Any advice? I’ve worked in local government for almost 20 years so I’m not really sure how corporate applications/resumes/hiring practices go. There’s a corporate job that I’m thinking about applying for and I’ve heard that bigger companies have AI programs that they run applications/resumes through to weed people out.

I’m thinking about getting help writing a professional resume, uploading that and the job description and requirements into ChatGPT, and seeing what it recommends.

Any other tips or advice as I apply for this job?

It may pay to actually walk into the offices and ask to speak with someone. It just did for me and the company wasn’t even hiring. They were shocked (in a good way) that I took interest and made the effort to appear in person. In this day and age companies are bombarded with electronic resumes and being able to physically talk with someone may be all it takes. I wish you the best of luck!

Good luck, brother.

I tried to leave LE a couple years back, and large corporate hiring is a total shitshow these days.

First, keep in mind that the corporate world is very different from the law enforcement world. Nearly all of your experience and certifications won't directly matter there, and most of the people reviewing your stuff won't have any frame of reference for what you really did as a LEO, so you have to find ways to phrase your resume/applications to make it clear how your experience directly related to what they're looking for in that job description. Don't expect them to extrapolate or understand, unless you lay it out for them.

So it'd definitely be helpful to get some assistance in tweaking your resume away from a traditional LEO resume and towards something that checks the right boxes in the corporate world, including custom tailoring your resume in some ways to specifically fit every position to which you apply using the phrases from the job description.

Next, don't be surprised if you have to manually type your entire resume into some proprietary HR software for every position to which you apply. They want you to attach a resume, but then they also want you to fill out online forms with all your education info, work history, personal info, etc. that is already on your resume. It's a huge hassle and time sink, and there's a reason that it has become a meme in the job application world.

From there, applications are weeded out ruthlessly, often by automated systems or by overwhelmed entry-level HR workers who don't really understand what the positions needs.

And despite the time and effort you have to expend on each application, entering the info into their software, tailoring it to that specific job, sometimes crafting a cover letter, etc., you can expect to be ghosted most of the time, without even a no thanks or a go fuck yourself. The majority of your (lengthy and time-consuming) applications will merely be shot into the void, never to hear a peep in return.

Networking and inside referrals from existing employees are going to be your best/only bet in getting past that clusterfuck.

If you do manage to make it through the initial application minefield and get your resume into the hands of someone who matters, and get an interview, read up on the STAR method, which is how just about every interviewer in the corporate world expects you to answer their questions. It's not difficult, and not all that out of the ordinary from what you might already be expecting.

Also, bigger corporations tend to have multiple rounds of interviews involved in their hiring process, so don't be surprised if you're called for a 2nd/3rd/4th interview.

There are a few considerations:

1. Technical vs Behavioral:

Technical: How can you demonstrate the level of technical knowledge and competency for the position of interest?

Behavioral: How can you demonstrate the aptitudes necessary for the position of interest? This may include a variety of behaviors: problem solving, leadership, team collaboration, team management, schedule management, executive management (expectation setting), getting others not within the bounds of your authority to do tasks, etc.

2. Product knowledge:

How can you demonstrate at least superficial knowledge of the product(s) for which you will be responsible / contribute towards? 4P's: what is the product, how is it positioned in industry, pricing / margins (and trends), how is it promoted? What is its competitive position? Strengths? Weaknesses? Any recommendations for how to improve the product or margins or sales volumes? How can you contribute?

3. Company knowledge:

How can you demonstrate knowledge about the company? What's the company structure? What is the financial trend? What role does your product play in the company's bottom line? Who are its competitors? Where is the company going / what industries and products is of focus?

Demonstrating not just technical knowledge but proficiency and behaviors that will contribute to success may be helpful. Also, prior knowledge of the product and company and how the role fits into the overall scheme of things as well as how you are a great fit for it may help.

Try to frame your CV as not just "I did this" but rather "I did this and which resulted xyz benefit for the company / department / whatever"

Look for people on LinkedIn, YouTube and other social media that give advice. Here is just one of many that offer free help: https://www.advicewitherin.com/

There will be a series of hoops, you will be expected to jump through all of them.

I would say it’s a safe bet that they will use every tool at their disposal including AI. A quick search revealed there are specialists and programs you can use to polish up your online presence.

Good luck.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
hiring is a total shitshow.

I've been told that I'm good at simplifying things & this is the most important part of Rogue's post. It's not new, it's not AI - it's flat out that companies don't know what they need and don't know how to find them.

I just quit a small company & have been applying for many jobs, most of them outside of my 20+ years of experience. The ones I've gotten an almost immediate 'no' from are big companies that I would very likely be a great fit for the role*. I assume that's AI, no HR that I've seen is efficient enough to send a response within 2 days.
*By 'fit' I mean I have HR & headhunters contacting me for the same roles, but outside of where I live and not easily taking no for an answer when I decline relocating.

I've written job descriptions, laughed at them, and then hired people who met very few of the 'requirements'. For every resume I looked at twice, I had to sort out 5+ that had 0 chance. All of those had been prescreened by HR.
I've also written job descriptions for a specific persons skills. That person was filtered out by HR for reasons unknown or their application was mysteriously lost 3x.

