How to Improve Your Job Applications During the Pandemic

by | Jul 22, 2020 | job search

resume and job application on a desk next to a laptop improve job application during pandemic

With more than 28 million people out of work and a possible unemployment rate of up to 20%, right now looks like a pretty grim time to be trying to get a job.

After all, you’re competing against thousands of other folks in your industry alone who are trying desperately to get work. How are you supposed to stand out?

The good news is, this is the time when transferable skills and creative work strategies really come to the fore – all the good stuff we try to help you develop with Constellation Careers! If you’re flexible in the kind of role you’re seeking – that is, if you’re willing to look outside your normal wheelhouse and start exploring possibilities – you might find a whole world opening up to you.

But you’re only going to be able to start exploring that world with a good job application.

So how do you get to the top of the pile during a pandemic? Let’s take a look at how to improve your job applications to get hired during a crisis.

Search-Optimize Your Resume

These days, nearly every job application starts by going through a robot. An “applicant tracking system” or ATS will use an algorithm to scan through your uploaded resume or personal information and try to match it with keywords input by the hiring manager.

So before you can even get in front of a human to demonstrate how awesome you are and how great you’d be at this role, you have to make it through the robot gatekeepers.

To do that, think like an SEO marketer.

Look at the job posting and check out the key tasks and responsibilities of the role. Think of these as the keywords you’re optimizing for – make sure that at least a few of them appear in the body of your resume, as parts of roles and responsibilities you’re listing off.

If you can shoehorn a few into the executive summary or overview section of your resume, too, then it’s a total bonus.

Basically, you’re just trying to ensure that your resume matches up on a keyword level with what the job posting specifies it wants.

Personally, I don’t recommend updating every friggin’ resume for every friggin’ position. It’s time-consuming and not worthwhile. However, you’ll want to target and SEO-optimize your resume for ideal or dream-job-type positions, and you might want to keep a couple of resumes on hand for different basic categories.

For instance, you might optimize a version of your resume for content marketing, another for audience development, and a third for editorial work. The basic content will be the same, but you’ll pick out and play up targeted keywords, like, oh, audience development. Funny how that works!

Update Your LinkedIn

A pretty big chunk of job postings these days allow you to apply by linking a LinkedIn profile. Plus, LinkedIn is 100% the first place a hiring manager will go to check you out.

So having an out-of-date profile and absolutely no site activity isn’t going to help you out much as you look for a job today.

Especially when we can’t network in person and we’re all relying more on social media!

I’m not saying you have to spend all day on LinkedIn, or that you need to be racking up the connections over there. But taking a couple hours to tweak your profile to best represent the kind of work you’ve done and what you’re looking to find in your next job can pay some serious dividends.

Emphasize Your Experience

While you’re in there, make sure to emphasize your experience on both your LinkedIn and your regular resume!

Dig deep into the kind of hands-on work you’ve done, listing specific milestones you’ve accomplished, metrics you’ve achieved, or results you’ve gotten.

The more specific you can get, the better – tell about how you achieved a 32% increase in sales month-over-month or got a 22% boost in engagement on a particular platform. Metrics catch the eye…and the algorithm. Whether it’s a hiring manager or a piece of software doing the scanning, numbers and stats tend to stop people and make them go from scanning to actually reading.

Plus, they show that you’re able to get results doing the thing you’re meant to be doing in X role. No hiring manager is ever gonna be mad that you can back up your claims of expertise with evidence!

Play Up Remote Working

With many offices staying shut for the foreseeable future, businesses want to know that you’ll be able to get the job done remotely – even when you’re new.

So if you have previous remote work experience, highlight that! Add a specific mention to your cover letter and note in your resume which positions you’ve worked remotely in.

By playing up your work-from-home experience, you can show employers that you’re ready to hit the ground running and work in whatever context you need to. Whether it’s a permanent remote position or you’ll be starting as WFH and eventually transitioning back to an office, you’ll be nicely positioned to show how you can succeed.

Action Steps

  • Go update your dang LinkedIn already. Choose your focus – what kind of work are you looking for? – and make sure that keywords and experience related to that dream job are all over your profile and background.
  • Create 2-3 SEO-optimized resumes. Pick a couple of roles that you’re most likely to apply to (for instance, pharmaceutical sales rep and business development manager) and tweak the heck out of your resume to optimize for keywords in that area. Save separate copies. Use each to apply for that general “template” of a job when it comes up, to help you get past the ATS and to a human.