Personality VS. The Machine

Many people find themselves asking if it’s “okay” to show flair, personality, and pride in their resume; others are confused how keywords, boolean searches and crawlers work. In this post we break down when it’s time to play the machine, and when it’s time to turn on the charm.

The Machine

Certain industries (such as hospitals and universities) have no other option than to sort through candidates using impersonal means such as boolean searches, keywords and crawlers. Some agencies may even have you create an entirely new “profile” on their website. In these scenerios you must learn to “play the machine” and entertain a rather tedious process.

Every Custom Resume features an easily scanned, text-recognizable PDF document. These are all compatible with resume mining software searches, and easily uploaded to Monster, Linkedin, ZipRecruiter and Glassdoor. However, in some industries it’s best to use a basic, unformatted, and carbon-copy DOCX file featuring the exact skill sets mentioned in a job listing.

Consider this Phase 1 of the job hiring process. You’re demonstrating to an employer that you’re willing to play their game. It’s not fun– it can be demoralizing and obnoxious being treated like cattle, but sometimes your end-goal is dependent on your ability to navigate this process efficiently. Entertain the system until you have an actual human contacting you, then turn on all the charm…

Personality

A phone call, an email, or an interview date are all flags that you’re being considered for hire– it’s at this point you should throw out anything bland, boring, or mechanical that you’ve submitted thus far. In addition to your skill sets, recruiters are looking for a reason to like you.

If somebody in Human Resources sends you an email, send back an attachment of your Custom Resume (even if they already have your experience on file). If a recruiter schedules an interview, print out your Custom Resume and leave it with them afterward.

These tactics show that you’re prepared and follow-up, you’re willing to go the extra mile to be remembered, and that you have a soul and personality. These are methods and extra steps which very few candidates take and ultimately it ends up being their downfall (when somebody like you is their competitor).

A resume is a summary of who you are and it should reflect effort, pride and hard work. The first impression is sometimes the only chance you’ll have to gain a recruiters favor, and you should never waste that precious moment by looking like everyone else.