Resume – Paul's Tech Talk

Strategic Job Applications: How AI Can Be Your Secret Weapon

PaulMarch 4, 2024

How AI can build your resume

That’s something I’ve been exploring lately due to the fact that I’ve been having a really hard time finding a jobs of late and it looks to be almost a full time job. You have to apply to every job possible but you shouldn’t just apply and go to the next. It’s almost a competition to get the recruiter or Hiring manager to see your resume due to the fact that is large number of people applying for the same job and don’t get me started on the remote positions that are either already filled or people Applying to jobs that are just looking for the right person to join their cliche of people. The real question is How can AI help me in the job market? The simple answer is that it can help you build your resume and I’ll provide a few good ones to use to help you build or modify your resume to help get jobs online.

Jobscan.co — Will help you optimize your resume to make it easier for the online applications to get to the recruiter instead of being sent to the trash by the automatic job filtering system called the ATS(Applicant Tracking System) and that could cause you to not be seen by the employers.
wonsulting.ai — Is good at helping you build a new resume when the need arises. Some people say this is necessary for each and every applications. I am not certain that is needed because if you are applying to jobs that you have done in the past then you should be able to stand out anyways.
Rezi.ai — Is another good one that will do everything Wonsulting does but may be a better match to your needs. Each one has their own unique way to creating the resume but it is sure better to explore all available alternatives that may be available.
Resume.io — Will help with creating an eye catching resume for to get those recruiters that may see this. It however is just like every other one but may have some good free resume building templates that might be something you are looking for.

Can AI build a good Cover Letter?

Even when you are looking to apply for jobs, a good cover letter can help you in landing that interview the rest is up to you and I’ve been trying new ones recently due to need to be competition for finding that one job. I’d thought I would at least provide some good ones that I’ve tried recently that are free and can be used to impress that one hiring manager to giving your a chance.

Grammarly.com — is the one that I’ve tried recently and has been somewhat successful in helping me at least get noticed whether it is the best is the still up for debate by everyone. It however has been something I have been using on occasion to create good cover letters.
Coverletter-ai.com — Is good at using multiple ways to customize the cover letter and tweak it even more and change the writing styles which may help you to stand out. I’ve only used this once but someone might like to try it out due to what their needs are. It looks interesting and that much is something that might get those hiring managers to give your a chance.

For most of these are just the ones I have used. I however suggest you try the ones that you can use with the Resume builders part. Some or most of them will also create good cover letters to help you with creating a good cover letter also. I however haven’t really used them for that but it might be something to consider.

Can AI help me find Jobs?

That is the next question that I would like to address. It actually looks like it can and that can help you find jobs that you might not know about. Here are a few that might interests you in the future or now. Some of these are in beta and may not be something that you can use right now but something to consider in the future.

Sonara.ai (Beta) — is an AI-powered tool designed to streamline your job search process and automatically apply for jobs that match your resume and preferences. I’m in the waiting list for this one and have yet to try it out.
Careerflow.ai — Accelerate your job search with a personalized CRM! Keep track of all your jobs opportunities, applications, notes, contacts, in one single dashboard. They also have a good Chrome extension that might be useful for those who are looking for a job and keep track of all the ones you have applied for so you don’t apply to the same one twice.

As you can see there are several different options for you to use to help you find a job but it still takes effort to find that job and you will need to keep applying to jobs until you land that one job that you are looking for. However these AI tools will help you with your job searches and job applications to make it easier and faster to apply for jobs that you might be interested in. If you like this blog post don’t forget to sign up for more like this and other blog posts.

Job Hunting 102: Secrets to a Successful Job Application

PaulFebruary 21, 2024

Job hunting by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Pix4free

Crafting a Persuasive Cover Letter

Do I need to add a Cover Letter? A persuasive cover letter can be quite challenging to some but if you really want to get that job this would be the something that you will need to do. It however isn’t as difficult as it might seem. The importance of the cover letter is tell the employer in your own words why you are applying for the job and what you might bring to the team. It doesn’t have be multiple pages but a good cover letter uses one page to tell the employer more about you than what the resume can or will. It is also good to have to make sure to highlight those skills that the employer is looking for.

Structuring the cover effectively can make a world of differences from being in the NO pile to being put in the YES pile. The cover letter needs to be easy to ready and something that demonstrates why are a good fit for the company. It could even show them that you are a good fit for team that you might have to work with. Each Cover letter should be personalized and that can be difficult because that will take time but if you do it right then you will most certainly be put in the YES pile. You’ll want to stand out and make them see you may bring a value to the company in one way or another.

