and become a master interviewer. If you need help, invest in a career coach who can give you the insight and confidence you need. When you know your stuff, you’ll get noticed for all the right reasons and get the job offer you desire, without literally doing flips.
