You may be wondering what is ATS-Friendly Resume? Well, this term is kind of popular nowadays in the HR and job seeker world.

ATS stands for Application Tracking System. In fact, 90% of Fortune 500 corporations use this resume screening tool during their recruiting processes. And based on Yahoo, 75% of resumes would never get into a real person’s hands.

What’s that mean exactly? Let me explain in a simpler way. So, before your resume is delivered to the recruiters, you need to pass this bot first which is the ATS machine. Otherwise, recruiters will never see your resume.

Such an irony, isn’t it? But that’s the reality now.

Let’s take a look at an example of ATS from BambooHR.

As you can see, the system gives ratings to each applicant. The rating varies from 0/5 stars to 5/5 stars. You need to have more stars in order to beat other applicants. Now, the question is: How do I get more stars?

You have to comply with the system requirements. Otherwise, ATS machine won’t able to read your resume. Even though you have such a very good content in your resume, if ATS machine can’t read that, you will not pass the bot. Hence, the recruiter will never see your resume.

So, how to make my resume readable by the ATS machine? Let’s breakdown the strategies in order to write your best resume which complies with the ATS. Here goes the list of things we will cover:

1. Example of ATS-Friendly Resume
2. ATS-Friendly Resume Format
3. Keywords to Put on ATS-Friendly Resume
4. Things You Don’t Want to Include in Your ATS-Friendly Resume
5. How to Check Your ATS-Friendly Resume Score

ATS-Friendly Resume Example

From the two examples above, you can see that ATS loves simplicity. It prefers a resume that is black and white fulfilled with a simple and easy to read font. Stick with us to know further details on how to make an ATS-Friendly resume.

For more free examples of ATS resume, check out 20 ATS-Friendly Resume Templates and Resume Templates for Experienced Hires

Format

Use a simple font like sans-serif or serif fonts with a size of 11. If you prefer a smaller size, make sure to not use a font size which lower than 10. It is acceptable for you to use a font size of 12 or 14 to write your name or headings.

Sans-serif fonts: Arial, Arial Narrow, Verdana, Calibri, Century Gothic, Gill Sans, Lucinda Sans, Tahoma, Trebuchet.

Serif fonts: Times New Roman, Garamond, Book Antiqua, Bookman, Cambria, Century Schoolbook, Georgia, Palatino Linotype.

To make your CV more readable, you can use txt or rtf format. But if that’s not possible, you can use doc or PDF format for your resume. Never use JPG, JPEG, or other formats.

Make your CV as boring as possible. No, you are not reading that wrong. ATS prefers a boring black-and-white resume that you make in Microsoft Word than the colorful-full-of-design resume you made using Adobe Photoshop or Canva. Keep in mind that ATS machine can’t read files from Canva.

Use simple bullet to list down job descriptions and achievements. Using complicated characters will make the ATS can’t read your resume.

Also read: How to Create an ATS-Friendly Resume Template

Keywords

Tailor your resume with keywords in the job vacancy requirements. Look out for job-related skills and action verbs in the job requirements.

Job-related skills are the key skills related to the job you are applying for. For example, if the job requirements stated:

• 5+ years experience in consumer eCommerce marketing & analytics with a focus on achieving brand engagement metrics with positive ROI 
• Familiarity with SEO best practices including evaluating & using keywords in content planning and execution
• Experience using social media marketing platforms (Facebook, Youtube, LinkedIn) 
• Experience with eCommerce analytics platforms such as Google Analytics, Metabase, Qualtrics, etc.

Then, under your skills section in the resume, you can write down those skills: eCommerce Marketing, SEO, Social Media Marketing (Facebook, Youtube, LinkedIn), Google Analytics, Metabase, Qualtrics. But keep in mind that you can only list the skills that you have. Here’s a pro tip: Don’t lie.

While action verbs are the verbs that you use to describe your accomplishments in your previous work. Let’s look at the example below of a job description of a job vacancy:

• Lead data-driven content planning processes to identify thought leadership and other topics impactful to Embark customer audiences
• Manage monthly/quarterly content schedule for written blog, Facebook Live presentations, and Video Series, ensuring content writers/producers stay on track for deliverable timelines
• Leverage both outbound and inbound marketing tactics including manual and automated email campaigns, social media, SEO, direct mail, and more
• Achieve KPIs across a variety of brand engagement metrics, collaborate with lead-gen marketers to support achieving prospect acquisition and customer retention KPIs

You can use words like lead, manage, leverage, achieve, collaborate in your Work Experience section while explaining your accomplishments in your job so then you can start to write the best resume in 2020.

Utilize free online service like Jobscan to optimize your resume so that ATS will find your resume compatible with the job requirements and recommend you to the recruiter.

Also read: How to Write an ATS Resume

Don’t Put These Things in Your ATS-Friendly Resume

By putting these things in your resume will make the ATS machine can’t read your resume. Hence, it will lower your score. So, what are the things that you shouldn’t put in your resume?

