关注社会:网上求职七部曲

7 steps to finding a job online
Dear Annie: I have two questions for you. First, I graduated from a top engineering college in June and have been applying for jobs all summer with no luck.

I've targeted five companies I'd especially like to work for who I know are hiring entry-level engineers. I sent them my resume online and registered on their web sites, but have heard nothing from any of them. I don't want to be a pest, but should I call or e-mail to make sure they have seen my resume?

My second question is, am I right to leave my grade point average (GPA) off my resume? I excelled in my engineering classes, but my overall GPA isn't very good (2.8), mostly because I worked my way through school by doing three part-time jobs, so I didn't have much time to study. But should I put it on my resume anyway and then hope I get a chance to explain why it's not so hot? --Wondering in Waukegan

Dear Wondering: Your resume may be getting tossed aside by the computerized screening systems that most employers use these days to winnow huge numbers of resumes down to a manageable few, says Mark Lyden, who wrote a book aimed at new grads called "Do This! Get Hired!" ($16.00; see ) that's jam-packed with insider tips on getting the job you want -- from how to get an interview to coming out on top in salary negotiations.

"If your resume doesn't contain the exact same keywords and phrases as the job description for a given opening, using precisely the same terms, you are probably going to be invisible to these systems -- and to the people using them," Lyden says. Yikes.

Luckily, there are ways to make sure you show up on employers' radar screens, says Lyden, a veteran college recruiter at Boeing. The key is what he calls "reverse engineering" your resume, and you can do it in seven steps:

1. Pinpoint the jobs you might want. Before you do anything else, go to the websites of the five companies you have targeted and get the job descriptions of specific openings that interest you.

2. Take your cue from the job descriptions. Next, "mark the precise words and phrases that describe the skills and knowledge someone has decided are necessary for each job," Lyden says.

3. Rewrite your resume for each opening. Use the keywords and phrases you highlighted when describing any relevant experience you have. Be precise. Let's say a job description reads "Must have experience with finite element analysis," an engineering specialty often abbreviated as FEA. If your resume says "Experience in FEA," you could be counted out.

"The person doing the screening may not know that FEA stands for 'finite element analysis,' so your resume may never get a second glance," says Lyden. "It sounds crazy and unfair, but it happens all the time."

Tailor each resume you submit to match those exact key phrases from the job description. If you have no training or experience in a given area of the job description, concentrate on the ones where you do have some knowledge.

4. Create a heading on each resume that says "Interest Areas." Take all the keywords and phrases you highlighted from the job description and list them under this heading, even if they've already been mentioned in your resume's "Experience" or "Education" sections.

It seems redundant, but some computer screening systems are set up to scan the "Interest Areas" part first, so again, it's a way to not get tossed aside in the first round of screening.

5. Rewrite your profile on each web site. When you register on employers' websites, make sure your online profile includes those same keywords and phrases -- especially if the company asks for your "interest areas."

6. Then -- and only then -- apply for the jobs that interest you. If you've already applied for specific jobs, follow the five steps above and reapply.

7. Keep customizing your resume, and updating your online profiles. As you apply for more jobs, repeat the process above for each one.

Now, about your second question, regarding your less-than-stellar GPA: "For some reason, employers are stuck on 3.0 as the lowest GPA they will consider," Lyden notes. "So a 2.8 cumulative GPA may be a problem for you."

Some college career centers advise students to leave a low GPA off their resume altogether, but "this is a huge mistake," he says.

Instead, since you mention you did well in your engineering courses, he suggests listing your GPA in the Major. Simply list "Major GPA: 3.6" (or whatever the number is). That should help you get a foot in the door, so that if anyone asks about your overall GPA in an interview, you'll have a shot at explaining that you held down three jobs to pay for school -- quite a feat, by the way. Good luck!

亲爱的安妮：我有两个问题。第一，我今年6月刚从一所顶尖的工程学院毕业，整个夏天我都在找工作，却一直没有找到。

我把目标定在了五家公司，这些公司都在招聘初级工程师。我在网上向他们投递了简历并且在他们的网站上注册了，但没有一家公司给我回复。我不想惹人烦，但我是否应该打电话或者发邮件询问他们是否收到了我的简历？

第二个问题是，我在简历中没有写我的GPA，这样对不对？我的工程课程学得很好，但平均GPA并不高（2.8），主要是因为我在学校的几年一直做着三份兼职，因此没有很多时间学习。但是到底要不要把GPA写进简历，之后再找机会解释它不高的原因呢？--疑惑的沃基根人

亲爱的沃基根人：根据《求职之路》的作者马克•赖登（Mark Lyden）的看法，你的简历可能没有通过电脑筛选，现在大部分招聘者都会借助这种筛选从大量简历中挑出有限的一部分。《求职之路》旨在帮助新毕业的学生求职，书中给出了大量行内人士的建议—涉及了从如何得到面试机会到怎样就薪水讨价还价等一系列问题。

赖登说：“如果你的简历中没有职位描述中出现的一些关键词和词组，你的简历就可能被过滤掉，也就没有机会被招聘者看到。”天哪！

“幸运的是，总有方法能够确保你的简历通过电脑筛选，出现在招聘者眼前。”赖登说。他在波音负责校园招聘，对此经验丰富。在他看来，关键是“逆向设计”你的简历，包括以下7个步骤：

1.精确定位你想找的职位。求职的第一步就是浏览你锁定的5家公司的网站，找到你想要的职位的职位描述。

2.从职位描述中寻找线索。接着，“标出职位描述中描述技能和知识要求的词或词组”，赖登说。

3.为每一个职位重新编写简历。在简历中使用你所标出的关键词和词组描述你的经验。要做到精确。假如一份职位描述中写到“必须有‘有限元分析’方面的经验”，工程专家通常会将它缩写为FEA。如果你的简历中写了“拥有FEA方面的经验”，就能够通过筛选。

“负责筛选工作的人也许不知道FEA代表‘有限元分析’。因此，如果你的简历中写的是‘有限元分析’而不是FEA，你就可能通不过筛选了。”赖登说，“这听起来让人抓狂，也很不公平，但这种情况一直都在发生。”

修改你递交的每份简历来精确对应职位描述中的关键词。如果你没有职位描述中要求的某一领域的培训或工作经验，把重心放在你有所涉及的领域。

4.在每份简历中都添加“感兴趣的领域”这一栏。将你所标出的关键词和词组列在这一栏中，即使你已经在“工作经历”或“教育经历”栏中提到过它们了。

这看起来有些重复，但电脑筛选系统按照设定会首先扫描“感兴趣的领域”这一栏。因此，这也是一种顺利通过第一轮筛选的办法。

5.在每个网站上重新填写你的资料。当你登录招聘方的网站时，确保你的在线资料中也包括那些关键词和词组—尤其是当招聘公司要求你填写“感兴趣的领域”时。

6.接着—只有在完成以上5步后—投递简历，申请你想要的职位。如果你已经申请了一些职位，请按照上面的5个步骤重新申请。

7.不断根据招聘公司的要求修改你的简历，更新你的网上资料。每次申请都请重复以上步骤。

现在，我来回答你的第二个问题，也就是是否应当把你不太出色的GPA写入简历：“出于某种原因，招聘者将3.0定为他们可以考虑的最低GPA。”赖登指出，“因此2.8的GPA也许太低了。”

一些大学的就业中心建议学生不要将较低的GPA写入简历，但“这是一大错误”，赖登说。

既然你的工程课程学得非常好，他建议你列出主要课程的GPA。列出“主要课程GPA：3.6”（写出你的实际成绩）就够了。这能够使你获得一个立足点，如果在面试中有人问到你的平均GPA，你就有机会向他们解释你不得不做三份兼职来支付学费—顺便说一下，这实际上是一件很了不起的事。祝你好运！