Tips for US only. I know the job market is tough so I thought I post a few tips coming from a VP. I decided to post this due to the awful resumes I receive that you may not be aware of and might be the reasons you are getting auto rejected emails.
Tip 1: Apply to positions (remote/hybrid) under 14 days of posting, the sooner the better. Why 14? At times the selected candidates that were chosen first for whatever reason may not work out so we go on to the second batch. Always apply on company’s website to avoid scammers.
Tip 2: We tend to look at applications in the order they are received. Let’s say I haven’t looked at applications for an entire week. Today is Friday, the dashboard will reflect the earliest date received. This is how HR platforms are built.
Tip 3: If the application has questions related to the position think carefully how you respond. Depending on your response you will receive an auto rejection email same day or a day later. No one read your app, Due to how you answered the questions. Companies aren’t looking to sponsor employees visa so if you don’t need a visa answer no this will not reject you. However the other questions, lie if you have to so an actual person will read your application and resume. At this stage, it’s probably days later from the date you applied. If 3-4+ days has passed and then you received an auto rejection most likely a HR or hiring manager did view your app.
Tip 4: No matter what type of position or if it’s a virtual interview make an effort to look decent and up to par. Females do your hair some light makeup and a nice business casual top/blazer, Men groomed button down with blazer or tie. We do comment on professional appearance! So if two candidates are superb but only one dressed up professional - guess who got the job.
Tip 5: Do not copy and paste your job description responsibilities on to your resume! I literally bypass these put an effort in your resume. For each employer you should have a brief summary no more than 3 sentences and 3-4 bullet points reflecting what you accomplished and put stats! Example below
Position Title
Company Name, State 1/24-1/25
Oversaw the end-to-end accounting department workflows for a startup company exceeding $500M in revenue. Blah blah blah
-Increased company profits by 20% by doing blah blah
-Automated workflows which led to a reduction of 30% in call volume.
-Blah blah
-Blah blah
Get the point! You want to highlight what you accomplished in each company. If you’re still working at the company use present tense every other previous job use past these. Yes we look at everything! You are a reflection of your resume keep that in mind. Don’t put your full address on resume the city, state and zip only.
Tip 6: After each interview no matter who it is even if it’s HR send a thank you email! If you don’t have the email ask for it!
Tip 7: Be prepared to answer what do you know about the company? Memorize a line or two! Be prepared to answer tell me about yourself we don’t care about your dog, this answer shouid be based only on your work experience.
Tip 8: Resume shouid be in ATS format preferably PDF you can get templates on Canva or Etsy. Your resume should stand out, add some color get creative. We receive hundreds of resumes so you want your resume to pop out! Do not have an objective rather than a professional summary. Make sure your resume formatting is aligned, the bullet points are the same size. In other words before submitting your resume make sure it’s readable it makes sense and the formatting is right. Save your resume as follows JaneDoe_Resume. My lord I have seen resumes uploaded with the name “TemplateBrown” meanwhile their name is Gracie Doe.
Use ChatGPT to create a new resume for each job you apply. You can upload your existing resume and copy and past the description in ChatGPT and prompt to rewrite your resume.
Also use ChatGPT for Q&A mock interview specific to the job.
Hope this helps, good luck!