Preparation is 50% of your success. For jumping in the job search we must ensure that we've done everything in our control to maximize the probability of our success.
There are five aspects of preparation you should be focusing on. Prior to actual job hunting, all these boxes must be checked:
Let's look at them one by one.
Your resume is a marketing document. Its purpose is to create a narrative in the mind of the person who reads it (HR, Talent Acquisition, hiring manager).
This is important to understand because it helps you to detach your ego from the hiring process. The rejection is based on the application submitted and has nothing to do with you personally.
I had a client whose application got rejected, we worked on his resume and re-submitted it one month later. He got accepted. Clearly, there was nothing wrong with the candidate. The problem was in the resume - it failed to create a required narrative.
In many companies, before the resume gets into the hands of an HR the resume must bypass the ATS (Applicant Tracking System). Essentially, ATS is a software that scans the resumes of the candidates to assess the match to the job description.
There are 2 aspects of the ATS compliant resume you should take into consideration when you craft your customized resume: formatting and keywords.
Avoid this on the resume.
No: