Hacking The Job Market

This guest post is generously provided by Chris Fields, MLHR.  Chris has 10 years’ experience in HR as a practitioner and consultant. He’s the Chief Blogger at CostofWork.com and regularly contributes to PerformanceICreate.com, SmartRecruiters.com, and Jobsite.com, and he’s a resume writer. You can connect to him on Twitter @new_resource or LinkedIn as well.

What’s a hacker? The most traditional definition of a hacker is a person that cracks computer codes and programs. But nowadays, the term hacker is used to describe anyone that breaks down a difficult process and makes it more efficient and useful.

Dawn R is a professional – certified resume writer. I’m a human resource professional. We both assist job seekers with their resumes, cover letters, interview skills, and professional job search. We hack this job market everyday by staying on top of trends, technology and the latest innovations that employers need. We are networked with thousands of recruiters and hiring authorities all over the country, and we use those connections to assist job seekers in getting hired. We help navigate the peaks and valleys of the process, and let you know what you can expect.

Why working together makes sense
Most folks would think it’s odd that we collaborate and cross-promote our services because it may seem like a conflict of business interests, but I say nonsense. However, I can’t update everyone’s resume, and neither can Dawn. There are millions of job seekers, both active and passive, with poor resumes. There is enough business to go around. And more importantly, we both agree that the only way things will truly get better is if everyone involved in the hiring process presents a united front. That means resume writers, recruiters, sources, HR, and hiring managers need to come together.

You need help
You or someone you know needs help with their job search – either with their resumes, on LinkedIn profiles, or through interview tips or job search strategies. It doesn’t matter if you contact me, or if you prefer to go with a certified career advisor like Dawn, just get help, it’s available. We want to drive a consistent message. With nearly 12 million job seekers out there, you need all the help you can get.

Make the Investment
You want a job or better job, right? And to get a job you need to get an interview. Well you can’t get an interview without a resume. A resume gives you a chance to make tens of thousands of dollars, and in some cases, hundreds of thousands of dollars. Nothing makes me prouder than when a client has the confidence to go out into the job market because they have a resume and cover letter that best shows off their skills and abilities. And when they get that job that they didn’t think they would ever get – talk about priceless. It’s well worth the investment.

Dawn and I agree that the resumes we see out there do not accurately show off what this country has to offer. In order for America to get on its feet, we “HACK” this so called talent gap/job market and show employers that there are talented and skilled workers in the labor force.

Photo By Georgy90 (Georgy Papantoniou’s Work in Nicosia, Cyprus) [CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons