We got a chance to talk with Matthew about his experiences searching for a new job and creating his resume. Check out what he had to say below!

What were you looking for in a job when you started your search?

Security.

What did you hate most about the job search process?

Interviewing – it is hard to communicate what you can do by sitting in a room with four people asking random questions.

How long did it take to land a job?

One month.

How or where did you originally learn to write a resume?

College – Penn State.

How did Resunate help you find success on your job search?

Easily allowed me to use my LinkedIn profile to create a detailed history.

What was the most helpful feature of Resunate for you? Why?

Using LinkedIn. LinkedIn has all of my history and information.

What advice do you have for other job seekers?

Make sure your resume and attitude fit the culture of the company you are going to. The employers today are very picky and are not only looking for great people, they want them to be like them.

Have you found similar success on the job search after revamping your resume? Let us know in the comments!

Referrals still rank as one of the top sources of hires, and there’s good reasoning behind those numbers. Research indicates that referrals stay longer and perform better over the long-term. So, how can you secure a job referral for a job you’re interested in? Read on at CareerRocketeer.com for tips from Resunate’s Marketing Manager Kat Krull.

Although the application and interview process usually feels like it’s all about a hiring manager trying to find the most qualified person for the job, it’s also your time to assess if the position is the best fit for you at this point in your career. This is where asking the right questions comes in. Asking questions helps you learn about the employer and interview them just as they interview you.

Not sure how to do that? Read this post on CareerRocketeer.com for the questions you should ask.

What should you avoid doing during an interview? Check out this post for advice and stories from real job seekers who didn’t make a great impression on The Grindstone.

What else do you need to consider? Read on at Mashable for additional aspects that play into finding your ideal job.

These small mistakes often tell employers that you applied in haste or that you’re lazy. To truly impress a potential employer, avoid typos at all costs. Here are some tips on how to do that:

1. Read it out loud. Slowly read what you’ve written out loud to catch typos and grammar mistakes. You might even discover sentences that sound awkward out loud that you thought were fine as they were written. If it helps, print the document to catch things you might gloss over while reading from your screen.

2. Use spell check…but don’t rely on it. Pay attention to things your spell checker points out, but remember that spell check isn’t always right. Keep a dictionary or style guide handy to check on words or rules you’re unsure of. It’s also helpful to ask a friend or family member to look things over for you to check for mistakes.

3. Learn from common mistakes you make. It’s likely you have applied to a job before, only to go back and re-read your materials and find an error. Although mistakes do happen, you must proofread very carefully when the opportunity is something special. Learn from those mistakes you’ve made in the past. If you’re prone to misspelling a particular word, double- and triple-check that you’ve spelled it correctly on your resume or in your cover letter.

4. Treat digital correspondence the same as handwritten. Most people are careful when writing a card or letter by hand, but typing can open up opportunities for more errors…particularly because it’s quicker. Consider digital correspondence, whether it be an email or a tweet, as important as a handwritten letter. By spending the extra time checking over what you’ve written, you help ensure that any mistake doesn’t make it past your computer screen.

What other tips would you share to help job seekers avoid typos? Did a typo ever cost you a job or important opportunity?

We got a chance to talk with Jennifer about her experiences searching for a new job and creating her resume. Check out what she had to say below!

What were you looking for in a job when you started your search?

When I first started looking for a job, I was basically looking for a replacement for my last position. I was panicked, because I had heard how bad the economy and unemployment rates were. My last position was very unique, however, and encompassed so many skills that I was having a difficult time finding anything similar, and certainly not in my area of Orlando, FL.

Since I had taught online for four years for the oldest and largest state-run virtual school, I moved into a position where I essentially had been traveling around the United States, serving as an expert in online education and teaching other teachers to teach online, as well as consulting and selling to administrators, superintendents, and state officials looking for alternatives and cost-effective online courses and training. I had also worked on curriculum projects and designed all of my own trainings and courses, so there was quite a bit of instructional design in there, as well.

I realized that I should craft a couple different resumes that were suited for different types of jobs (educational sales and consulting, professional development training, instructional design, etc.). I had basically been left alone last year by my company to perform all of these duties and it also occurred to me that until I found another job, I could perhaps start my own consulting business performing these same services. That has been very slow-moving, so ideally, I would like to go back to work for someone where I get a steady paycheck, benefits, etc.

What did you hate most about the job search process?