Identifying Reputable Job Search Websites

Which sites are good for me to look for a job? Not all Job search websites are the same, some are better than others and that can be negative to your finding a job. You should strategically standout in online job portals. You should have a resume that will draw people to ask for you to apply for a job or a even jobs. The resume then can at least be showing people that you’re got some good talents. What sites are good for looking for a job? Here are a few websites that might work well with standing out, however these are just a few and you should look to figure out which ones you want to use:

These are just few that you can start looking for a job but you should optimize your profiles to show them what you are good at and to bring in those jobs that you are looking to apply to. You’re online profiles are the first impression on what the employers will see when they are looking for potential job applicants that might be a good fit for the job they are looking to fill. You should also setup email alerts for new jobs that show up and be ready to apply for them when they come into your mail box. I am sure if you have filtered the right job searches for a particular field or industry you will be more likely to find those jobs that you want to work at.

Build and Expand Your Professional Network

You will most likely start getting job recruiters looking to fill a job that they have. So you should keep the lists of people who have contacted you in the past and occasionally email them seeing if they have anything that you might be able to apply for. Just be mindful that these recruiters make money by filling positions that companies are looking for so this isn’t always going to be the best approach but I’ve had some good luck with this in the past. You should leverage all the social media sites you can from LinkedIn, Twitter(X), Facebook and maybe even put it out that you are looking for a job on Mastodon. As long as you know that it will be slow work trying to find recruiters that are specialized for what industry you are looking to work in, it can be a great way to at least find jobs that you might not find any other way. Another good way to build and expan your professional network is to attend conferences or job fairs to possibly give the recruiter your resume. These are the best way to make sure the employer gets the resume but isnt’ always going to bring you an interview it however is worth trying to help you job hunt.

If you liked reading this article why not check out the other article I’ve done already, Job Hunt 101: Mastering the Art of Applying for Positions. I am not done with this topic and more are on the way, don’t forget to subscribe to the newsletter for even more articles like this. Don’t forget to share this article to help support this blog.

Job Hunting 101: Mastering the Art of Applying for Positions

PaulFebruary 19, 20244 Replies

Photo by kaushik26795 from PxHere

Importance of Effective Job Applications

The importance of applying for jobs is more important than ever due to more people applying for the same job. If you haven’t been watching more and more people are getting laid off and that is causing employers to get swamped with people applying for same job that everyone else is applying for. It’s a real struggle to find a job for most and all, I am one of those that have been looking for a job for the past few weeks and I have come to understand just how hard it is to get that interview.

The overview of apply for jobs can be quite daunting and challenging for most because you really don’t know where to begin with or where to start looking. Each person is just a little different and that can be a strength or a weakness, depending on your talents. Now it is one thing to know you are looking for a job but that doesn’t mean you are can’t at least start figuring out how you will do it.

Defining Your Career Objectives

Each person has a career objective whether you admit it or not. You have some reason why you are looking for a job in area or industry because you want to accomplish something such as more money, more seniority, or even prestige. You could be trying to get all three or just thinking you could be a better person and that would be only one area where you want to accomplish. There are several different accomplishments people will want when they are applying for a job.

First thing you’ll need to do is a self assess what is your strengths and identify your talents. What are you good at? Are you good at talking to people? Are you good with your Hands? These are the questions you should be asking yourself before you start to even consider applying for a job. You’ll need to take a deep dive into what you are good at and what you where you’re strengths are. Monster has some great career tests for you to use to figure help you figure out what you are good at and your strengths and weaknesses. Even if you want to go deeper than that, you should check out Yale’s Self-Assessment and career exploration pages, where they will give you even more enlightened out look of who you are and what you might be good at. There are to many websites to put in this blog but these are just a few that you can check out to learn who you are and what you are good at.

After you’ve done all that and know what you might be good at, the next step is to research industries and companies that might be good fit for your talents and strengths. Each company can be different but if you know what you are good at then that’s at least the first part of the battle. Knowing that you are good at typing or that you are better at your hands can be a big help with where you should look in the company whether it be in productions, office work, driving a car, or calling clients to do check up on what needs to be done to keep them. The one way I research the companies is use Indeed to research the company and they even have great article on how to do it. It just depends on how you tailor searching for jobs in certain industry and know that is where you want to pursue your career with. It’s not going to be as black and white but it should at least keep you on the right path.

Creating an Outstanding Resume

Effective resume writing techniques for job applications can be quite challenging due to the fact that you have to know what the company is wanting. They may want some specific soft skills, and they will most likely want even more hard skills or you having an education that is a requirement to get the job. So you should create an resume and then change it when you apply for a job to better help you get that chance for the interview.

