Get Noticed by Hiring Managers, Recruiters During Your Industrial Job Search with These 3 Steps
 

Whether you are currently employed, unemployed, under-employed, or in a time-limited role, there are a number of things you can do to increase your visibility to companies looking for quality employees to find your dream industrial job.

Maximize Your Use of LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the most often used database by search consultants either at third party firms or within the corporations you wish to work for. Here are some ways to improve your chances of catching the attention of a recruiter or other hiring manager through the platform:

• Make sure your profile is complete. Highlight your accomplishments in each role, rather than listing your responsibilities. Make sure keywords stand out so that those reviewing your profile can clearly understand the depth and breadth of your experience.
• Read, re-read, and edit frequently as doing so will keep your profile at the top in the “updates” section.
• Get former colleagues or supervisors to write you recommendations for your work in prior roles.
• Add a professional photo. According to LinkedIn, profiles with photos result in 21 times more profile views and nine times as many connection requests as profiles without headshots.
• Send invitations to and attempt to digitally connect with everyone you have worked with in the past.
• Join relevant LinkedIn groups; Large groups are best as they will increase the number of times your information will turn up in search results.
• Make your contact information available and easy to find in your profile.
• Don’t embed presentations or resumes in your LinkedIn profile; Your page on LinkedIn should be nearly identical to your resume. Also, note that attachments are not searchable within the search abilities of LinkedIn.

Enhance Your Resume

Your resume represents your first and most important impression you can make on a recruiter or hiring manager. Make sure it's up to date, accurate, free of errors, and reflects your professional achievements in an engaging way. Here are a few other things to keep in mind:

• Always attach your resume to an email as either a .PDF or .DOC. Do not send it as a link – it is less likely that it will be opened, and most recruiting software is not set up to review file types other than .pdfs or .docs.
• Always respond to any inquiries with your resume, even if it was not explicitly requested.
• Send your resume to former colleagues and supervisors for them to pass on if they hear of any potential job opportunities.

Find Relevant Openings

It can be overwhelming to sift through all of the open industrial jobs currently available, so start by deciding what kind of job you're interested in finding. How far are you willing to commute? Would you like to work for a large company with lots of employees or a small, family-owned business? Are you looking for a specific role - like CNC machinist - or are you open to other opportunities that might be available? Making some initial decisions on what you're looking for will help you narrow down your choices to find the roles that are right for you. Here are a few other tips to find the most relevant opportunities for your job search:

• One of the best tools to use is Indeed, which essentially serves as a digital job board - it pulls together all the openings posted on job sites and larger internal sites, and allows you to search and filter based on specific criteria like role or office location.
• Set up alerts on Indeed and review them daily to check for matches and to understand job opening trends. You can set up personal alerts for specific companies you’re interested in working for, particular positions you’re interested in pursuing, or both.
• Review the Jobs sections in LinkedIn, but also look for potential opportunities within relevant LinkedIn Groups.
• Ask your friends and colleagues if they have heard about any recent openings that might be of interest to you.
• Consider connecting with an executive search firm. To find one that might be the right fit for your job search needs, check Top 10 Firm lists or listings for firms located close to you. Once you find a firm that seems like a good fit, reach out to the recruiter on staff who works specifically in your professional sector. Each executive recruiter may work on 6-12 openings at any time and it could be years before they have the specific role in the specific geography and in the specific industry you are seeking – it’s helpful to connect with multiple recruiters to increase your odds for success.

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