• Photos
• Graphs, Logos, and Charts
• Symbols and Emojis
• Italics and Underlines
• Tables and Columns
• Textboxes
• Quotation Mark
• Headers and Footers

You might be wondering why can’t I put photos in my resume? So how do I put my photo there? The answer is: Don’t. You don’t need to put photos in your resume. Other than it makes your resume can’t be read by the ATS machine, it can also rise the subjectivity of recruiters. These are examples of resumes that are not ATS-Friendly:

This resume is very colourful and contains a lot of graphics, illustrations, logos, symbols and emojis. The resume also has a skill rating in the “Tools I Use” section. You might want to remove the rating and only list the skills instead.

I’m not lying. This resume is eye-catching. But unfortunately, the bots won’t like it. So, how do you know whether the ATS machine will be able to read your resume or not? Well, you might check the next section below.

Also read: Beat the Robots: How to Get Your Resume Past the System & Into Human Hands

Check your ATS-Friendly Resume Score

There are several free online services to check your resume score in the ATS machine. A good resume has a minimum score of 80. You can try service from Resume Worded or Skill Roads. Let’s take a look at Resume Worded as an example:

I uploaded my resume and got 86 as my score which is good since it exceeds the minimum score of 80. Here, Resume Worded tells you what is already excellent and which part of your resume needs to be improved. In my case, I need to improve Style and Brevity in order to have the perfect score.

Resume Worded will also tell you which factors that have not meet the expectations yet. For example, in the Style section, my resume still contains personal pronouns, passive voice, and inconsistencies. If you click on it, Resume Worded will tell you details for you to work on. Keep in mind that some of these are not free.

Also check out: Free Resume Keyword Optimizer and Tracker

To Sum Up

We know that starting to write your resume for scratch needs efforts and time. The trends also change thus we have to keep up to date and comply with the latest trend so that we’re still competitive and not left behind. Writing ATS-Friendly resume may be hard and confusing for us, so here’s a recap of what we’ve been discussing:

• Keep your resume simple. Black and white, simple 10-14 sized font, no photos, illustrations, logos, complicated characters, etc.
• Use simple bullet and apply active verbs in describing job descriptions and achievements. Don’t forget to customize the resume with the job requirements
• Utilize Microsoft Word to make ATS-Friendly resume and save it in .doc or .pdf format

Now you know how to change your resume into the type that is friendly to the bot. Why don’t you start making one?

You can also check how to write the best resume in 2020 and write a cover letter as a complementary document to apply for jobs that higher your chance of getting an interview invitation.

Not sure where to search for jobs? Sign yourself up and start nail your dream job at 9cv9 Jobs and Career Platform.

The post ATS-Friendly Resume: What Is It and How to Make One? appeared first on 9cv9 Career Blog.

You might be wondering what are the things that block you from nailing an interview. You begin to feel upset when you can’t even nail even just one interview.

This is what we recommend: Use STAR Interview Method.

And now you begin to wonder…

What is the STAR Interview Technique?

Hold your questions for now and stick with us because we will all about STAR Interview Method including:

1. What is the STAR Interview Technique?
2. STAR Interview Method Key Concepts
3. How to Prepare for an Interview with STAR Method?
4. How to Answer Interview Questions with STAR Method?

OK. So, let’s start from the question you’ve been wondering..

What is STAR Interview Technique?

Well, STAR Interview Method is a technique adopted by job applicants in answering behavioral interview questions when he or she is being interviewed with the Human Resource Manager (HRM). This is an opportunity for the job seeker to provide specific personal examples or evidence that he or she has the skills and experiences required to excel in the job they are applying for. You can utilize this framework to tell your success stories that happened in the past.

Also read: Tips on Using the STAR Technique to Answer Job Interview Questions

STAR Interview Method Key Concepts

STAR is an abbreviation of four key concepts. Each concept is a step in which a candidate can take to answer behavioral interview questions. Let’s jump right to the concepts in the acronym:

Situation: First, you begin from the situation. Explain the situation at which you performed work or faced a challenge at work. For instance, you might have worked on a collective project or you might have had an encounter with a workmate. However, these contexts might be similar to work experience or some other related event. Try as much as possible not to be generic but be specific about the circumstances you faced that time.

Task: Then, you continue with the task you had in the condition. Stress further to explain your role in this situation. It might have happened in the past that you assisted your team in completing the project even when you are extremely busy or resolve a fight with a coworker.

Action: Go on to describing the specific actions you took to do your task. Explain further on steps you took in the completion of a task or your attempt to complete this task tried to complete this task. Lay emphasis more on what you personally did and coworker, group, or boss did.

Result: In conclusion, close it with the result. Describe the outcomes gotten from the step taken. You can stress a bit about what you did or the knowledge acquired.

You can explain the competencies you’ve listed down in your resume by using the STAR method. These are the list of skills that can be investigated during an interview:

• Communicative
• Teamwork
• Initiative
• Leadership
• Problem-solving skills
• Analytical thinking
• Stress resistance
• Time management
• Negotiation skills
• Planning
• Result orientation
• Process orientation

You might also wonder about what are the questions that can be answered using the STAR method. Well, the interviewer may ask you questions like these:

• Narrate to me about a time when you were supposed to conclude a job within a short period of time.
• Have you ever exceeded a deadline?
• What do you do when you found yourself in a situation whereby a team member neglects their part of the task?

