July 28, 2023 Leave a Comment

The Pros and Cons of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Job Search

It’s nearly impossible these days to read the news without coming across discussions about how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is going to make everything so easy that it will “eventually take away all our jobs”. Such scary predictions are hard to challenge when the concept of AI is so vast and confusing.

So here’s a definition: AI is a field of computer science that focuses on creating technology that can perform tasks that usually require human intelligence. It does so by gathering a large amount of data and “learning” from it. This “machine learning” trains computers to recognize patterns in the data to make predictions or decisions. As a result, it can be used to perform a range of tasks that humans usually do—only quicker, and (sometimes) better.

For job seekers and employers, new AI-driven technologies bring a huge and dizzying array of tools that claim to make hiring and job search better and more efficient. It’s important to note that your job search already relies on AI in many ways.

If used thoughtfully, AI can be a helpful tool. But it is important to remember that there are still many ways in which humans are much better at job search than machines.

Let’s look at some of how AI is already being used, some of the tools you might want to consider, as well as when it’s worth relying on human skills to best navigate the job search process and stand out from the competition.

1. Optimizing Resumes and Cover Letters

When you upload your resume and cover letter to a recruiting site, ATS recruiting tools are used to scan, sort, and then select those that best match the employer’s specific job descriptions. Some AI tools (such as JobScan and Zety) can be helpful for job seekers to analyze job postings, identify the most suited keyword, and optimize resumes and cover letters. They can help highlight relevant skills and ensure compatibility with the posting, which might improve the chances of the resume and cover letter you have submitted being identified by ATS and forwarded to the employer.

Another use of AI is to help with language, grammar and spelling (I use Grammarly for this – its Chrome extension has a useful free option for checking basic spelling and grammar, regardless of whether you are a first-language English speaker).

Cautionary note: some AI platforms offer to actually write your resume and cover letter, often for a fee. But there are some reasons to be skeptical of such offers. Firstly, there’s no reason to spend money when there are organizations such as JVS Toronto that can help with writing a better, more personalized resume free of cost.

Secondly, you will be required to share a lot of personal information with the app for your resume. That information then becomes the property of the platform, which should raise some privacy concerns for users.

Third, and most important to the job search, the process of writing a resume and cover letter is very useful to prepare you for job interviews. The process gives you a chance to think and sort through your work history and skills and figure out how to describe yourself best.

Finally, text written by AI tends to be impersonal and uninteresting. Employers are also increasingly aware that job seekers will use these tools. It’s possible that pretty soon, AI detectors will become part of ATS systems. When this happens, you don’t want to be dismissed as someone who isn’t willing to invest the effort needed to do your own job search.

2. Enhancing Job Search Experience

Many job search platforms (Indeed, LinkedIn) use intelligent algorithms to understand and match job seekers’ skills, interests, and experience with job postings in real time. They categorize and rank job listings based on relevance, and they create a tailored job search experience for job seekers. This is why LinkedIn can impressively recommend jobs to you that you might not have considered, simply based on your profile, contacts and activities on the platform.

3. Interview Preparation and Practice

An increasing number of online apps and platforms are offering AI-based virtual interviews that simulate real interview scenarios and offer job seekers feedback and opportunities to practice their skills.

Cautionary note: These are still in the early stages of development and are not necessarily effective. Also, job seekers should keep in mind that employers rely on job interviews to evaluate interpersonal and communication skills, and despite AI algorithms’ impressive ability to use data and identify patterns, it is not good at all at understanding the complexities of being human and building relationships. Humans still do that better, and a skilled employment counsellor/coach can do a much better job at helping you figure out how to impress an employer in interviews.

4. Personalized Learning and Skill Development

AI-powered learning platforms (LinkedIn Learning, for example) facilitate personalized skill development by recommending relevant courses, certifications, or workshops based on individual job seekers’ career goals and aspirations. These platforms use machine learning algorithms to analyze user behaviour, assess skill gaps, and provide tailored learning recommendations.