Craft a compelling summary and objectives is something else you will need to do to stand out from each and every other applications. Each application is going to be different so each resume should be slightly different from the others. Although this isn’t the always going to work it however is going help you get that proverbial foot in the door as I would say. Highlighting your achievements and skills are the first part of creating a good resume. You should make sure to have those in your resume to show them how unique you are and what you are good at. Formatting the resume will help with hiring manager being able to a glance to see what you are are, so you should have bulleted lists or number lists to show them you qualifications and you’re experiences. This sets the tone of the resume to better make your application stand out.

These are just a few ways for you to learning how to job hunt effectively and this is just the tip of the iceberg because I will be writing about even more of this in the future so you should bookmark my site or better yet sign up for my newsletter and keep watch on those other articles to come in the future. If you liked this article how about sharing with your friends and family to help support my blog and my efforts.

The Real Struggle to Finding a Job in 2024

PaulFebruary 13, 20243 Replies

laptop, macbook, work, man, working, person, cafe, coffee, home, furniture, room, interior design, developer, programming, programmer, stress, annoyed, stressful, exhausted, struggling, frustrated, php, git, Free Images In PxHere

from PxHere

Why is Finding a Job in the US Really Hard?

I don’t say this lightly because I’ve come across so many people talking about this that isn’t even funny. Most of these people are just trying to find a job and it seems that they aren’t even able to land any real interviews. I’ve had that same problem as of late, no one wants to interview they just go to another qualified applicant and either Ghost me or tell me that I wasn’t selected for the interview.

I’ve personally been dealing with the Stress of looking for a job for over 2 weeks. It can be quite hard not to worry and think about what may come but this is just another example of what it is like to find a job in the year 2024. Even if the US Government says we have all these Jobs that were created, I seriously doubt this is going to help those who have been laid off and the one that may be lay off in the future.

Few Examples:

Linkedin Layoffs Trends By Nicole Roundy

Why Can’t People find a job?

More and More people are asking the same thing. “Why can’t I find a Job?” on Google. That seems more than plausible, if the US economy was so robust and we had all these jobs than it should be easy for everyone who was laid off to find a new job. It however isn’t that way and I hate to say it doesn’t look promising for the future. As I have been doing my research more and more people are having the same issues as I am and if people are not finding jobs and they have more qualifications than me then It just can’t be how I am applying and that I am applying. It has to be deeper than that and I believe it is.

Even now it isn’t clear on what people should do, because more and more people are asking the same thing. Even more “experts” try to give advice. I put quotations around the word to make sure you know that I don’t know if they are right or wrong or if they are actually experts or just people who know how to get a job easier.

I’m not here to tell you who I believe is or isn’t a expert in this field but to at least tell you that even if you do some of the things these people tell you to do to get a job may or may not work in your situation. I’m going to at least talk about what I am doing to try to get a job that may help you in your job search.

My Job Search Activities

What I am about to tell you is what I’ve been going through trying to do to hunt for a Job. However, This doesn’t that this is how you should do it but it is something to consider while you are looking for a job.

Setup Email Alerts on Job openings — This can be quite helpful. I’ve done this for sites like Indeed, Monster, Linkedin, Google, and even Bing to find new jobs around me that I can apply for it and it helps to keep me from spending to much time each day to look for jobs. Each of these are easy to do and you can have each site email you daily or when there is a new job that pops up that you are looking for.
Spend a Maximum of 2 or 3 hours and No more looking for Jobs — I say this because I’ve heard people say they were looking for job as if they have a job Full time and that can’t be good or healthy to the individual. There is no way you can find jobs and apply to them all day. You should spend only a limited amount of time finding jobs. That is the best approach.
Get Resume Help — This can be quite easy for some of you but others might need to search their local community to see if you can get someone to help you write your resume even better. It never hurts to get someone to check it out and give you some advice on how to get the employer to see your resume.
Apply for Jobs that you have excellent Soft Skills for — This is something that seems to be overlooked but you should always apply to jobs that match your soft skills even more. This will get employers more interested in your application. If you can show them you have the soft skills they are searching for they may want to get an interview with you.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help with Friends And Family — This can be really helpful to be able to talk to your friends and family. It can help with your stress also but they may know of jobs that may be able to get your foot in the door. It’s what they call networking which has helped me in the past and this is something I am constantly doing now but still haven’t gotten past the interview stage.

As you can see these are just a few tips that I can give you to better keep you in the know of new jobs and how to deal with the rejections you may get. I’ve seen more and more of those rejections come my way but with all this it helps to keep me from getting depressed and discouraged. You should consider how you can better help yourself from getting that way too.

Are you looking for a Job? If so, we are both in the same boat but you can always subscribe and find out even more tips on Job hunting and just technology industry in general. Remember you’re not alone in this and we are all in this together.