Also read: 19 Examples of STAR Interview Questions Plus How to Answer Them Using STAR Method

How to Prepare for an Interview with STAR Method

Since nobody will inform you in advance about the kind of interview method that will be adopted by your interviewer, it is however very important for you to prepare numerous scripts for the jobs that you are applying for.

First and foremost, prepare a list of the skills and experiences required for the task and match your qualification to those listed in the posting. Perhaps, you can find a list of requirements needed in the job vacancy offer.

Subsequently, put into consideration some specific instances of how you exhibited the skills. Name the situation, task, action, and result for each instance.

Ensure you update your curriculum vitae and cover letter then print copies of the updated one and go with it to your interview. 

You might need to look out for general questions of the behavioral interview and make attempt to answer them utilizing the STAR approach.

Irrespective of the examples you selected, ensure they are very similar to the task you are being interviewed on.

Also read: How to Use STAR Method Technique for Interview Questions

How to Answer Interview Questions with STAR Method

Interviews may be scary. You might get anxious in every interview especially if you are being interviewed for the job that has been in your mind lately. Here are some tips from us to remind you about the STAR method you can use to ace your job interview:

• Remind yourself of the situations in which you exhibited the right behavior. You can explain planning, your leadership and teamwork experience, customer service, training, and work projects. 
• Get ready for a short-lived explanation of each situation. Be ready to talk more on each description upon request.
• Ensure each of your stories has a logical start and ending (remind yourself of the STAR concept).
• Always ensure that the results you explain characterize you in a positive way (even when the result seems to be negative).
• Be truthful. Make sure you do not elaborate on the story and do not also remain quiet about the details.  If the story is not true, the interviewer will surely know this.
• Be very precise. Try not to generalize or explain numerous situations of the same kind at the same time.
• Provide them with illustrations from different parts of your life.

Also read: STAR Interview Mindmap

To Sum It Up

Interviews most likely will make you nervous. Going on a lot of interviews may help reduce anxiety since you get used to the environment and challenges in being interviewed. But that’s not enough. You need to apply some strategies in order to ace your interview so that you can get the job you’ve been dreaming of.

One of the strategies you can use is: STAR Interview Method which stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result. This way, you can tell your stories to the interviewer better which add more values of your story thus make the interviewer impressed to you.

So, that’s our tips on how to nail your job interviews. But, before nailing interviews, you have to make sure that your resume is great in order to get those interview invitations. Check out How to Write the Best Resume in 2020 and How to Make Cover Letter if you need further details about the steps before the interview.

Or are you looking for more new job opportunities? We can handle it too. Register and access lots of great possibilities in 9cv9 Jobs and Career Platform. 

The post STAR Interview Method: Best Technique to Nail Your Job Interviews appeared first on 9cv9 Career Blog.

There are several kinds of interviews. One of them is behavioral interview. Now, you might ask question about what is behavioral interview?

Well, behavioral interview is fast emerging as one of the main types of interviewing methods used to assess job candidates.

It’s a form of job interviewing where the interviewee, or what we usually call a job candidate, is asked questions that would require him to provide answers that involve examples from their past behavior during their former employment.

Then what’s the purpose of behavioral interview? Why do recruiters need to use this type of interview?

As you might have expected, the goal of a behavioral interview is to analyze the candidate’s past performances in his former jobs to predict the future performance of the individual. In essence, recruiters are using your past to determine how productive you could be in the future.

Behavioral interview is the most effective kind of interview which usually used when the recruiters know the exact traits they are looking for in a candidate.

By knowing the applicant’s previous performance, the interviewer can determine whether the person who is applying for the managerial position has shown enough leadership skills in the past to warrant the job.

How to Prepare for a Behavioral Interview?

Behavioral interview is one of the easiest interviews to prepare for. But still, there must be a reasonable amount of interview preparation to eliminate any flaws that might interfere with your progress. Which in turn, makes your interview the successful one. Here’s the list of the things you need to do when preparing for a behavioral interview:

• Understanding the different behaviors necessary for the job role you are applying for
• Study successful applicant and employee in that role
• Study the companies or organization culture
• Practice

Preparation Before Going Into the Interview

1. Understanding the Different Behaviors Necessary for the Job Role You are Applying for

The first thing you need to do is establish the kind of behaviors that the role you are applying for needed.

To do this, you have to use the job description and the personality specifications to put out a list of key roles needed for the role. Determine the kind of behavior you will need to excel in such a job and how the employees are judged regarding that role’s responsibilities.

Also read: Important Behavioral Skills That Employers Value

2. Study Successful Applicant and Employee in that Role

Studying successful applicants in the past is the next thing to do. You will have to study employees in similar roles and successful applicants in that role and see their qualities and skills, and behavioral patterns. With all this, you will try to picture the ideal candidate the company wants in your mind.

But, how can you reach out to them? There are several social media platforms that you can utilize in order to reach out to them. LinkedIn might be the best platform for you to find and have a conversation with those employees who are working in your dream company.

Also read: How a Simple LinkedIn Message That Took 2 Minutes to Write Landed Me My Dream Job

3. Study the Companies or Organization Culture

Make sure you familiarize yourself with the organization’s culture and the personality they look forward to having. You also need to understand the values that the company holds in high regard. Make sure you stick to important values like creativity, time management, and cooperation. Or maybe other values like environmentally friendly, integrity, and honesty.

