There are two #1 ways to be visible to hiring authorities. The number one, #1 way is to create a complete Linkedin profile. The number two, #1 way is to post your resume on the job boards.

Linkedin is still a free resource which makes it very appealing to recruiters. Recruiters love the fact that they can not only get a snapshot of the person’s work history but also get a glimpse into the character of the person through their associations, groups, books they are reading, posts, recommendations, who they have written recommendations for and photo of candidate. I will cover Linkedin in more detail later on in this chapter.

As a recruiter I love using the job boards. I feel like a kid in a candy store when I enter my username and password and find myself able to view thousands of resumes. I like the hunt of cold-calling new candidates and being able to develop brand new and hopefully lasting professional relationships. I will spend hours scouring Monster, DICE, TheLadders, 6FigureJobs, and niche sites such as HIMSS (healthcare information and management systems society) or AttorneyJobs. In the past ten years the majority of my contract assignments have come from an agency recruiter seeing my resume posted on Monster or by viewing my Linkedin profile. I’ve also obtained jobs by other people recommending me or by my directly applying to the job. But I consider it sweet when I receive invitations to contemplate job openings simply because someone viewed my resume on Monster. Post a profile on the major job boards: Monster, CareerBuilder and HotJobs.

The key to successful posting is to post an excellent resume and fill out as many fields of information as possible. After you have posted on one or more of the major, general job boards then find the niche job boards that apply to your skills set and post your resume on those sites. If you do not know which job boards are available for your skills set just go to Google and type in your skills and/or title and the words Job Board Niche, i.e. Graphic Artist Job Board Niche. You can also go to Indeed and put in your skills and/or title and view the web sites that are populating the jobs. Most of the web sites will be directly from the company career sites but other web sites will be from smaller, niche job boards. Other ways to find niche job boards is to join associations and create a profile where you put your resume into their job board. Recruiters actively seek candidates on association job boards because they know those candidates are dedicated to the professional field that they are looking to fill a position in. To find your associations go to Google and type in your skills and/or title and the word, Association.

Another reason you should post your resume on the job boards is that when someone is fired, quits or announces that they will need to go on Family Leave the hiring manager and human resource professionals may not have time to post an ad and wait to receive the right resume. Recruiters will start searching the web to find the person to fill the vacant slot. The hiring team will also network with co-workers, agencies and various associations and groups. Over the years it is important to develop positive lasting relationships with your co-workers and those agency recruiters that are responsible for placing professionals with your specific skills set.

Is there a particular company that you would like to work for? If so, one way to be visible to the hiring authorities at your desired company is to visit their web site and create a profile on their career site. Even if you do not see a job listed that you are qualified for or are interested in you should be able to create a profile and attach a copy of your resume to your profile. By creating a profile your skills will be available to the recruiter when they do a keyword search on their company career site for candidates. Corporate recruiters place ads, search the web, network and search for candidates via their vast and ever growing company candidate database, also known as their ATS (Applicant Tracking System).

Career fairs and conferences are another way you can make yourself visible to hiring authorities. Sometimes a company will extend job offers on the spot at career fairs/hiring events, these offers will be contingent on passing a drug screen and background check. When attending a career fair keep in mind that, along with your resume, your appearance, communication skills and attitude are being assessed for consideration for future employment; the same is true for when you attend an industry conference. Attending an industry conference is a great way to network with peers and industry professional at all levels of experience. Do a Google search to see if an industry conference will be close your hometown. If you can afford to attend you would be wise to go and network as well as learn what is happening in your industry. When networking at conferences don’t pester or appear desperate for employment, instead mention that you are ‘on the market’ or ‘available to consider employment options’.

There is a saying that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, make yourself visible so that the right employer can find you and your skills beautiful!