6 Ways to Get Your Resume Past the Resume Filter

by Brian Penny

 Applying for jobs used to mean driving, walking, or taking public transportation all over town dropping off resumes and filling out applications. These days, you can apply for hundreds of jobs a day from your computer, as you have an internet connection. In the process of transitioning online, many businesses have automated the first few steps of the application process, and, just like any other automated process, you can game the system if you’re smart about it.

If you need help getting past the resume filter in the job application process, here’s what you need to do:

1. Read the Job Description

It sounds obvious, but it’s amazing how many people just read the job posting title, scan over the requisition, and go immediately to apply. This is how you end up at a job you don’t like. As much as you need money, you don’t want a job you completely hate. You will inevitably loathe certain aspects of your job, so don’t make it harder on yourself. Read the job description and make sure it’s something that: a) you want to do, and b) you’re able to do, competently. If you’ve only had a paper route and a McJob in high school, you have no business applying to be the Vice President of anything. Read the job description so you understand completely before applying.

2. Identify Required Qualifications

When reading the job description, check out the qualifications. Employers will list the minimum requirements that they’re looking for. These qualifications ARE the resume filters, so if you don’t meet these qualifications, you’ll be filtered out.
It literally works like this: if I’m only looking for people with a Bachelor’s degree, my resume filter will only show me applicants who have a Bachelor’s degree listed on their resume. Think of it as a multiple choice scantron – if the answer is C and you filled in A, you got the question wrong. There are no second chances with automation; if anything is listed as “required” or “qualifications,” you won’t get past the filter without it. It is very black and white, with no gray areas.

3. Identify Desired Skills

Many jobs list desired skills, as well. That’s letting you know that once your resume meets the minimum requirements to move past the resume filter and be shown to a human being, they’re going to show preference to applicants with the desired skills. A Bachelor’s degree may be the barrier to entry, but they’d love to see a Master’s degree. The Master’s degree is only “desired” and not “required” though, so make up for it in other ways. Companies are willing to train the right person.

Read the full article online. 

The Next Generation Of Leadership Gurus

Larry Myler, Contributor, Forbes

 

Who Will Replace Stephen R. Covey, Ken Blanchard, John C. Maxwell And Tom Peters When They’re Gone? 

Not to be morbid, but someone had to ask the question. We carefully plan for the replacement of key leaders who retire or are promoted within our companies. Nature abhors a vacuum, and the void left behind by departing leaders begs to be filled in any organization.

As our favorite leadership icons retire or pass on, we will of course miss them as dear friends and influential teachers. But that’s not all. We will also miss their thinking and creativity; their ability to conjure up powerful solutions to some of the most vexing and debilitating challenges in our business and personal lives.

So, to whom shall we turn for the next generation of solutions?

That’s not a rhetorical question. I’m asking you to name potential candidates for the job. Who do you know that has made a contribution to the field of leadership worthy of consideration as one of our next gurus? Your nominees should also have another 20-or-so years left in their careers, because we’re looking to the future. There are new problems coming and we need a steady supply of fresh solutions.

To get the ball rolling, I would like to offer a couple of names myself. The first person I think could do the job is Joseph Grenny of VitalSmarts. I’ve known him for decades. He’s a solid pick.

I just met my second nominee last Wednesday, as he wowed me with his speaking ability and leadership knowledge at an association conference. Dr. Jeff Magee is a prolific writer and consummate speaker and consultant. He would get my vote. Who would get yours?

Read the full article online. 

10 Lessons For Entrepreneurs From Coach John Wooden

Lewis Howes, Contributor, Forbes

 

Coach John Wooden, a.k.a. the “Wizard of Westwood,” is best known for his 27-year legacy at UCLA, where he led the Bruins to 10 NCAA national championships, and for coaching basketball legends such as Bill Walton and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

But his words and practices about what it takes to win don’t just apply to the basketball court; they apply to all areas of life – especially entrepreneurship.

Even though Coach Wooden was known for his simple and old school approach to practice and playing, the results speak for themselves.

This man knew how to win.

Below are 10 quotes from John Wooden.  I believe his words still have as much relevance in our digital world today as they did when he first spoke them.

Words Of Wisdom From John Wooden

1.  “Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”
There’s always going to be something “extra” that can enhance your business or potentially boost sales.

Maybe it’s a new technology platform or a social media strategy.  Whatever it is, I think Coach Wooden would encourage us to strive for those things, but don’t let them become an excuse for not doing our best with what we already have.


2.  “If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything.  I’m positive that a doer makes mistakes.”

I think one of the biggest reasons why seasoned entrepreneurs stop innovating and taking risks is because they’re afraid of ruining a “winning streak.”