By leveraging AI, job seekers can continuously upskill, often at their own pace, to stay competitive and adapt to the ever-changing job market. LinkedIn Learning is available for free through many educational institutions as well as public library systems.

5. Networking and Building Connections

To help you expand your network to people who might be helpful in your career, LinkedIn’s AI-based platform analyzes information (data points) in your and others’ profiles and identifies shared interests and locations. It then suggests connections to people with similar backgrounds or shared professional goals. This can help you expand your network, strengthen relationships, and tap into hidden opportunities. It also enables automated follow-ups, reminders, and personalized messaging to nurture and build professional connections that could help you with your job search.

So, to conclude: it is important to recognize that as technology evolves, AI will become an integral part of the job search process. Your challenge as a job seeker is to use the tools available with care, but be aware of the risks. Using too much AI to write your resumes and cover letters and prepare for interviews can result in you sounding more like a machine than a person, and won’t necessarily help you stand out in the process. As we face new technology, we all need to strive to find a balance between using machines and keeping the human touch — after all, employers are still (for now) human.

Navigating the various things that come with employment search, including understanding the role AI could play in this, can be an intimidating experience. JVS Toronto offers free workshops that can help ensure that you have a resume and cover letter that can beat out AI-driven templates. Not only that, but our 1-on-1 personalized employment services can also help in using AI to your advantage, overcoming gaps in your experience history, and helping Newcomers secure Canadian experience, among other things! Reach out to us today to see how we can help you in your job search.

November 2, 2020 Leave a Comment

Keep Your Skills Current: Identify Top In-demand Skills and Ways to Learn Them

Are your skills considered valuable by employers now and into the future? Do you know what careers are most valued? What skills do you need to add and how? Questions about job trends are frequently asked of employment and career counsellors, and answering these questions is never easy. Right now, as we face an even more unpredictable and fast changing economic landscape, those questions have increased and become even more fraught.

Some of us might think that these concerns come mostly from high school graduates, but often they come from career changers of all ages and stages, facing concerns about job instability in a changing labour market, and their ability to adapt to it and stay ahead.

Canadian Job Trends

Finding the data necessary to answer these questions isn’t easy. To get a sense of labour market trends, present and future projections in Canada, the federal government has put together a Job Trend Analysis website that draws from sources such as the five-yearly census, annual taxes, and unemployment insurance claims. This site is part of Employment and Social Development Canada’s Job Bank, and is worth exploring for anyone who is rethinking their career or wanting to learn more about potential jobs.

However, the site does not necessarily present the entire picture — the information tends to be a little behind the curve, as it takes time to compile and present the data; it’s also, of course, restricted to Canadian data, which is an important limitation at a time when careers and jobs are global and increasingly unbound by geographic limitations.

10 Most In-demand Careers

A new initiative by LinkedIn and Microsoft presents another useful perspective on this issue. Drawing on LinkedIn’s huge database of millions of users, companies, job postings, and skills on their platform, the career platform has compiled a list of the 10 most in-demand jobs in the current (2020) global market, which are most likely to continue to grow in the future.

Based on steady growth patterns in previous years, wages and whether the skills can be learnt online LinkedIn identified the following 10 jobs and skillsets:

Software Developer — programming, storage, networking, security, and deployment; HTML, CSS, SQL, Javascript, Python.
Sales Representative — negotiation, CRM, new business development, B2B, storytelling, social media.
Project Manager — program management, process improvement, project performance.
IT Administrator — manage systems, subscriptions, configuration, and identity; Windows Server, Active Directory.
Customer Service Specialist — customer satisfaction, customer experience, data entry, CRM, admin analysis.
Digital Marketer — social media, content strategy, SEO, marketing channels; Google Analytics, Google Ads.
IT Support/ Helpdesk — troubleshooting, deployment; Active Directory, computer hardware, Microsoft Windows Server.
Data Analyst — data analysis, analytics, visualization; Microsoft Excel, SQL, BI, Tableau.
Financial Analyst — financial analysis, risk management, accounting, analytical skills, data analysis.
Graphic Designer — design systems, layout, colour; Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop.

