Marty Gilbert

Keywords and key phrases are essential in an ATS version of your resume. Grab 5 job descriptions that are the kind of job you want to pursue. Take a highlighter and highlight all of the key responsibilities. Then look for keywords and key phrases that are repeated across many of them and those are the words that you want to have in your ATS resume.

There's no need to get creative with fonts. A resume is all about the content... your Value Proposition... your branding statement... your key achievements under each job. That's what sells. Go to www.nsenginc.com for more information

I have a webinar recording that contains about 25 rules for structuring a resume to the ATS. There are over 30 different ATS in the market and you never know how they've been programmed. Some can't read italics... others can read hyperlinks or color or graphs. You need to have a simple ATS version of your resume... almost like rich text formatting. And use standard headings... SUMMARY... EXPERIENCE... EDUCATION. Save the nicer resume version for attachments.

Don’t ignore offers that give you significant equity or stock options. That can be your significant pay off if and when you ever leave the company. Also consider the feasibility of earning additional income through incentive plans that have been clearly worded and get a good understanding as to why this position is openbecause it’s possible that the individuals who have left it left because they were being overworked and could not find a life balance that worked for them. Have a very candidate open discussion with your future boss on the critical items for success are in the first 12 months of your job.

Try to get information from people who currently have worked there or recently left to see what the career advancement opportunities tend to look like. Often times, people who have left have left because they had little to know chance to advance their careers your 1stdegree LinkedIn connections can be a great entrée into those who are currently working there. Take a look at the leadership team, LinkedIn profiles and try to assess if their backgrounds are the kind that will give you the advancements you’re looking for.

Company culture is often times a tough one to find out about before you work there, but there are ways to get inside information. Go to glassdoor.com and look at the critiques that individual employees have made about the company. There are often very valid concerns that surface in some of the feedback. Go to your LinkedIn connections and see if there’s anybody who has worked at this company or anybody who knows somebody who is currently working there and have conversations with those people. There’s no better way to get an honest opinion on what the cultures like then from somebody who’s already on the inside, take a good look at the senior management team LinkedIn profiles and get a personalityassessment via crystalcrystalknowscom