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"If I could take only one tool with me to the 21st century, this pair of books would be it."
-- Harvey Mackay, author
Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive"Two ground-breaking books by today's foremost syndicated careers columnist."
-- Phyllis Martin, Careers Columnist
Cincinnati Post
Is your resume ready to be scanned? Learn how to write a resume that can be read by a computer or risk being left on the bench, say career experts Joyce Lain Kennedy and Thomas J. Morrow, authors of the two new ground-breaking books ELECTRONIC JOB SEARCH REVOLUTION: Win with the New Technology That's Reshaping Today's Job Market and ELECTRONIC RESUME REVOLUTION: Create a Winning Resume for the New World of Job Seeking
If your resume is not ready for scanning and reading by computers, you may miss out on the best job opportunities, as dramatic turns in the job market irrevocably change the way people and jobs find each other. In this first comprehensive reporting of the dazzling and rapidly growing electronic, or E-job market the authors reveal a new dimension in job finding and recruitment made possible by electronic, computer-driven systems. With this new technology, resumes are being zapped to prospective employers all across the U.S.; job seekers are getting help-wanted ads from across the nation on their home computer screens, and are pulling together a blue-ribbon employer prospect list by logging into employer databases.
These new computerized screening systems are sweeping the nation and often they are the first "eyes" to see a resume. Since computers read resumes differently than people do, today's most successful job hunters must learn how to write and design a resume that will grab a computer's attention. What's out? Action verbs like "created" and "launched," a must for the paper resume, are out for the electronic resume. What's in? "Think in terms of nouns," the authors counsel. "Use keywords or buzzwords and descriptors like '100% quota,' 'travel' and 'telecommunications' instead."
What's pushing and shoving the E-job market along? Chiefly responsible are the internal automated applicant tracking systems employers are using to scan, interpret, organize, store and retrieve resumes. Why the burst of reliance on technology in this area of the E-job market? The avalanche of company cutbacks, or downsizing, has not only dumped huge numbers of qualified personnel into the labor market, but also has taken a toll on corporate human resource departments, the authors explain. Where a company once had five people screening 300 applicants for a single job, one person now may screen that number or more.
Another reason for the boom in this area is that the cost for computer technology has dropped dramatically. "Today it is not only cheaper to store the applicant information electronically," Kennedy and Morrow write, "but cheaper to electronically sift through the thousands of resumes to find candidates with desired skills." The Clinton Administration relied on an applicant tracking system to deal with the more than 100,000 resumes sent in for an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 political positions.
Closely related to applicant tracking systems are the independent resume database services that send resumes instantly through telephone wires to prospective employers anywhere in the country, services described by the authors as the most innovative career management tools devised since the popularization in the 1970s of employment networking techniques.
Although automated applicant tracking systems play an integral role in the job search revolution and have become an important part of the way corporations do business, the technology is not limited to large companies. Smaller companies are entering the E-job market through use of commercial service bureaus and independent resume database services operated by entrepreneurs, public employment services, and by colleges and professional associations.
Other features in the E-job market include online job advertising -- which lets job seekers call up help-wanted ads from all over the U.S. on home computers -- and employer databases that help job seekers tap into the best job leads by pulling together a blue-ribbon employment prospect list. Other E-revolution employment tools include job finding through computer bulletin boards, computer-assisted interviewing, television interviewing and online career counseling.
Both the ELECTRONIC JOB SEARCH REVOLUTION and the ELECTRONIC RESUME REVOLUTION are indispensable resources, destined to become landmark works. Along with descriptions of each service, Kennedy and Morrow discuss the pros and cons of each, and what future technology holds. Included are dozens of company names, addresses and telephone/fax numbers for all types of services.
ELECTRONIC JOB SEARCH REVOLUTION gives a complete tour of today's electronic job search world, from computer resume services and employer's automated applicant systems, to computer-assisted interviewing and online career help.
In ELECTRONIC RESUME REVOLUTION, job seekers find out how to write a resume that stands out when the computer reads it, what grabs attention and which graphics work best. Also included are power resume tips.
"The new electronic methods," Kennedy and Morrow write, "are changing profoundly and forever the way someone looks for a job." Thousands of American businesses and organizations already are using E-job search tools to locate the best qualified candidates, and millions more individuals are catching on to the new rules of the job market. "Hurry to learn the new tools and the new rules," the authors advise. "Become computer literate in the job search. It can save your professional life."
About the authors: Joyce Lain Kennedy is a nationally syndicated careers columnist (Los Angeles Times Syndicate), and the author of the bestselling JOYCE LAIN KENNEDY'S CAREER BOOK. She lives in San Diego, California.
Thomas J. Morrow is an award-winning writer, columnist, and business editor of a daily newspaper. He lives in San Diego, California.
Attention Reviewers: For the convenience of your readers, please include the following in your review: Wiley books are available at your local bookstore or by calling 1-800-CALL-WILEY.In Canada, call 1-800-263-1590.
ELECTRONIC JOB SEARCH REVOLUTION Winning with the New Technology That's Reshaping Today's Job Market by Joyce Lain Kennedy and Thomas J. Morrow John Wiley & Sons, Inc January,14 1994 $29.95, cloth 0-471-59821-6 $12.95, paper 0-471-59820-8 ELECTRONIC RESUME REVOLUTION Create a Winning Resume for the New World of Job Seeking by Joyce Lain Kennedy and Thomas J. Morrow John Wiley & Sons, Inc January 14, 1994 $29.95, cloth 0-471-59822-4 $12.95, paper 0-471-59823-2
Please send two copies of reviews of this or any other Wiley book to Bruce Lyons at (212) 850-6339, FAX (212) 850-6816, or via e-mail to: blyons@jwiley.com.
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