Best of all, with the limitations of the current pandemic in mind, LinkedIn put together 10 sets of Learning Paths, based on these careers, to offer free online video-based training to users (free until March 2021), provided by industry-expert instructors. Upon completion of each path, users receive a certificate of completion, to share on their LinkedIn profile.

Soft Skills

As we have mentioned in previous blogs, the focus is on a balance between hard and soft skills, including a focus on collaboration, change, diversity and inclusion. To that end, LinkedIn also provides a Master In-Demand Professional Soft Skills set of free online courses, including:

Emotional Intelligence – for enhanced personal performance and effective work relationships
Resilience – bouncing back from difficult situations
Dealing with change — keeping change in perspective and adapting
Critical thinking – rational and effective decision-making, good argumentation and judgement
Relationship building – personal and professional trust
Teamwork – building healthy and productive teams
Communication skills – effective use of meetings, email and presentations
Listening – learning to listen actively
Persuasiveness – being heard, having an impact and getting people to agree
Writing skills – using simple, clear and plain written language to be understood
Creativity – learning to be more fearless and unleash creative thinking

Think through your target jobs and read through descriptions of them in job postings to identify the most valuable skills for your field. Pick a couple (two to three, perhaps) of key skills and focus on them. Remember to mention them in interviews, preferably with specific example of where you have used them in your past.

Other Sources for Learning Skills

Skills training is increasingly available online often at low cost or even free for those seeking an opportunity to enhance their skills. Multiple sources of training, such as colleges, universities and private schools are now offering the flexibility of multiple start dates and greater course choices, as detailed in a previous blog I wrote earlier this year.

Make Sure to Show Off Your New Skills

Don’t forget to add these new skills to your resume, your LinkedIn profile and to mention them in cover letters, when relevant to a particular job.

Whether you’re still in school or already working, it’s never too late to put yourself on the path to a career you love.

Career counselling at JVS Toronto will help you identify your interests, skills, personality and values to build a clear picture of what will make you feel happy and fulfilled in your career. Find out more at jvstoronto.org/career-exploration

November 27, 2018 Leave a Comment

Attract Employers with Your Skills on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a unique way for employers to find you based on the skills you offer. Often underused by job seekers, adding your best skills in your LinkedIn profile increases the chances that employers and recruiters will find and connect with you.

What skills should I emphasize on my LinkedIn profile?

Job postings are a good source for ideas on skills to highlight. When searching on job postings sites, or through LinkedIn, review the qualifications listed in the postings you are targeting. If these skills line up with your experience, then add them to your profile.

You will notice that as you add skills to you profile, LinkedIn will suggest others based on your profile. Use these prompts to identify further skills to add. LinkedIn also has a directory of all the skills added to the site. Skills are categories into Industry Knowledge, Tools and Technologies (computer skills), Interpersonal Skills and Other Skills.

In addition to emphasizing hard skills on your LinkedIn profile, also include your soft or transferable skills such as organizational skills and interpersonal abilities. Online tools such as the online Employability Skills Assessment can help you evaluate your abilities, determine skills you are most confident in, and those you might want to improve.

Other helpful resources include LinkedIn’s article, The Skills Companies Need Most in 2018 – and the courses to get them and the Employability Skills reference guide published by The Conference Board of Canada.

Where else can I include my skills?

Your Resume – include your strongest skills here
Cover Letters – emphasis your strongest skills that match those listed in the job posting
Interviews – include key skills that match the job posting when describing your abilities
Show, don’t tell – use your best skills when conducting yourself throughout the recruitment process like your positive attitude, organization skills and interpersonal communication

Now that you’re prepared to share your strongest skills, here’s how to add them into your LinkedIn profile.

