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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!

親愛的安妮：我有兩個問題。第一，我今年6月剛從一所頂尖的工程學院畢業，整個夏天我都在找工作，卻一直沒有找到。

我把目標定在了五家公司，這些公司都在招聘初級工程師。我在網上向他們投遞了簡歷並且在他們的網站上註冊了，但沒有一家公司給我回復。我不想惹人煩，但我是否應該打電話或者發郵件詢問他們是否收到了我的簡歷？

第二個問題是，我在簡歷中沒有寫我的GPA，這樣對不對？我的工程課程學得很好，但平均GPA並不高（2.8），主要是因爲我在學校的幾年一直做着三份兼職，因此沒有很多時間學習。但是到底要不要把GPA寫進簡歷，之後再找機會解釋它不高的原因呢？--疑惑的沃基根人

親愛的沃基根人：根據《求職之路》的作者馬克•賴登（Mark Lyden）的看法，你的簡歷可能沒有通過電腦篩選，現在大部分招聘者都會藉助這種篩選從大量簡歷中挑出有限的一部分。《求職之路》旨在幫助新畢業的學生求職，書中給出了大量行內人士的建議—涉及了從如何得到面試機會到怎樣就薪水討價還價等一系列問題。

賴登說：“如果你的簡歷中沒有職位描述中出現的一些關鍵詞和詞組，你的簡歷就可能被過濾掉，也就沒有機會被招聘者看到。”天哪！

“幸運的是，總有方法能夠確保你的簡歷通過電腦篩選，出現在招聘者眼前。”賴登說。他在波音負責校園招聘，對此經驗豐富。在他看來，關鍵是“逆向設計”你的簡歷，包括以下7個步驟：

1.精確定位你想找的職位。求職的第一步就是瀏覽你鎖定的5家公司的網站，找到你想要的職位的職位描述。

2.從職位描述中尋找線索。接着，“標出職位描述中描述技能和知識要求的詞或詞組”，賴登說。

3.爲每一個職位重新編寫簡歷。在簡歷中使用你所標出的關鍵詞和詞組描述你的經驗。要做到精確。假如一份職位描述中寫到“必須有‘有限元分析’方面的經驗”，工程專家通常會將它縮寫爲FEA。如果你的簡歷中寫了“擁有FEA方面的經驗”，就能夠通過篩選。

“負責篩選工作的人也許不知道FEA代表‘有限元分析’。因此，如果你的簡歷中寫的是‘有限元分析’而不是FEA，你就可能通不過篩選了。”賴登說，“這聽起來讓人抓狂，也很不公平，但這種情況一直都在發生。”

修改你遞交的每份簡歷來精確對應職位描述中的關鍵詞。如果你沒有職位描述中要求的某一領域的培訓或工作經驗，把重心放在你有所涉及的領域。

4.在每份簡歷中都添加“感興趣的領域”這一欄。將你所標出的關鍵詞和詞組列在這一欄中，即使你已經在“工作經歷”或“教育經歷”欄中提到過它們了。

這看起來有些重複，但電腦篩選系統按照設定會首先掃描“感興趣的領域”這一欄。因此，這也是一種順利通過第一輪篩選的辦法。

5.在每個網站上重新填寫你的資料。當你登錄招聘方的網站時，確保你的在線資料中也包括那些關鍵詞和詞組—尤其是當招聘公司要求你填寫“感興趣的領域”時。

6.接着—只有在完成以上5步後—投遞簡歷，申請你想要的職位。如果你已經申請了一些職位，請按照上面的5個步驟重新申請。

7.不斷根據招聘公司的要求修改你的簡歷，更新你的網上資料。每次申請都請重複以上步驟。

現在，我來回答你的第二個問題，也就是是否應當把你不太出色的GPA寫入簡歷：“出於某種原因，招聘者將3.0定爲他們可以考慮的最低GPA。”賴登指出，“因此2.8的GPA也許太低了。”

一些大學的就業中心建議學生不要將較低的GPA寫入簡歷，但“這是一大錯誤”，賴登說。

既然你的工程課程學得非常好，他建議你列出主要課程的GPA。列出“主要課程GPA：3.6”（寫出你的實際成績）就夠了。這能夠使你獲得一個立足點，如果在面試中有人問到你的平均GPA，你就有機會向他們解釋你不得不做三份兼職來支付學費—順便說一下，這實際上是一件很了不起的事。祝你好運！