Also read: How to Research a Company for a Job Interview

4. Practice

Try to practice with someone whose professional opinions you trust. Or you can also practice with yourself looking in front of the mirror. You have to train yourself in answering the questions. You have to also train your mind and body to boost your confidence. Doing this will prevent situations where nervousness might take control, and you end up losing control.  

Also read: How to control your emotions during a job interview?

How to Answer a Behavioral Interview Question

There are some specific ways to answer behavioral interview questions. You have to prepare yourself to answer all questions as professionally as possible. There is a perfect method for answering behavioral interview questions. It’s the STAR method.

Then, you began to ask…

What is STAR Method?

Well, the STAR method is an acronym that stands for situation, task, action, and result. Here, we’ll explain how to apply it to answer behavioral interview questions:

1. S stands for SITUATION

Situations stand for the background of the problem the interviewer asked you. It is the situation in which you faced in relation to the problem asked. Make sure you ask yourself what the exact problem that caused the situation that was being asked by the interviewer. Try to be as specific as possible.

2. T stands for TASK

Task is the goal that the candidate attempted to achieve in that situation. Looking at the question, you need to determine the goal and reply with the specific goals you intended to achieve in that situation. Also, you can explain the specific tasks you have to do in order to achieve the goals you explained.

3. A stand for ACTION

After discovering the goals you wanted to achieve in that situation, the next thing is to list the specific action you took to achieve those goals. Not only do you need to know the actions you took, but you also need to know the reasons for the actions. Any action the candidate lists out must focus solely on the role you played individually.

In other words, you have to explain the specific actions you took in order to solve the problem that happened in the “situation” phase.

4. R stands for RESULT

The interviewer and interviewee will be concerned with the results of the action you took. Was the goal you listed above achieved?

In the “result” section, it is not important if all your results are positive. The important part is how you can justify the action you took and the lessons you learned from the result, whether it is a success or a failure. Make sure you take credit for all the things you accomplished and highlight the positives more than the negative.

Example of Using STAR Method for Behavioral Interview

Let’s say the interviewer asked a question like…

What was the most difficult problem you have been asked to solve?

Using the STAR method, you can answer:

SITUATION: In 2015, while working with PZ Cussons. My team’s revenue was down by 5% in the last quarter of the fiscal year.

TASK: We were instructed to increase our revenue by 10% before the year runs out.

ACTION:  I started a process of completely overhauling the company’s ineffective production process and worked with my teammates to develop a new and more effective production process.

RESULT: After implementing these actions, in a few months, our revenue was up 14%, thanks to the new approach we implemented, which improved productivity, thereby increasing revenue.

But, in reality, most behavioral interview questions are more complex than the example above.

So, it is advisable for you to try to write out your answers and practice in answering such questions. Thus, you’ll be more confident in answering those behavioral questions.

There are several common complex behavioral interview questions that you can practice:

1. Describe a situation where you had to make an unpopular decision and how you implemented it!

2. Describe how you worked effectively under pressure!

3. Give an example of a goal you achieved and how you did it!

4. Tell me about the worst manager you ever had and how to manage his or her troubles!

5. Suppose a coworker has an annoying attitude that reduces the quality of your work. How would you resolve such a situation?

Find out more about STAR Interview Method: Best Technique to Nail Your Job Interviews to get a thorough insight about STAR interview method.

In Conclusion…

Behavioral interview may be the easiest interviews to prepare for. But you can’t underestimate it. You still need to prepare for the best. Get to know what the company values, what skills are they seeking, how is the organization culture, and last but not least: practice.

So, that’s our tips on how to nail behavioral interviews. But, before nailing those interviews, you have to make sure that your resume is great in order to get those interview invitations. Check out How to Write the Best Resume in 2020 and How to Make Cover Letter if you need further details about the steps before the interview.

Or are you looking for more new job opportunities? We can handle it too. Register and access lots of great possibilities in 9cv9 Jobs and Career Platform. 

The post How to Prepare for a Behavioral Interview appeared first on 9cv9 Career Blog.

As the world is being impacted by the coronavirus, everything began to be conducted remotely. People start to utilize technology to its maximum potential. It also impacted the HR world. Hiring managers across all countries started to utilize a phone interview as a substitute for face-to-face interviews.

Now you might wonder…

What is a Phone Interview?

A phone interview is another and most recent adaptation of recruiting or screening on people.

Individuals generally overlooked the way that a phone interview is having a similar significance as meeting your manager personally.

A phone interview is contrasted with a real meeting. Phone interview is better. It projects out the hour of the gathering and sitting tight for the meeting. A phone interview, notwithstanding, gives some advantage to both the interviewer and the interviewee.

A phone interview spares a ton of time for the interviewer and the interviewee has the advantage to zero in just on giving the meeting because there is no need to rely on body language while communicating with your interviewer on the phone.

In this article, we will examine the tips and techniques for the interviewee to perform well in his/her phone interview.

Why Is Phone Interview Necessary in Covid-19 Period?

Phone interviews have increasingly been considered essential because it saves a lot of time for the employer to recruit people for a suitable task. Moreover, as in 2020, the whole world encountered coronavirus. Due to this, companies all around the world implemented work from home policy, which also leads the employees to go for phone interviews.

