20 Words for a Job

How to impress employers in a meager timeframe

A recruiter, on average, will spend 6 seconds looking at your resume (according to Time Inc). That’s about 20 words for the average reader.

Hi my name is Jack. I’ve worked in IT for several years and run my own business for a significant…

20 words 😐. How about…

Jack. IT skills; business owner; UNSW educated. Knows JS, GoLang, React, Redux, Relay and more. Good manager and good English.

20! Phew. Suspect about the quality… “Good English” 😐

We shouldn’t blame the shorthanded employer (not only because I am one). Imagine having to read tens or hundreds of resumes with varying relevance. I’ve found it difficult myself.

Finding a job is like being a salesperson. With one difference (I hope), you’re selling yourself.

A salesperson doesn’t (shouldn’t) strut in and announce a list of product features. Instead, they defer to the client, ask questions and empathise; all to learn the needs of the client. Only then do they mention product. They articulate how the product solves the client’s needs. No more, no less.

By submitting your resume, you announce and justify your features. “I’m good at A, B and C. I can prove it because I did X, Y and Z”. But how do you know the employer needs A, B and C?

Stating the obvious — “the job ad”

Yes… and no.

A good salesperson understands the client cannot always articulate their needs. They might think they need A, B and C. But they actually need D, E and F.

The last job ad you read which outlined A, B and C. How do you know they’re not looking for D, E and F?

Employers may complain: “I can’t find any good candidates” or “There’s not enough quality” as a result.

Job seekers may complain: “I don’t understand why I wasn’t shortlisted” or “I wasn’t given a reason” as a result.

Job seekers, we need to sell ourselves to the employer. Like a salesperson, we need to relate our features to their needs.

Employers, we need to squeeze all value possible from those 6 seconds evaluating a lead. We need to reveal our underlying needs.

No matter what we do; 20 words or 6 seconds is too brief to qualify a candidate’s experience, let alone cultural fit. The latter usually requires face-to-face time.

This is why network based recruitment is so effective. It qualifies culture up front. The age old adage “It’s who you know, not what you know”.

To capitalize on each of the available 6 seconds, we must qualify our experience and cultural fit. To qualify each, we must understand the employer’s underlying needs.

We aim to help you do exactly that, with on online platform.

Receive a curated list of job opportunities. Aree balances your needs with those of each employer to identify effective leads. Aree will then tell each employer why you’d be good at their job. It makes these inferences through AI we’ve developed.

We’d love you to try it and give us feedback. Aree.io.