Career Pathways
January 7, 2018. Revised and re-posted on the David J. Rosen Blog on June 7, 2023
David J. Rosen djrosen@newsomeassociates.com
When an adult learner has identified a career pathway to pursue, it’s not enough to prepare by completing a well-designed occupational training course and/or a higher education certificate or degree program. Here’s why: the way in which employers, especially large corporations, choose candidates has changed in recent rears. Although not a new phenomenon, it has become mainstream. You may have noticed that most jobs now require online applications. A major reason is that they include an applicant tracking system (ATS) a human resources database that sifts large numbers of applications for a job and organizes them into categories, ranking them by keywords (e.g. skills, competencies, titles of positions held, found, degrees, etc.) Typically this takes the software only seconds to sort each application. Accomplished adult learners may have mastered the intended outcomes of an education or training program, but may be rejected as a candidate for a position by the Applicant Tracking System because they haven’t described themselves using words or phrases that the software is looking for.
To be asked to a job interview for the position, applicants need to be taught how to look at a position description and identify the key words that the ATS is likely to recognize. This implies that the applicant has access to a computer or portable digital device and the Internet, and the ability to:
Use an online job board such as Monster or Indeed to find the right jobs to apply for and to upload a carefully prepared resume
Accurately research what a position requires both from the position advertisement and also from O*NET descriptions of what position descriptions that have this title, or similar ones, usually require
Select key words to include in the online application for the position
If possible, review the online application without completing it to understand the questions; take notes on them and record -- exactly as written -- questions not understood that may require further research
Accurately complete the application
Competencies for finding and getting good jobs now include good research and problem solving skills as well as computer and Internet comfort and competence. They include not only the required knowledge and skills for the position but also the digital literacy competence and comfort to get through the ATS digital gauntlet to a job interview in which applicants can demonstrate that they have the required knowledge and skills for the position.
For more information, see: What do Corporate Recruiters Want? https://www.jobscan.co/blog/what-corporate-recruiters-want/#.Wg4rlGyyqeY.facebook and Applicant Tracking System Definition https://www.jobscan.co/applicant-tracking-systems#whatisaresume