In such unprecedented times, recruiters have learned a new way of working and using a skill that is considered vital for the future. Hiring and firing, customer services, sales, and a lot of digital work have been made through an online platform, which also showed that the cost of building offices would no longer be necessary for the future.

Also read: Phone Interviews and the Coronavirus Pandemic

Tips and Techniques to Nail Phone Interview:

As discussed before, people don’t usually consider the importance of a phone interview. But it also counts in the same way as the real interview does. Here are some of the tips and techniques for you to follow to have a productive interview with your employer:

• Conduct Proper Research Before The Interview
• Consider Phone Interview as the Same Interview as Going on Meeting in Personal
• Find a Quite Place to do the Interview
• Give an energetic interview with an excitement
• Always listen carefully to your interviewer
• Look over the commonly asked questions
• Follow-up after the interview

Conduct Proper Research Before the Interview

Before going for a phone interview, it is highly recommended to do a lot of research about the type of job you are applying for. Research for the job to get how the company’s culture and the environment is. First of all, it is required to do a proper job understanding of the kind of job you are applying for and the technicalities that can be asked through the same job review.

After having the job knowledge, it is now time for the research on the company’s environment like, how they work, what they focus on, how they manage resources, and handling issues. Your extensive research will place a good impression on the employer and you may become a good match for the company.

While doing an interview over the phone, it is advised to have all the researched material near you. You will feel comfortable if you have helping material alongside that will help you giving prompt replies to the employers’ questions.

Also read: 7 Things to Research Before Any Job Interview

Consider This as the Same Interview as Going on Meeting in Personal

You have to understand that this five minutes phone interview can lend you a job that can make you a rich guy. The phone interview, in this regard, will have great importance. The employer, on the other side of the phone call, will be looking over to how professionally you behave in giving an interview.

You will have to follow proper professional etiquettes, such as telling your name at the start of the phone call. Secondly, listen carefully to the interviewer and don’t miss any points or if you have any queries then note down all the queries on a piece of paper.

Don’t panic if you need some time to answer. Don’t worry, it’s a normal thing for everyone.

Also read: Telephone vs. In-Person Interviews: Advantages and Disadvantages

Find a Place Where No One is There to Disturb You

Find a quiet and isolated place that is free from all kinds of distractions. Quite means locking your room and letting no one enter into your room until your interview is over. Make a schedule for the phone interview and do all the busy work before the phone interview.

This will let you only focus on your interview phone call. Along with scheduling, tell everyone not to disturb you or assign you any work before the phone interview.

Also read: 12 Things to Never Do During A Phone Interview

Give an Energetic Interview With an Excitement

The biggest mistake most people do while doing an interview is they usually sounded panicked while speaking.

This is what the interviewer acknowledges: To get selected, you need to be energetic, full of passion. For that, you have to work extra hard to show that you are enthusiastic about the specified role and show interest in meeting with them. You’re not going to get selected for the specified job if you are not doing any of the things above.

Also read: How to Show Enthusiasm in an Interview

Always Listen Carefully to Your Interviewer

It is highly advised to listen carefully to your interviewer while doing an interview. The interviewer might be looking over your seriousness about how much you consider the specific company to give you the job.

If you showed non-seriousness and ignored some of the essential points that have been said by your employer, the chance of not getting a job is higher.

Also read: Listen carefully to your interviewer

Before the Phone Interview, Thoroughly Look Over the Commonly Asked Questions

Tell me about yourself!

This is the most commonly asked question in interviews. The interviewer aims to know about your past experiences and your qualifications. The interviewee needs to do a little research about the job description of the job he/she applying for. Then, match them with their past experiences. The interviewee needs to master his/her resume before going for the interview.

Also read: A Complete Guide to Answering “Tell Me About Yourself” in an Interview

Do you have any knowledge regarding the company?

Before the interview, you need to spend the majority of your time researching the things which a particular company does. What they believe in? What are their values? How do they treat their employees? What are their products and services? What are their CSR programs?

You can find these pieces of information on the company’s website or through people who are working for that particular company. By having bits of knowledge about the company, it will increase your chance of getting the job you want.

Also read: 15 Phone Interview Questions (With Example Answers)

Follow-up after giving an interview

After the interview, make sure to ask for the email address of the interviewer. Immediately after the interview sent the email, thanking the interviewer, and reiterating your interest in the job. This will highly increase your chance to get the job you’ve been dreaming of. To find more about follow-up after the interview, check out Secret Tip: After the Interview.

Final Words

After the interview, also looks for self-evaluation by thinking about how you performed in the interview. This makes you better for future interviews. Good luck! 

Do let us know whether our tips and recommendations have been helpful. If you have other tips, do comment below in the comment box. We love to cheer with you when you pass your interview.

If you find this helpful, please do check out our other guides on CV/Resume, Cover Letters, and posting jobs online!

The post Tips and Techniques to Ace Your Phone Interview for 2021 appeared first on 9cv9 Career Blog.

Welcome to another Installment of Career Warrior. Here, we will feature interviews with outstanding entrepreneurs to share with you their stories and career advice.

