Sourcing is a term used for recruiters to find and uncover candidates and recruiters are getting more and more creative with their sourcing techniques.
One creative sourcing technique being used today is going to Google or other search engines and putting in search strings filled with keywords and terms to generate resumes from all over the internet.
Since recruiters are getting creative with their sourcing techniques, job seekers should start getting creative with online exposure techniques.
7 strategies to get your resume noticed online:
- Create a career blog: Start a blog that focuses on your career industry and include tips, articles, news, and industry related topics. You don’t have to be a writer to create a blog. You can link to other articles and news about that industry topic and add comments showing your industry knowledge. Also, set up a page on the blog for your resume, where you are highlighting your industry knowledge, experience, and expertise. You can easily set up a blog for free using programs such as blogger.com or wordpress.com
- Use free document sharing websites: There are a number of free file sharing websitesthat can help you gain more resume exposure online. Save your document in different forms such as DOC and PDF so your resume shows up under those search terms. Yes, recruiters will search for resumes using words such as pdf, rtf, doc, and cv. You can even save your resume as a powerpoint presentation! Here are few free sites to check out: keepandshare.com, slideshare.net, Google docs
- Set up a resume web page: A one page website for your resume is great exposure and a great way to link others to your resume. You can add your website url to your resume, to other online profiles, and at the end of your signature in emails and posts. You can findfree resume website builders such as: Emurse.com and VisualCV.com.
- Social and professional networking websites: It’s no secret that social and professional networking websites are becoming hubs for job seekers and recruiters. I useLinkedIn all the time when I’m recruiting and I’m searching keywords to pull up profiles of potential candidates. If you aren’t on these networking websites, you are missing out on a ton of exposure. You can utilize these websites by putting in your professional profile or resume and links to your resume websites or blog posts. There are so many of these sites out there, but the majority of recruiters utilize LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Myspace.
- Use keywords: Recruiters are searching for resumes by using keywords and a lot of company resume databases are searching through resumes using keyword searches. If your resume doesn’t have the keywords that are being searched, it won’t be included in the results. I wouldn’t go crazy with keywords, but making sure you have certain technology and terminology that’s common in your industry listed on your resume is highly recommended. For more information on using keywords, check out my article Resume + Keywords = job opportunities.
- Online groups: There are a ton of online groups that can help get you exposure online and recruiters are going into online groups to source for candidates. You can join industry specific groups, association groups, and groups based on location. I highly recommend joining LinkedIn Groups, I am always using the LinkedIn groups to source and contact candidates. Other groups you can look into are Google Groups, Yahoo Groups, and Meetup.com groups.
- Job Boards: I wouldn’t rule out getting your resume posted on the job boards. There are many recruiters who still use the job boards as their primary sourcing tool and even though I utilize more creative sourcing techniques, I still do some sourcing from job boards as well. So make sure you get your resume posted to popular job boards such as monster , Executive Openings! , Job.com, careerbuilder.
Don’t miss out on being found online! Use as many resources as you can to make sure that your resume is getting noticed online .http://jobsearchingstrategies.com/2009/11/05/7-strategies-to-get-your-resume-noticed-online/
