What are the key buzz terms IT recruiters are looking out for?

Sarah asks: I am interested to understand how recruiters are scanning CV for candidates that have applied for an IT position. What 'key buzz terms' are you looking out for? I work for online recruitment website The IT Job Board and we send out a weekly newsletter to our candidates. I am looking for information about how a candidate can best present their CV and what are most important factors to recruiters when scanning a CV. Thank You!

In answer:
Simple - the "key buzz terms" to use are the ones that I or any other recruiter or HR professional put in the advert that you are looking at, that took us on average 100+hrs to get a position signed off against a job description, which is now summarised in fifty words or less in the advert.

Simply, there are no generic "key buzz terms" - there is focusing your application on the given advert, and showing you have the relevant skills+.

Around 35% of applicants won't write a Cover Letter - Rejected! And another 35% won't focus their skills in their CV on the advert, using something highly generic - Rejected! That leaves me at best with one third who make it to the "could call" pile, of which about another half will be - Rejected! That will be for a combination of reasons, either not enough of the right skills, or too much experience, or just as simple as a difficult to read CV. And yes, there are that many applicants generically that I don't have to worry about the fact that you can't present yourself correctly, unless you are in a new technology niche.

I find with most IT people that they love talking about the skills they have or the projects they have been involved with; but not enough about the role they played, the part they delivered or the business result gained. I realise as an engineer myself this may be irrelevant to the applicant while in the project, but the right business result in the the given time scale is what will get you your next position.

I always suggest to anyone looking for their next position, to think what the last one allows them to add to their CV? If you can't answer that, then you are simply job hopping and not managing your career - and at some point, you will be unemployed: employers like people who can manage themselves as much as the work they are undertaking.

If I can help you further, please - just ask!

Online Job Boards - is this happening to you?

Jan asks: A few months, one of my friends suggested that I join a few of the online job boards, The Ladders, Netshare etc. They had a great response and was offered a few positions. So, I did and I had horrible results which was fine - however not one of my first, second nor third follow-up was ever answered by anyone - the poster. Then I heard that most of the recruiters posting on these online job boards were bogus positions and even the recruiters calling were calling about bogus positions. So, I decided to test the waters and applied to over 100 positions in one day - no response. The recruiters calling would tell me the company and I would have my network find out if it were true - no positions open. Then another question was posted about the same thing and I responded as to my experiences. Over the past two days, I have received some from companies stating that my qualifications were inadequate and they thanked me. However, the e-mails are to "recepients" and are canned messages. Now some of you will say - they have so many applicants that is acceptable, but in today's age of technology - I beg to differ - they do have to do business - and they want people to have good will about them - no matter if it is employment, customers or partners. Are you getting the same messages and do you feel this is just a way for the recruiters and the online job boards to continue to bring in much needed revenues for them to stay afloat? I cancelled my memberships - and will not join again - I am starting my own consulting company as I feel my background is needed for a lot of companies.

In answer:
I am sorry to hear about your experiences Jan, and wish you luck in your new businesses and career path.

But truthfully from a recruiters view point, I am not surprised. There is much debate amongst the recruiter and HR professionals of the use of job boards, particularly with regards the quality of both jobs and candidates:

- which company would post their vacancy on a job board, when the branding is the job boards and not theirs? Many of the more established job boards recognise the topline corporates need this branding feel, and create special co-brand pages for large NYSE and FTSE companies
- which candidates would post their CV/Resume to a jobs board? Unless you are unemployed, it can be found as easily by your existing employer, and would hence been seen as an "I'm leaving" sign. Why not use a business focused social network like LinkedIn where you can post all your details and be passively found, but don't have to hoist up the "I'm looking" flag of desperation

For medium scale employers, I think job boards can offer a lot: it is certainly offers more effective coverage than posting your vacancy in the local newspaper, and cheaper than posting in one of the specialist sector magazines. For candidates who are on the open market, then I think it can offer much in raising the flag of availability higher: what have you got to lose?

To find a good jobs board, then look for people like you/from your sector, and employers you want to work for/good recruiters posting jobs you could apply for, in a decent volume: at least 10 opportunities you could apply for today. In the recruitment world, certain jobs boards have better reputations for certain sectors than others. Hence, why post your new vacancy everywhere when one posting at one cost will cover 80% of the market of ideal candidates? Candidates need to pick up on these subtleties.

However, that doesn't stop the old recruitment games going on. Not that I agree with it or allow it at my company, but it has to be accepted by anyone who posts either a vacancy or a CV/Resume on a jobs board that still there will be recruiters building their dBases through calling such employers (and offering secret/inside candidates), or candidates (and offering secret/inside vacancies). Most of the large national recruiters will train and pay their own new trainees to get used to a telephone by undertaking such dBase building exercises, and paying them on collecting CV/Resumes/vacancies.

Jobs boards are a good development in the market, but for these reasons and cautions they don't offer a whole solution for either candidates or employers, and in some cases not ideal for either.

Good Luck in your new venture!