We all know that the core of a great team is a great leader. A great leader can empower their employees into the best version of themselves thus they can contribute their best performance for the team. A great leader will drive the team’s success. On this topic, Arman Bhariadi from RemitPro will be talking a bit more about how strong leadership is very important in creating the group’s success.

About RemitPro

RemitPro is a remittance company that enables people to move money anywhere in the world in both cash and credit directly to the accounts. Their biggest business contribution is the inbound remittance business which pays out the transfer which originally made from outside Indonesia. The inbound transfer made by the sender from outside Indonesia through their international partners and paid by RemitPro in Indonesia to the receiver. 

RemitPro serves walk-in customers who want to be paid in cash which is in this model, they develop physical network locations in Indonesia across Java, Bali, and Lombok island. We acquire both individual and company format to become our cash-out point partner. Besides serving the walk-in, they also facilitate our partner and customer who expect to send and receive in bank accounts.

There are still 40 percent of adult Indonesian not having a bank account yet. Most of these people are living in villages and remote areas, which is mostly the same as where the Indonesian migrant workers originally from. Hence, when the migrant workers send money to their relatives in villages or remote areas they need to be facilitated so the money can collect in cash.

RemitPro physical network locations are reaching the villages and remote areas. They also exist where the post office (which claims to have the biggest physical network locations in Indonesia) is not built there yet. They also designed a 3-times daily settlement to ensure the location has adequate cash to do payouts. 

In digital products, they develop a product that is not only able to send the money but also can receive or “catch” the money and keep it in the wallet of our digital services. This digital platform is designed as a “house” of some major remittance companies besides our own product. So, the sender can conveniently choose what remittance company to use to deliver their money inside the platform.

About Arman Bhariadi

Arman Bhariadi is the CEO of RemitPro. He helps the company from setting up to run the remittance business. From forming the organization, define the business model and strategy, obtain necessary approval from the regulator, acquire partners, define SOP, until finding a way how to finance the operations of the business.

Can you describe a typical workday?

There are a lot of things going on in my daily workday like checking, updating, and prioritizing the to-do list. I also review reports and take necessary immediate actions. I work with the team and conduct meetings with the team or partners. At other times, I look for some inspirations to make my work and life better.

Who are some of your clients? How did you manage to get them to be your customers?

We partner with Western Union, MoneyGram, Xpress Money, TransFast, Merchantrade, Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), and Bank Syariah Mandiri (BSM). I managed to get these partners from my previous working network when I was working in Western Union Indonesia.

What has been your greatest success in your career and why?

One of the greatest successes in my career is when my team and I succeed in promoting our team to a higher position. When I, as a leader, led the team by example, as the front-liners. As a leader, I succeed in beating my ego which says that all success is because of myself rather than of the team. When I, as a leader, can keep motivated and rise again when problems and challenges hit me. Strong leadership is key.

What are some difficult moments/challenges in running this company/business?

The most difficult one was to introduce the new company to the market and getting the trust to conduct partnership, especially with reputable-internationally-well-known companies.

What is your favorite career/business failure (and what did you learn from it)?

During my career journey, I learned that a toxic boss must be managed. Shifting to other companies because of the toxic boss is the very last option. Keep in mind that work results are present to ourselves, hence we won’t be disappointed if someone does not give you credit for your achievements.

What motivated you to run this business?

I want to reach a new level of entrepreneurship and strong leadership while bringing a positive impact to the stakeholders at the same time.

Who has had the biggest influence and motivation on your career?

For my strong leadership experience, the best influence and motivation comes from my ex-manager in British American Tobacco Indonesia and in Philip Morris Indonesia. I learned how the leader must be firm in taking actions but managed to still be a lovely leader. Be loved by the people under their leadership. Loved leaders motivate their people relentlessly.

What is the biggest sacrifice you have to make to start your business?

“All day is working day” is the biggest sacrifice in starting my business.

If you could go back in time to speak to your 22-year-old self, what would you tell him/her?

If one door closed for a career opportunity, find another one until you find the open doors. Don’t be a picky person when it is still a start. Trust in your hard work. Always learn something to make yourself grow personally and professionally. Invest more in yourself. Gain new skills, knowledge, and network. And, keep the trust given.

Lastly, what are some interview tips you would give to prospective candidates coming for your interview?

Master yourself, understand the work and job description, learn about the company you’re applying to, and master self-control.

If you are seeking more interview tips, here are 10 TIPS TO SUCCEED IN A JOB INTERVIEW IN 2020.

9cv9 is a top remote career platform where you can find the best candidates for your company! Head over to 9cv9 now to hire from the top talent pool!

Find this useful? Remember to like this post and follow 9cv9 blog for more!

The post The Key to a Group’s Success: Strong Leadership – Arman Bhariadi from RemitPro appeared first on 9cv9 Career Blog.

Do you know how many people pass the CV screening process and actually got an invitation for an interview?

Based on Glassdoor, each corporate job offer attracts 250 resumes, on average!

That is a huge number.

Among those candidates, only 4 to 6 applicants would be called for an interview.

The pandemic situation in 2020 also worsens the probability of job seekers to nail a job. Many people get fired which makes the competition for a job position much tougher than ever!

It is way harder to pass the first screening process, which is the CV screening stage.

