There’s a lot of talk out there about how job seekers should expect recruiters or interviewers to dig up the "digital dirt" from the past. That is, before a company will consider you for a position, recruiters will search for your name on the internet to find the secret details you left off your resume. Through my rise to fame as the Suggestion Kitty, I’ve met a quite a few recruiters, and I can say, yes, recruiters and hiring managers do often utilize search engines to learn a little bit extra about candidates, but no, most (at least the ones I know) aren’t out there looking for damaging information or using the information as a basis for interview or hire decisions. More than likely, they are looking for little nuggets that help them build rapport and learn more about your interests. Gretchen even posted on the subject before she learned how to write more concise blog posts. But I digress ….

Search for your own name and see what’s out there. If there is something damaging, take a note from the Patricia Kitchen’s Don't let any 'digital dirt' bury your job prospects: pick your battles, damage control, and put things in context. She offers good, tactical advice. My favorite? Set up an alert on your search engine of choice to track what is being said as it gets posted. Nothing better than  a little ego surfing, meow.

But remember this … In all likelihood, if you do get searched :), the intent is not malicious in nature, and the recruiter just wants to be able to connect with you more quickly. "I see you have a blog. I have one, too!" "You enjoy vacationing in Mexico. Me,too!." "You love cats? Wow. That’s funny. I’m a cat!"

Yesterday, I advised you on how to expect and deal with recruiters or hiring managers searching for your name on the internet. Today, I offer you this:

If you have an upcoming interview and you know the name of your interviewer, search for that person.

Just as the recruiter or hiring manager’s intent is to build rapport with you or find out more about your interests, you should take advantage of readily available information to do the same. Not only can this information allow you to connect with your interviewer ("I read in your bio that you grew up in Boston and moved to Seattle when you got a job at Microsoft. I, too, will have to make a long move if I consider Microsoft. What advice can you give me for making the leap?") but it will also impress the heck out of the interviewer that you took the time to look him or her up. (Just don’t come across as too creepy / stalker-ish.) :)

Suggestion Kitty

The Suggestion Kitty says ....

Keywords, keywords, keywords. It’s all about keywords. Hiring Managers want to see them on resumes. Applicants want to include them in their resumes. Recruiters want to find them on resumes.

Not sure which keywords are most important to include?  Research the openings in your company of choice by visiting the corporate careers page. Read the job descriptions for "must have" and "nice to have" skills.  These qualifications will give you an idea of what a recruiter will be searching on. 

Be careful … Do not haphazardly "load" your resume with keywords from job postings and only include those terms if you feel proficient in the subject.  But job descriptions may help you prioritize or better understand what keywords would be pertinent to your qualifications.  Sometimes companies use differing terminology from what you might use, and job descriptions should help you break the code.

Meow!

Suggestion Kitty

The Suggestion Kitty tells me that she's seen a surge of very formatted resumes lately.  (That makes her want to sharpen her claws, and trust me, you don't want Suggestion Kitty doing that!) 

Remember, Suggestion Kitty's sound advice:  Most companies of  >1000 employees use resume and applicant databases to keep track of submissions, activity, etc.  Most of these databases only accept plain text versions of resumes.  So whether you email your resume to resume@microsoft.com or directly to me (Suggestion Kitty's alter-ego), sooner or later, it will go through the .txt ringer. 

So remember, stay away from super-formatted resumes when you initially apply to a company . . . no matter how you are applying (through the careers site, through a job board, directly to an employee, etc).  I am all for the well-formatted Word or PDF versions once you've secured an interview, but it’s important to wait until that stage.  Otherwise, you risk massive mangling.  And who wants that?

In the meantime, either submit text versions of your resume or do the simple “cut and paste into notepad" test to see what your resume will look like on the other side.  Scary, huh?

Meow!
gretchen

P.S.  Be sure to check out the resume tips category for other tips and sample resume formats!!

Julie (the UX diva) and I were discussing some of our favorite interview tips yesterday.  (Yes, recruiters have exciting conversations, don’t we?)  And we realized that two of our best tips revolve around food, water, and general sustenance.  So ....

Be sure to pack nutritional items for your interview adventures, especially if you expect your interview day to last more than three hours (which Microsoft interviews typically do.)  Some items to pack in your bag include:

• Bottled water (with a top)
• Power bars / granola bars
• A candy bar (for that boost of energy!)
• Gatorade / Powerade (again, with a top)

At Microsoft, we provide you with all the free drinks you can consume and a free lunch … but when you are nervous, it’s difficult to predict how much you’ll actually be able to eat during an interview setting or how well you’ll deal with those pop-top cans of Coke. :)

Meow!
gretchen

Keep your resume up-to-date  . . .  even if you aren’t actively looking for a job. 

Treat your resume as a “living document.”  If you are in school, update it once a semester or quarter.  If you are in the workforce, update it every 3-4 months.  By doing this, you can easily remember and note the new responsibilities and skills you’ve acquired.  And when you are ready to submit a resume (for a new job with a new company, for a new job within your current company, to demonstrate your experience to a new manager or mentor . . .  the reasons vary), you wont have to spend hours recalling your last few years of experience.  Just a few edits and quick clean-ups, and your resume should be ready to go.

Meow!

gretchen

If you use “Markup” in Word to track changes and edits to your resume or cover letter, but sure to remove all the comments before emailing a softcopy of your resume to potential employers.

By default on my computer, Word opens documents in “Markup” view, and I can’t tell you how many resumes I’ve opened that look like this:

So be careful.  Make sure you aren’t sending out resumes with hidden comments.

And yes, Duncan is my dog, and no, he’s not available for employment. :)

Meow!
gretchen

<Edit: 3/13>  Saurabh points out that you can download the hidden data removal add-in here.