My suggestions.
1. Don't delay. Get in as soon as you can. Reviewing resumes is boring & tiring. Eventually, someone will say 'fuck it, the rest of these are going in the trash'.
2. Get help - get noticed/get an inside man/maybe put up a billboard outside their office.
3. Follow up. Once you get contact, don't let it go stale.
4. Don't be 100% focused. Apply elsewhere at the same time. Murphy & vengeful gods frequent job searches. I quit my job & the next day had a phone call with a job I had applied for 4 months before. Didn't work out, but would they have called if there wasn't a disturbance in the force? I think not.
5. Per #4 - you probably need some practice. Getting an interview for a job you really don't want that bad can actually help you a lot. You'll be relaxed and you will get practice.

Obviously some of what I wrote is sarcasm. It's also 100% true, to my experience/belief.
#2 is probably your best bet.

I retired 5 years ago after a 40 year career in IT . My last job was 24 years at a Fortune 200 company. My thoughts:

Keep your resume on point, focus on the job you want. Include pertinent keywords since large companies will use automated screening to categorize resumes. Be honest and be accurate, incorrectly used technical terms will result in elimination.

Do some background research on the company. Read social media but take it with a (very large) grain of salt.

Consider your appearance. The recruiter and the hiring manager have bias so be the gray man. Don't make your appearance a thing. Wearing khaki pants, a blue shirt and a blue blazer is appropriate about 99% of the time. If you are interviewing at the "C level", a suit and tie may be indicated. Trimmed hair and beard are good things. One may not like this appearance consideration but that doesn't make it any less true.

When you do a video interview, quite likely, consider your background. What message does it send. My home office is a mess so I hung a sheet behind my desk, no distractions. Consider the lighting, do trial conferences with a friend.

Read the room. There are typical interview questions, prep for those (yeah, they are old school but..). Typically the interviewee will be speaking 75% of the time but if the interviewer wants to talk, let them. I once interviewed with a CIO and the CTO at the same time. They wanted to tell stories so they spoke more than me. I listened, commented and questioned based on their conversation. I got the job before I left that meeting.

Good luck on your search.

Ask friends or relatives in similar fields you want to go into for help with your resume and LinkedIn. Seriously consider paying a reputable professional for help.

AI can definitely assist, but be very cautious with it.

Number 1, get a well written LinkedIn profile.

It would not hurt to get it professionally written. A professionally written resume can also help depending on your writing skill.

The money for LinkedIn pro is worth it. Premium Career starts at $29.99/month (or $239.88/year, ~$19.99/mo.
It tells you what searches and who saw you.
If you are not showing up in searches, you need to update your profile.

I have been told the first thing a person does if they actually see your resume, is check your LinkedIn.

All of my recruiting requests and job offers from the last 10 years, came directly or indirectly from LinkedIn.

Understand all companies larger than mom and pop use ATS to filter resumes.

You need to make sure your resume is ATS compliant and has the correct buzzwords for the job or it will never be seen by a human.

I have talk to many recruiters, it is not uncommon for them to get hundreds or thousands of resumes from one job postings.

There are free ATS scanners out there to run your resume against the job posting. If you intend to apply for a lot of jobs, signing up for a scanner service with save time and grief in the long run.

A personal anecdote, when I started to look for my first corporate job at 60, I was starting to go gray. I could not get a second interview.
After a few months, I realized I was often the oldest person applying for the job at one interview, I was probably the oldest person in the building at another. I had my hair colored back to it's original color and got two job offers the next few weeks.

I was in tech, so this may not apply to you.

quote:

And despite the time and effort you have to expend on each application, entering the info into their software, tailoring it to that specific job, sometimes crafting a cover letter, etc., you can expect to be ghosted most of the time, without even a no thanks or a go fuck yourself. The majority of your (lengthy and time-consuming) applications will merely be shot into the void, never to hear a peep in return.

I am going to save what Rogue wrote because it is 1000% true and on point.
I have been interviewing for three years and it has been the most frustrating period of my life. Either I have too much experience, or not enough.. I think it is because of my age and experience.

The problem is that there are so many applicants they can pick and choose. Another problem is that half of HR has no clue what they are reading or evaluating.

On Tuesday, I got a call in the late afternoon from Berks County PA Coroners Office. They were inquiring if I am still interested in interviewing for an Investigator position. The Lead Investigator stated that he is new to the office, after just retiring from LE. He said they have 52 applicants from all over the US. This was the same scenario for the Coroners Office near Indianapolis. They have a ton of applicants, some very young and they can pay them cheap wages. Plus AI is taking over for some of the experience that we all gained over the years.

As Konata88 stated: How can you demonstrate the level of technical knowledge and competency for the position.

How can you be an asset or make the position team better, effective, productive?

Then after all that, you still may not get either the interviews or advance to the second rounds.

I interviewed for 3 different Medical Examiner Offices here in NC. I was told that I was not qualified, even though I worked for the ME in Charlotte, and know all the systems. The problem was, I had 3x the experience, education and training than those the personnel who conducted the interviews.

So, be prepared for rejection because of your experience.

Good Luck...