Even though I have an English degree and could write for days, I hate the time-consuming process of fine-tuning a resume and essentially writing a unique cover letter for each position for which I was applying. It can take anywhere from one to two hours to write the perfect cover letter and it is very, very rare that I would cut and paste the same one.

How long did it take to land a job?

Actually, once I started using Resunate, I was offered two positions and I chose to turn both down. I knew they weren’t ideal and I had applied in haste, when I was worried about even getting called for an interview. I have since started applying with the “big boys” (Apple, Google, Microsoft, etc.) since I’m willing to relocate for the right job and with more confidence due to how quickly Resunate has helped me get through the automated HR systems.

How or where did you originally learn to write a resume?

I’m sure I learned to write a resume in high school and ironically, I was actually a course director for a college-level professional writing course where I helped people create resumes and cover letters, along with other business-level communications. The funny thing about resumes, though, is that you can never have enough eyes go over it. HR professionals are exactly that — they are not subject-matter experts, if you will, so the more people you have helping you with your own resume, the greater the odds that you will have several different perspectives — some who know about the skills needed for the job you are applying for and laymen who are familiar with what HR people might look for.

In the first batch of resumes I sent out, before knowing about Resunate, one was by email and I actually had an HR professional come back to me saying, “This is a very confusing resume; what exactly did you do in your last job?” He was trying to compare apples to apples and I was clearly an orange. So you need people looking at it who might know what the job entails and you need others who have no idea to look at it and tell you if it makes sense to them at all. Or you can just use Resunate because in the end, you have to get past the automated system before ANYONE will be looking at it!

How did Resunate help you find success on your job search?

Incredibly, the day I learned about Resunate and used it to fine-tune my resume for a position I wanted to apply for, I got a call within an hour of submitting the resume. I interviewed and passed on the job because just like people can end up being nothing like their resume, this job ended up being nothing like its description. I used Resunate again for another job that was a little more along the lines of what I wanted, interviewed, and passed once more because the commute would have been torture. I know everyone (including my parents) think I’m crazy for passing up on two perfectly good jobs in this economy, but Resunate has really increased my confidence that I will find the “perfect” job sooner than later. I always knew what I was qualified for, now I’m just waiting for it to be posted so I can run it through Resunate against my resume!

What was the most helpful feature of Resunate for you? Why?

Because I had covered so many areas in my last position (sales, training, development, etc.), I was guilty of that typical error in wanting to include it all on my resume. Resunate helped me realize that it’s not all necessary and can actually lower your score in an automated HR system. Instructional Design positions, for instance, do not care if you’re a certified teacher. They want to see the key words (like ADDIE and SCORM) on your resume, not that I’m certified to teach English 6-12.

What advice do you have for other job seekers?

No question about it — use Resunate! You might think you’re smart enough to create a fabulous resume, but it’s man against machine now and you have to fight fire with fire to beat the systems. Also, read Mashable, that’s where I learned about Resunate.

Have you found similar success on the job search after revamping your resume? Let us know in the comments!

So, how do you include these things on your resume, and also ensure it doesn’t take up too much space? Check out this guest post on Career Enlightenment written by Resunate’s Marketing Manager Kat Krull for tips.

First of all, it’s unlikely you will make it through the initial screening process if you don’t. Most employers use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to parse information and sort it into different buckets (name, phone number, skills, education, etc.) in order to quickly rank job candidates based on how well they match up against the job description. If you don’t tailor your resume to the specific job, it will lack important keywords the employer is looking for, and you might end up in the low ranks in the system. By optimizing your resume to each opening, you increase your chances of ranking highly in the ATS and being brought in for an interview.

Additionally, employers want to see the value you would bring if hired, not your entire work history. Your resume needs to summarize why you are one of the top candidates for the job. By leaving out irrelevant jobs and skills, it only confuses the employer as to why you applied for the position. When you tailor your resume to only include the most important information, they can quickly see the value you might bring if hired.

It also shows you understand your fit in the position. By taking the time to optimize your resume to each job, it shows that you have done your research on the company and understand how your skills match up to the position.

Although tailoring your resume is more time-consuming than applying with one generic resume to each opportunity, it shows employers you’re interested and passionate about the job, as opposed to applying for anything and everything. It also helps you understand how you fit into the company and the job in order to decide if it’s actually something you want to pursue. If you continue on to the interview round, this knowledge can help you impress the hiring manager.

Why else do job seekers need to tailor their resume for every job? Sound off in the comments below!