But do not worry. We’ve got a list of how to write the best resume in 2020. In this article we will be sharing on:

1. Difference between “Curriculum Vitae” VS “Resume”
2. Common Mistakes in Writing Resume
3. What to include in my resume?
4. Make your Resume ATS-Friendly
5. General Tips to Write the Best Resume 2020

Curriculum Vitae VS Resume

Most people misinterpret between CV and Resume.

They refer CV and Resume as the same document.

Both of them are documents which consist of your personal information, work experiences, skills, and awards. While both of them are your marketing tools to advertise yourself to hiring managers, they are still two different things.

Curriculum Vitae (CV) is the document which contains your entire career experiences. While resume is the document which consist of only relevant work experiences with the job you are applying for.

Simply put, you know now that CV will tend to be longer than resume does.

When it comes to applying for jobs, HR managers prefer shorter resumes. They want concise but clear resumes. So, if you are an experienced worker with more than one-year of working experience, a 2-pages-long resume would be acceptable. But, if you are a fresh graduate, a 1-page resume is enough.

Further readings

• How long should my CV be?
• What is the proper page length for a CV?

Common Mistakes in Writing Resume

You obviously want to give the best first impression to the recruiters. The most common way of giving the best first impression to the employer is through your resume.

Keep in mind that there are some deal-breakers that could make hiring managers dismiss your resume right away. Certainly, you don’t want that to happen.

So, what are those? Make sure your resume does not contain anything on this list below:

• Spelling and Grammatical Errors
• Too Long Resume
• Unprofessional Email Address
• Using Personal Pronouns
• Repetitive Words in Job Descriptions

1. Spelling and Grammatical Errors

Always proofread your resume after you have finished, and before you submit your resume to a job portal.

You can ask your friend or colleague to do you a favor by proofreading your resume. Or, you can utilize online proofreading services like Grammarly to check any misspelling or grammatical errors in your resume.

Also check out: 27 Proofreading Tips That Will Improve Your Resume

2. Too Long Resume

A very long resume is a turnoff for recruiters. There are so many resumes that the hiring managers have to read everyday and they won’t want to spend most of their time on your resume.

Limit your resume to only 1-2 pages.

You should include relevant information that match the job you are applying for. If you are a fresh graduate who is applying for entry-level jobs, a 1-page resume suits you best.

3. Unprofessional Email Address

Admit it. Creating an email is easy. You only need 5 minutes or less to make an email with free email providers such as

• Gmail
• Outlook
• Zoho mail
• Yahoo mail

Certainly, you have the time to make a new better looking email address that you can use for your application. An email contain your full name is recommended. For instance, judy.brown@gmail.com or brown_judy@gmail.com. Don’t use emails like cutie.judy@gmail.com or judythesmartest@gmail.com.

Profanities-laced emails are definitely not recommended to put on your CV/Resume.

4. Using Personal Pronouns

Words like “I”, “my”, or “me” are such deal-breakers. You might want to cut them off from your resume. You don’t need to use any personal pronouns.

Just go straight to the active verb.

For example, instead of writing “I developed a new sales strategy that increase revenue as much as 67%”, you can start straight from the word “develop”.

Also read: Should I write my CV in first person or third person?

5. Repetitive Words in Job Descriptions

Put effort in your resume.

Add various verbs in your resume.

For example, if you have used the word “maximized” for 3 times in the whole resume, you might want to replace one of those or add other synonyms like increase or boost.

Show off the repertoire of your vocabulary by adding some action verbs describing your past experiences. For example, if you have led a project before, you can write these words “Supervised”, “Oversaw”, or “Headed”

Also read: Avoid repetition on your resume

What to include in my resume?

Now that you know the several common mistakes to exclude when writing a resume, we can move on to the next question: what are the key sections to include in a resume?

• Personal Information
• Executive Summary
• Top skills
• Work Experience
• Award and Achievements
• Education and Certifications

Personal Information

This section, which usually will be in the header, includes your name, career title, contact details, and domicile.

You can write your mobile phone number, email address, LinkedIn URL profile, or other significant social media profiles as your contact details. Just remember to keep it concise and clear.

You don’t have to put things like your date of birth or marital status.

Executive Summary

The second section you need to include to write your best resume in 2020 is the Executive Summary. It is like the synopsis of your entire resume.

Make it compelling and captivating so recruiters are willing to read your full resume until the last section. Show your achievements during your previous work experiences so it will give a great impression of what you are capable of doing.

Remember to quantify every achievement to make it more credible. It will also help the recruiters to get a slight overview of your achievement. You can write the executive summary section after you have finished the work experience section.

It will be a lot easier.

Also read: Why and How to Include Numbers on Your Resume

Top Skills

List all your key skills after the executive summary section. This will highlight your capabilities in a concise manner. For your consideration, put more hard skills than the soft ones since it will give more impact to your resume.

Some key skills to list in the CV/resume are:

• Active listening
• Communication
• Leadership
• Collaborative
• Management Skill
• Problem-solving
• Time management

Also read: 10 Best Skills to Include on a Resume (With Examples)

Work Experience

The work experience section may take the biggest space of your entire resume. Remember to write only the relevant experiences to the job you are applying for. For example, you have both marketing and operation work experiences but now you are applying to a marketing vacancy. So, only include those marketing experiences you have in the resume. Adding the operation work experience won’t make your resume any better.