Starting from scratch

Go to the LinkedIn homepage
Click the Me icon at the top
Click on the View profile
click on the Add new profile section (located on the right)
Select Skills from the dropdown menu
Type the name of a skill in the Skill text box and select it from the dropdown list that appears. Once selected, this skill will be added to your list

Revising existing skills

Go to the LinkedIn homepage
Click the Me icon at the top
Click on the View profile
Scroll to the Skills & Endorsements section
Click Add a new skill. In the pop-up window, type the name of a skill in the text box and select it from the dropdown list. If your skill does not appear, type the full skill name in the field provided and click to add.

June 25, 2018 1 Comment

Spruce up Your LinkedIn Profile with these 5 Steps

Bank screen of laptop on wooden table with blur background of share space office cafe.

With a reported 11 million unique jobs posted on the site, LinkedIn has become a key source of opportunities for its over half a billion users. The social media platform provides users a myriad of ways to be noticed by recruiters and potential employers. And if you are going to be noticed, you need make sure that your LinkedIn profile is in as good a shape as possible, especially in these five key elements:

1. Career Headline

Your headline is the first line of text a potential employer reads on your profile. It plays a marketing role — it’s your opportunity to tell them what you want them to know about you, your professional skills and experience.

Avoid simply using your job title as your headline, and don’t use the default LinkedIn one. Use this valuable opportunity attract attention and impress the reader. Try adding some relevant descriptive keywords to your job title. You can use multiple short terms to describe yourself, combining professional and personal terms: e.g.” Administrative Assistant | Microsoft Office | Customer Service | Committed to Excellence” or “Accounting Clerk | Bookkeeper | Advanced Excel | Detail-oriented”.

2. Profile photo

LinkedIn tells us that “great profile photo (…) can get you up to 21 times more profile views”. But profile views are not enough; to make an impactful and positive impression, a photo which communicates information about the your professionalism and confidence is best. There’s no need to pay someone to take a professional photo. LinkedIn offer some good tips on taking your own “work selfie”:

The LinkedIn Guide to the Perfect #WorkSelfie from LinkedIn

3. Summary/About

Your About section is an opportunity to further introduce yourself, explain your employment history, and give potential employers an opportunity to learn what makes you unique. It can be less formal and more wordy than a resume profile — just make sure that the tone is appropriate for your industry.

You can include in your profile:
– your professional title, years of experience and expertise, e.g. “Over 10 years’ progressive HR experience working in the non-profit sector”
– relevant educational achievements and/or professional designations, e.g. “University educated and a Certified Human Resource Professional (CHRP)”
– core skills and achievements, e.g. “Skilled negotiator, having successfully handled and resolved union disputes; knowledgeable on issues regarding payroll; designed and implemented professional staff development training”
– work values and principles, e.g. “Strong commitment to inclusive non-discrimination hiring practices”
– relevant personal characteristics, e.g. “Highly energetic, enthusiastic and confident”
– knowledge such as relevant languages and computer software

For ideas on what to include, read through job postings you are planning to apply for and identify the qualifications listed by the employers. Use them as your guide — try to echo the employers’ priorities.

4. Background photo

A background photo can brighten up a profile. It shows that you’ve made an extra effort to make the profile stand out.

The ideal photo would be of you at your workplace or job – even better if it’s one of you doing your job. Remember that regardless of what photo you use, you should have permission to use the photo. If you search for an image, make sure it is labelled free for re-use. Google offers clear advice on how to find such photos.

5. Media

One of the features that distinguishes a LinkedIn profile from a resume is the ability to add links or media, such as PDFs, videos and slide shows, Word documents or images, to the summary and to each job. Use this function to share video clips or photos of you at work, slideshows that you have produced, newsletters where you were mentioned, or samples of your work.

For ideas and inspiration to spruce up your resume, use the LinkedIn search bar to find profiles of fellow professionals in your field and review their profiles; find the ones that look impressive and look at their photo, headline, summary, media and background photo, and learn what you can from them. Try something new. Remember, you can always change things up if it doesn’t feel right — no one will judge you for trying new things. That’s the advantage of social media.

