COVER FEATURE

How

TO GET A JOB

Employers are desperate but their algorithms aren’t — here is how to fi nd employment in the modern age

▲ Businesswoman giving job interview

In 2019, before the pandemic reared its ugly head,

there was a strange phenomenon that was tough to put one’s fi nger on. Employer after employer would tell me how diffi cult it was becoming to fi nd employees to staff their companies.

One business just adjacent to the City Pages offi ces said they were actively saying no to new business and downsizing, when the amount of demand should have left them growing instead, all because they couldn’t fi nd people to work. Manufacturers in the area said they had lowered their hiring standards, and had started to look the other way in some workplace practices. Not showing up for work one day in the past would have been a fi reable off ense, with no wiggle room; now it took much more than that, because employers weren’t entirely confi dent that they could quickly replace that employee they’d just let go.

With all that in mind, it seemed like a workers’ paradise. With such high demand for workers, surely most people with reasonable work histories would have no problem whatsoever having their pick of the most choice jobs in their fi eld.

But I still often heard the opposite from job seekers. Th ey’d tell me they applied to place after place and hear nothing back. Th ey had extensive work histories and should have been more than qualifi ed for the jobs they were applying for, yet they were often greeted with silence.

What happened? Employment experts explained it: Th e transition to online applications processes happened right around the time of the Great Recession. Many of these were slow and cumbersome, and at the time, that was a feature. When companies were getting hundreds of applicants for a position, weeding out dozens via algorithm makes a lot of sense.

But that was all in a City Pages story in 2019. Since the recovery from the Great Recession, the number of jobs openings to applicants has changed dramatically. Th e desperation has shifted from job seekers to employers. And that application process, which for many companies has remained unchanged employment experts told me, has remained the same. Th e feature has become a bug, and one few employers have spent a lot of time fi xing.

Th e disconnect got me thinking: Is there more to it? Once upon a time, if one was looking for a job, one went down to the corner store and picked up the newspaper. All the jobs, from doctors to janitors, were listed there. All in one nice place.

Th ose days are long gone. Th e classifi ed section has been replaced by dozens of employment sites, each with its own algorithm and functions, and etiquette. Plus, Facebook has a jobs feature, as does LinkedIn; how does one navigate all these features and functions? And how do they intersect with old-fashioned practice, what one used to call “pounding the pavement”?

City Pages reached out to several employment experts to get some sense of how exactly one goes about applying for jobs and navigating the new world of employment in the digital age.

SEO for job seekers

Vartika Sharma, 30, works for a software company in San Diego but moved to the Wausau area last winter to live because some family friends live in the area.

Sharma has worked in the information technology sector for about ten years now, and is well-versed in the modern environment of job seeking. Whenever she’s wanted to learn a new skill or advance her career, she’s done so through seeking a position at a new company and applying. She now occupies a senior role in IT, dealing with database administration with SQL and other database languages.

In the modern environment, with so many websites and options, how does she go about looking for jobs?

Th e fi rst question Sharma asks herself is “why do I need a new job?” Sharma says. “Th at’s always my thought process. What type of job am I seeking?”

Sharma says she then searches on sites such as Glassdoor, Indeed and even Quora. She works backward, looking at the skillset needed from the industry she is interested in, and in the market she is interested in. Remote work is changing that because employers are no longer constrained by geography to fi nd skilled candidates.

LinkedIn is invaluable to the job hunter, Sharma says; especially with a premium account that removes message limits and lets you reach out to prospective employers, giving you a leg up in your search. “Th ey get hundreds of applications,” Sharma says. “But if you can reach out to a director there, there’s a better chance you can get an interview.”

Many times Sharma will look for someone within a company she either knows or someone she has mutual connections with. In a way, it’s like the networking of old, only put in the social space. “I try to reach out, learn what

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the culture is like. Some people are open to it, some are not, but most are pretty responsive.”

Sharma says she will keep in contact with people she’s met within other companies just to keep those connections fresh, even if she isn’t actively looking. Even just reaching out once per year just to say hi can go a long way down the road.

About that algorithm we mentioned earlier, that’s another piece of advice Sharma has. Once upon a time, it made sense to have one resume that you might tweak a little bit per industry. Today, Sharma says, it makes sense to look for keywords in the job description and make sure you include those in your resume — each resume you send out should be tailored to the individual job description. It’s almost like search engine optimization for resumes. Many companies have algorithms looking for specific keywords that automatically reject resumes without enough of them.

If all this sounds very technical, once you get to the interview, personality still counts. You could have all the technical expertise in the world, but if someone can’t see themselves working with you, it won’t matter much, Sharma says.

Recruiting for success

Derek Carroll is a recruiter in Wausau for Actalent primarily focusing on engineers, but much of his advice could apply to a broad range of fields.

Carroll agrees with Sharma on LinkedIn — it’s one of the most valuable tools today for job hunting and something recruiters stay very aware of. “I’m on LinkedIn 24/7,” Carroll says. While he cautions about limiting oneself as far as sites are concerned, when asked if a person could only use one site, LinkedIn is at the top of his list. “It’s really great for networking,” he says. Carroll agrees with the advice to sign up for a premium account if possible.

Although LinkedIn gets lumped in with other social media sites, it’s different in that it has more of a professional quality to it, and generally less politics and angst. The site is essentially an online resume, he says.

Confirming what Sharma says, it’s a great way to stay in touch with future employers/coworkers, and as a recruiter, it’s his number one go-to for finding employees, Carroll told City Pages. Indeed is on his list as well.

Carroll says many companies rely on generalist HR firms or a general HR employee to sort out resumes based on keywords. “They’re looking at it for 5-10 seconds, looking for the things they were told to look for,” Carroll says. Only then are they sent to the relevant departments for further scrutiny.