Brevity is appreciated.

It is better to list your job description and accomplishments by using bullets.

But don’t make it too long. 2 lines are enough. Otherwise, it’s just confusing. Don’t forget to always quantify your accomplishments during your work.

Here’s a pro tip: Use active verbs when you are describing the job description and the accomplishments as it will add more value to your resume and impress the recruiters. For example, instead of writing “Involved in content marketing campaigns”, you can change the word “involved” into “researched” so the sentence turns into “Researched graphic content for marketing campaigns”. Another example, instead of using “participated” you can replace it with “provided insights”. That’s one of pro-tips on how to write the best resume in 2020.

Also read: Resume Work Experience, History & Example Job Descriptions

Awards and Achievements

Tell recruiters that you have other achievements too. It could be “Employee on the Month 2015” or “The Best Head of Division 2020”. List the awards that you have not mentioned yet in the work experience section.

Education and Certification

In this section, you can write both academic qualifications and other certifications too. List down your university, major, specialization, and graduation year. You can also add your GPA here to sweeten the CV/resume.

As for certifications, if you have taken a certification exam like Certified Financial Planner (CFP) or Certified Public Speaker (CPS), you can write it down in this section. Or if you have taken a certification course in Google such as Digital Marketing or Google Analytics, you can write those in this section too.

Make your Resume ATS-Friendly

You may be wondering what is ATS-Friendly? ATS stands for Application Tracking System.

So, before your resume is delivered to the recruiters, you need to pass this bot first.

Otherwise, recruiters will never see your resume. You have to make sure that your resume comply with the ATS requirements. You can check further about writing an ATS-Friendly resume here.

Some Additional General Tips to Write the Best Resume 2020

Feel overwhelmed with all the information? Well, it will be worth the effort.

We also have some more general tips for you to write the best resume of your own to land jobs in 2020.

Here goes the list:

• Use reverse-chronological order
• Choose readable font
• Provide Up to Date Contact Information
• Don’t Put “References”
• Make Several Versions of Resume

1. Use reverse-chronological order

You might have already known the term “reverse-chronological”. Yes, it means that you have to write your work experiences from your most current job. For instance, you were working from January 2019 until July 2020 in Company X, and now you are working in Company Y which was started from September 2020, then you have to list the Company Y first before the Company X.

General rule of thumb: List your most recent work experience at the top

2. Choose readable font

Use a simple font like sans-serif or serif fonts with a size of 11. If you prefer a smaller size, make sure to not use a font size which lower than 10. It is acceptable for you to use a font size of 12 or 14 to write your name or headings.

Sans-serif fonts: Arial, Arial Narrow, Verdana, Calibri, Century Gothic, Gill Sans, Lucinda Sans, Tahoma, Trebuchet.

Serif fonts: Times New Roman, Garamond, Book Antiqua, Bookman, Cambria, Century Schoolbook, Georgia, Palatino Linotype.

3. Provide Up to Date Contact Information

Make sure that you write a phone number and an email that are still active.

You certainly don’t want to miss interview invitations just because you haven’t updated your contact information. Keep in mind that you don’t have to provide insignificant information like your marital status, birthday, race, or gender.

4. Don’t Put “References”

You don’t need to put references in your resume. It will take up spaces that you can use to write on another important things. If you do have one, you might want to consider removing them from your resume.

Better still, you should write your references in another document called the “Reference List”, and send as an additional document attached to the back of your CV to the hiring manager.

Also read: How to Write a Resume Reference List (With Examples)

5. Tailor your Resume to fit the job position

One resume will not fit all job vacancies that you apply. Always consider to customize your resume to tailor with the job you are about to apply. You don’t need to start writing your resume from scratch. Just replace and adjust some lines on executive summary, work experiences, and skills.

Conclusion on How to Write the Best Resume in 2020

So that are some tips from 9cv9 for you to make your best resume and nail that job you’ve been dreaming of!

You just have to write down all key sections but remember to keep it concise and clear.

Now that you have known how to write the best resume of your own, you will need a cover letter. Not sure how to start writing one? Here are some cover letter tips you can refer to.

Resume, check. Cover letter, check.

All are completed.

Next you can use them and nail jobs at 9cv9 Jobs and Career Platform.

Register and access lots of great possibilities! If you are looking for more useful tips on improving your CV or resume, there are 6 simple but useful tips for you to check in here.

References:

1. Admin. (2020, June 26). How to Write a WINNING Resume in 2020: Your Ultimate CV Guide. Retrieved October 20, 2020, from https://www.resumewriter.sg/blog/how-to-write-a-winning-resume-your-ultimate-cv-guide/
2. Suder, R. (2020, March 23). Top Resume Mistakes That Could Cost You the Job. Retrieved October 20, 2020, from https://www.topresume.com/career-advice/top-10-resume-mistakes-that-cost-you-the-job
3. Kurtuy, A. (2020, January 09). What Are The Most Common Mistakes In A Resume? [Examples]. Retrieved October 20, 2020, from https://novoresume.com/career-blog/common-mistakes-when-writing-a-resume

The post How to Write the Best Resume in 2020 – Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them appeared first on 9cv9 Career Blog.