May 28, 2018 1 Comment

How recruiters can help you get hired

My clients often ask me how to connect with recruiters to help find a job, and whether it is worth the effort. There isn’t one simple answer to this question – it depends on the profession, the job seeker and on the demand for their skills in the job market. For some job seekers, recruiters can be very useful when looking for work.

What do recruiters do?

Recruiters work for the employer, not the job seeker. They help collect resumes, screen applicants, and conduct job interviews, either for one company or via an agency. Recruiters are most useful if you work in a field where there’s a large demand for your skills, experience and expertise — often more senior staff, who might work in larger companies. Recruiters also hire temporary staff.

There are two different types of recruiters: in-house and agency. In-house recruiters are employed by a specific company to hire employees. Agency recruiters work for an employment agency, to help multiple companies find employees; they get paid when they fill a position – often a percentage of the salary paid to the candidate.

Recruiters use multiple methods to find, connect with, and monitor potential candidates, including online job boards (such as this), recruitment agency boards (such as those listed here), company websites (such as this), as well as LinkedIn.

How do agencies work?

To get a job through an agency, applicants need to register either via a posting found on a job board such as Monster.ca or Indeed.ca, or directly on the agency’s site. If the agency is a reputable one, candidates who register will be contacted by a recruiter for a brief discussion about their eligibility for the position. Suitable candidates will get called into the agency to be interviewed and possibly skill-tested. References will be called. Candidates might be placed in full-time or temporary jobs, many starting on a temporary basis first before considering them for full time employment.

For candidates, it’s important to treat the recruitment agency interview as you would any job interview: be prepared to speak about yourself clearly, confidently and honestly, to build a trusting relationship with the recruiter. Remember that it is the recruiter’s job to represent you to an employer, so give them the information they need to do so effectively.

Candidates are not limited to only one agency. It is well worth registering with multiple agencies, to access a variety of jobs in your area. Recruiters won’t necessarily refer every candidate to a position, no matter how well qualified they may seem. Recruiters may have their own personal preferences which impact on their choices. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that candidates can’t apply for the job independently, according to some recruiters: “Sometimes a company will be more willing to hire you without the recruiter’s fee attached.”

Connect with recruiters on LinkedIn:

Update your profile. LinkedIn reports that adding detailed work experience will result in 12x more profile views; it also makes your profile 36x more likely to be found by recruiters.
Signal your availability to recruiters. LinkedIn recently introduced an option for job seekers to quietly indicate their availability to recruiters, called Career Interests. This allows candidates to provide some basic information about their career goals to recruiters privately.
Seek them out. LinkedIn offers recruiters and job seekers an easy and effective way to connect. There are two main ways to find recruiters on this platform: Use the search bar to find people who call themselves “recruiter” – review their profile to identify whether they recruit in your field and location, conduct a job search, and look through the job postings for the name of the poster (some job postings include the name and profile of an individual poster)
Reach out and connect with the suitable recruiters. Include a brief introductory note, telling them about your employment goals.

Communicate with the recruiter:

When the recruiter accepts the connection request (and most will!), thank them for connecting with you.
In the next message, briefly introduce yourself and tell them what you want “I saw a position on your website” (share links to the job, if you have) or “I am interested in a __________ position.”
Mention if possible something you might share — like LinkedIn contacts, location or anything else, to break the ice.
Tell them what you would like them to do “Can you please pass along my resume to the person responsible for hiring XXX?” or “I recently applied for XXX and I’m trying to get a status update on my application. Would you mind checking for me?”
Keep it short and focused.
Stay in touch: Thank the recruiter for their efforts on your behalf, follow their instructions regarding the opportunities they provide you. Check in regularly; update them on your job search and availability.

While recruiters can be a source of good job opportunities, don’t rely on them exclusively to find your next job. They are only one tool in a job seekers toolkit. Do what you can to reach out and be available, but keep looking for work independently.