Nothing is for certain in the world of innovation.  You’ve got to remember that out of every failed innovation comes unexpected knowledge that sends us in a new direction or reveals something we would have never known.

3.  “It’s the little details that are vital.  Little things make big things happen.”

Once you realize the truth behind, “Little things make big things happen,” you’ll never again view the details of your business as boring or insignificant – especially when it comes to marketing.

Consumers don’t become loyal brand buyers by accident.  It takes strategic planning and execution to cut through the estimated 3,000 marketing messages the average American sees each day.

Every picture, every image and every email within your marketing has a job to do.

Read the full article online.

The distance between ordinary and extraordinary is shorter than you think!

By John C. Maxwell.

What do you think of when I say the word “ordinary?” These are the words that come to my mind: Common. Usual. Normal. Boring. Average. Something you see everyday.

What about “extraordinary?” I think of: Amazing. Incredible. Uncommon. Unusual. Special. Above average. New.

In the English language, only five little letters separate “ordinary” from “extraordinary:” extra. And while “extra” can be defined as “outside,” in English it also means “just a little bit more.”

The word we use is not as important as the idea: the distance between ordinary and extraordinary is shorter than you think. For too long, people have thought there was a huge gap between normal and special. They’ve assumed that “above average” was far above “average.” Unfortunately, once you believe that, it’s easy to conclude that since you’re “average,” you’ll never be anything else; that there’s no way to claw your way up to “above average.”

I’m here to tell you that you’ve made the gap too wide. In life, an extraordinary performance is often separated from an ordinary one by the slightest of margins. What if your ordinary life could become extraordinary with only the smallest of changes? Would it be worth trying?

Here are some “extras” that can help you close the gap between ordinary and extraordinary:

A little extra effort. There is a price to be paid for achievement. Sometimes it’s a large price. But sometimes just a little extra effort can yield significant results. What price are you willing to pay for success?

A little extra time. To give something time, we need something other than perseverance. We need patience with the process of growth. I believe that many of us overestimate events and underestimate the process. But we’ve got it all wrong. As I wrote in the Law of Process in The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, leaders develop daily, not in a day.

A little extra help. I love this saying: “If you see a turtle on top of a fence post, you know he had help getting there!” Why do I love it? Because I’m a turtle on a fencepost. I know that I didn’t get to where I am in life on my own. I’m just not that smart, gifted, or fast. The truth is that those who reached “extraordinary” had help getting there. And many types of success can only be achieved with help. If you refuse to ask for – or accept – it, you limit yourself and your work to a lower level of achievement.

Remember that ordinary and extraordinary are not far apart. If you accomplish just one of the above “extras,” your work will begin to be above average in that area.

If Ordinary People …
Gave a Little Extra Effort,
Spent a Little Extra Time,
Sought a Little Extra Help …
They Would Become Extraordinary!

Read the full article online! 

In Debt…Again? How to Break the Borrowing Cycle

By Credit.com

You hate debt.

You got out of debt once and vowed you’d never let it happen again. But here you are – stuck in debt again.

It’s not fair! How did it happen so quickly?

And what can you do to create a permanent debt solution so that you never repeat the pattern again?

The Permanent Debt Solution

Defining the source of your debt problem is critical to solving it.

You believe your debt is a financial problem, but it’s actually a personal problem masquerading as a financial one. That’s why a permanent debt solution eludes you.

Treating debt as if it were a financial problem is similar to trying to cure the flu by blowing your nose. You relieve an obvious symptom but don’t address the underlying cause.

When you don’t address the cause, you don’t get better.

In other words, debt is often just a symptom of a much larger problem: an addiction to an unsupportable self-image and lifestyle that results in overspending.

Until you address the real problem, the symptom will recur, which may explain why you are in debt again.

What that means is debt’s real cause is often personal life habits and attitudes that result in overspending.

The rule is simple – you must spend less than you earn. There’s no way around it.

However, teaching a chronic debtor to spend less and earn more is like telling an overweight person to lose weight by eating less and exercising more.

Everyone already knows what to do. The difficult part is actually getting it done.

How to Slay the Debt Monster

Sure, you want to get out of debt as fast as possible, but superficial financial solutions result in repeat offenders.

Using debt consolidation, or transferring balances to a HELOC or a 0% credit card, or selling assets such as a house, boat or car does not address the root cause of the problem.
You are trying to relieve the symptom by looking only at financial issues.

Instead, what you must first do is figure out what is causing your debt.

What are all the ways you spend more than you earn? But there are ways to identify these habits and change them.

The permanent cure is to plug all the habitual ways you leak money so that you never go into debt again. This isn’t sexy, but it permanently solves the problem.


You must persist in plugging these leaks until you are spending less than you earn.

It may take you months (or years) to achieve this objective.

That’s OK.

Read the full article online.