It actually happens a lot, Carroll says. “I worked with an engineer who never heard anything back on her resume,” Carroll told City Pages. “I reached out to the hiring manager, and there had been some disconnect because they had never seen the resume.”

What about job length? Carroll mentions employers being leery of job hoppers, but that definition has changed these days. Long gone are the days when people got a job out of college or high school and stayed there 30 years.

Today, it’s good if at least one of the workplaces on a job seeker’s resume is for five years or so, if the others are more like 2 years, Carroll explains. Although there is a higher expectation of job jumping than in the past, too many frequent changes can still be a red flag to employers, he says. The reasons also matter, he says, and that’s where a good recruiter can come in.

Others aren’t as useful as they once were, Carroll explained. Almost no one uses Craigslist anymore. Facebook Marketplace is hit or miss. Indeed is a good second option after LinkedIn. Ziprecruiter is hit or miss. Facebook job groups, however, can be a good resource.

That’s all good information to know as the sheer numbers of job sites has grown, leaving someone who hasn’t been in the job market for long wondering which way to turn. Carroll has been helping teach students at Northcentral Technical College some of these skills too.

Emojis FTW?

Sue Matis, who has spent 25 years in the field of human resources and recruiting, building and recruiting HR departments herself, agrees with Sharma and Carroll about the utility and value of LinkedIn for job hunting. And, she has a surprising tip for standing out on LinkedIn: Emojis.

Yep, you heard it right. Those little icons you message to your friends and probably would never dream of sending to your boss are actually something you should use on your LinkedIn profile to help it stand out.

Matis’ four-paragraph profile on LinkedIn uses a cash icon and a coffee icon at an appropriate point in the text. Matis, currently Director of Organizational Development at Skyward, said people reached out 10 times from what she had previously experienced.

Still skeptical? An accountant Matis is acquainted with was too, but employed them anyway, and got some serious results after making the changes.

Matis confirmed what others said about networking, and mentioned job seekers shouldn’t be afraid of reaching out to leaders of a company just to connect — not only could that be beneficial in case a future opening pops up, but many times a friend at another company might reach out with an opening, and that person you reached out to could recommend you, Matis says.

Matis emphasized the importance of such networking because especially at higher levels such as director or executive levels, by the time you see an actual listing for a job, there probably already is a candidate the company is going with, and they’re just posting to comply with regulations.

Matis says at Skyward, her current employer, they’ve taken some steps to adjust to the new workforce shortage and expectations. For example, they make a point to reach out to candidates within automated messages when someone applies and a congratulatory video when someone makes it to the next step in the process. They try not to have more than three to five days go by without contacting candidates. “The statistics show that if they go more than a few days without hearing from a company, they’re on to the next one,” Matis says. “It sets you apart.”

They also have a first interview in which people are given questions, and told to record a video of themselves answering them.

That follow-up is more than a courtesy, Matis explains. Often they might have more than one qualified candidate for a position, and just because they didn’t go with one of the other candidates this time, it doesn’t mean there won’t be an opening for them in the future. They reach out to tell them via phone too, not email or text. That’s important. She’s seen it where a candidate they kept in contact with at a software company in Wausau for more than a year was ready to slot into a job the moment it opened because they’d kept in contact. That saved weeks and weeks of going through the hiring process.

It’s a process

The Federal Department of Labor’s latest report shows there are more than one million more job openings than there are workers — about 8.7 million job seekers and nearly 10 million job openings. So it might surprise some people when they apply for jobs and don’t hear back.

Some of the tips contained herein might help explain why. Sometimes it’s just a matter of treating job seeking like a skill — it can be developed and honed to achieve a greater degree of success. The sources interviewed for this story greatly helped sort through the noise that is modern job seeking.

But employers also might want to take note - doing the courtesy of follow-ups with candidates might seem needless in the moment, but keeping an open line with those candidates might make it easier to fill open positions down the road.

2021 Wausau Festival of Arts

Beauty and spirit is on full display at the Wausau Festival of Arts, and you’re invited! We’re preserving a legacy of art and togetherness that has lasted over 55 years in downtown Wausau. After a year off, we are excited to return, getting together to celebrate the joy of art and the comfort of our community.

Peruse a colorful harvest of beautiful offerings, from paintings and jewelry to sculptures, ceramics, and woven goods.

September11th&12th Home Is Where the Art Is

In addition to over a hundred artists, the square will be filled with live music, good food and cold drinks along with these favorites: • Family Art - Many creative activities for children with their parents.

• Young Collector Market - Children 12 and up can view and purchase donated art.

• Scholarship Silent Auction - Place your silent bids for art donated by participating artists.

• Still Young at Art - Reserve a space in one of these classes taught by professional artists in the upper classroom area of the CVA next to the Grand Theater:

1. LET WATERCOLOR PAINT ITSELF - Diane Shabino

Sat., Sep. 11, 10:00-12:00 - Learn wet watercolor techniques. Create paintings and note cards.

2. THE PAINTED PAGE - Connie Graham

Sat., Sep. 11, 1:30-3:30 - Experiment with painting, texturing and printing papers and create a collage.

3. FOOLPROOF PASTEL PAINTING - Andy Fenner

Sun., Sep.12, 10:00-12:00 - Complete a pastel painting of a glorious sunset.

4. LIVE CREATIVELY WITH SKETCHBOOK

JOURNALING - Nancy Laliberte

Sun., Sep.12, 1:30-3:30 - Use fun techniques with ink and watercolor in your journaling.

Classes are limited. Each class is $25. To register & for more information go to: www.wausaufoa.org/still-young-at.art

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