How to increase resume visibility on Job Portals? - II

In the last post we have realized how important a role our resume visibility on Job Portal plays in our chances of landing into our dream job and giving a direction to our career growth. Hence, without wasting much text I will start discussing about the various factors that actually influence our resume visibility or ranking on the Job Portals how to use these factors in our favor. 

Common Mistakes we make while posting our profile on Job Portals:-

1. We feel lethargic in completing our profile on the Job Portals by only filling out the mandatory details. Remember the days when one had to roam around the city visiting from company to company to submit one's resume, seeking for a vacancy. Compare the toil one used to undergo in those days and the facility we have at our fingertips now a days and then give me a reason for not filling out your required profile details on the Job Portals. It is truly said by our elders that when things are made easy, they loose their importance.
2. We don't find it exciting enough to regularly log into our profiles and check with the status. I know this is not Facebook or Twitter and you will not find those exciting updates that makes you check your Facebook profile every now and then.
3. We forget about our profile on the Job Portals after getting a Job or when not seeking a change. I have seen so many people forget their Job Portal's login and password even, after a while. They make new profiles without bothering to recover the older ones, creating a confusion for the recruiter.
4. Applying to the Job Postings on a mass scale. How many of us look into the details of the Job Postings before clicking on the APPLY button? I have so many of my friends complaining about applying to 20 job postings on a daily basis without any response. How can you blame the recruiter for getting thousands of application on a daily basis on individual postings. Read here
5. We don't bother to give our exact location preferences and our visa status. Most of us have never considered the job location preference that important, and have generally opted for the default "No preference" or "Any location". Ask any recruiter how important this criteria plays a role in your profile to even get listed in their search. Giving out your exact visa status instead of just a mention of work authorization helps a lot.
6. We respond casually to the mass mails that we get from the recruiters on our mail ids. If you are getting only these mails and no calls then it is an indication that your resume visibility or ranking has to be seriously looked into and worked upon. However, consider them as your second chance to impress the employer/recruiter even when your resume is not highly ranked.
7. Do we bother to go through the instructions on filling out the form, the FAQ on specific Job Portals or even considered the USPs of these Portals? Such exercise will only add value to your profile and you will know your Job Portal better and use it to your benefit. 
8. Do we care to know or find out from where your profile has been accessed when you receive any kind intimation for a Job Opening? This will only give you an insight or say a feedback on your job search efforts.

Now you must have realized your casual mistakes that you make while executing a really important duty of your life - your CAREER CHANGE, on which your whole future, your family's future, your children's future depends. Think about the importance of that minor change in angle of the gun's barrel when the bullet leaves it - it misses the target completely by a distance.

Now we will discuss the techniques and methodologies to be implied in order to increase our resume visibility and ranking on the Job Portals:-

1. Complete your profile by filling out all the required details on Job Portals religiously. Check with your profile completeness (provided in every job portal), the higher the percentage the higher the ranking of your resume. There is no point hiding facts or keeping it for later when it has to be shared with the employers anyhow.
2. Regularly Login into your profile and execute necessary changes and updates. I would advise you to login almost on a daily basis because active resumes are always highly ranked. Your activeness also gives out a message to the recruiter that you are actively looking out and not casual.
3. Do hide your profile or make it inactive on the Job Portals when you are not looking out. Don't be also too visible on the Job Portals unnecessarily. Actually being visible and active on the Job Portals for a long time also works against us. To understand this fact better think from a recruiter's point of view when you land up high on his searches every time since last 6 months or say 1 year. What message you are giving out? This guy is either not stable or is incompetent. 
4. Apply to only relevant Job Postings. This activity of your makes your profile active and hence improves your ranking but mass application on Job Postings not only negates your chance but even of other job seekers as you are putting an undue number pressure on the recruiters where even good profiles are lost in this heap. Don't waste your time in applying on the Job Postings that are not clearly written.
5. Give your exact choice of Job Location preference. No recruiter opts for "any location" while searching for profiles hence don't try to play safe by opting for "Any Location" or "No preference" as this acts against your profile ranking when opted for any specific location. You cam give multiple choices of Location preference. You can even change your current location if you are seeking job opportunities from any specific location and get your profile visible and ranked higher for those locations.
6. Reply professionally to the Mass Mailers. Casual replies to such mass mailers will only indicate you as a casual job seeker. These mails are read by recruiters and a good and brief covering letter in the mail body will increase the chance of your resume to be considered.
7. Apply different strategies for different Job Portals. Almost all the different Job Portals have unique USPs of their own. This is to portray themselves as different and unique. It is obviously their business strategy and now you need to find it out and use it to your benefit. The Job Portals have created a different league of their own for the recruiters and employers due to these USPs so considering them while registering on different Job Portals will add value to your job search. Always go through the FAQ option of the chosen Job Portal.
8. Check the reports of your Resume views on the Job Portals and compare them. This is just to make your effort count and to measure your ROI. 

Note: We will discuss the Keyword Usage in the next Post so keep reading