Feeling overlooked in your job search?

It is more common than not that job-searching can become a months-long activity, and you start to feel down, withdrawn, and sometimes ignored. You send out application after application, and you know you carry what the role is looking for, yet you hear nothing back. It’s easy to start thinking there’s something wrong with you.

But what if the problem is not you?

A major study from Harvard Business School gave this feeling a name: being a “hidden worker”. The researchers estimated that in the US alone, there are over 27 million people in this situation who are skilled, competent, and want to work, yet hiring processes simply don’t see them.

What does “hidden worker” mean for you in Australia?

The term “hidden worker” doesn’t mean you’re hiding delibrately. This means the recruitment-system is overlooking you. In Australia and New Zealand, Debra O’Brien has seen the pattern repeat over 15 years and it often happens because the resume tells a wrong story.

Maybe your career path has gaps, or maybe you took time off for family. Perhaps your skills are from a different industry. Automated hiring systems are poor at understanding these stories. They search for perfect matches and often end up screening out brilliant, capable people in this process.

Your resume is your chance to be found

The Harvard research reveals this is a huge problem with systematic faults at various levelvs, and how filtering systems are searching for perfection instead of competence, howerver for applicants like yoruself, solution is personal and manageable. Your solution starts with your resume.

Your goal is to prevent your resume from becoming invisible. It needs to reveal your true value in a language that’s understood by both; the bots and the recuiter who has plentiful applicants to filter in and out. This means:

  • Lead with skills, not just job titles
  • Explain career changes or gaps with confidence, focusing on what you learned.
  • Include the exact words from the job ad to describe your own experience.

You can turn your visibility into opportunity

You don’t have to stay invisible. The job market needs your skills and contribution. At ExpertsCentre, we use insights from this global research and apply them directly to the ANZ job market.

Our CV Upgrade Package is designed to solve invisibility problem. With Debra’s deep experience in local recruitment-space, we help you tell your unique story in a powerful way that resonates. We transform your resume from a document can get lost into one that makes you stand out, and more importantly, gets you called for interviews. 

Stop being part of the hidden millions. Start your CV upgrade today and step into the spotlight.

References:

  1. Fuller, J., Raman, M., Sage-Gavin, E., & Hines, K. (2021). Hidden Workers: Untapped Talent. Harvard Business School Project on Managing the Future of Work and Accenture. Executive Summary, P. 2.

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Debra O’Brien

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Debra O'Brien
Debra O'Brien
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