Here are some things you can do to improve your chances of getting your resume noticed and to receive a response.
Follow specific instructions as to how to apply to the job that is advertised. Your resume is a self-marketing tool; it is supposed to answer an advertisement. If an ad says "I want to buy a Mustang!", you would not respond by sending a picture of a minivan. But that is in essence what many people do.
The resume needs to be restructured to meet the needs of every employer that receives it. If they are advertising for a "Sales Manager" then that is the positioning statement you put as the Job Title; or in the Subject Line of the email. A hiring manager is more likely to read the resume that says "Sales Manager" than the one that says "seeking employment with a progressive, growth oriented company."
When registering on www.employmentjamaica.com make sure that the Jobseeker Account Registration form is filled out completely. Your profile and resume should be updated regularly (read article - How to Get Noticed by Employers).
Add a professional headshot photograph to your profile, your headshot is an important part of your online personal brand; it gives credibility to your content. A good example of a professional headshot photograph is a passport photograph with a smile
E-JAM appreciates the time you invested in your application and encourages you to apply for posted and advertised positions, for which you qualify. Please read the blog articles mentioned, they will assist you in getting your resumes noticed and receiving responses to your job application.
We thank the many applicants that respond to the jobs advertised on employmentjamaica.com. We sincerely regret that due to the large amount of resumes received, we are currently unable to respond personally to all applicants. Despite that, we can assure you that we do review all resumes received; some applicants are contacted within a short time; others passed on to our clients; or categorized to review for future openings.
In most cases, if you applied for a job and have not been contacted, that means another applicant was selected who was most qualified for the position.
If you are looking for local employment, there is no cost. If you are seeking overseas employment, we cannot tell you the cost until you are pre-screened and selected for one of our job posts. Some Employers cover all costs and therefore it is free, others may pay partial. In some cases you may pay a program fee (i.e. US J1 Visa Program), or a fee to an Immigration Attorney, or Consultant to assist in the preparation of application forms in order to apply for a Work Permit. Any cost involved will usually depend on the job and the laws of the country where you will be working.
Please Note: There are no Program fees charged to applicants for the US H2B Program, or for job placements in Canada; those fees are payable by the employers. Although some instances employers may pay airfare, in most case that will be the applicants’ responsibility.
All information pertaining to any jobs will be posted on our website.
Thank you for contacting E-JAM, Employment Jamaica. In order for us to try and assist you in getting a job, if you have not already done so, we recommend that you register on our website – www.employmentjamaica.com and upload an updated resume. Please be sure to fill out the profile form completely and that your job title reflects the type of job you are applying for.
Although you may not see many jobs listed on the site, Employers pay to search our database for suitable candidates. The website is also the first place we search to find candidates for job orders that are not posted. To keep you abreast of latest jobs, we send out job alerts of new positions as they come.
Thank you for making it E-JAM and we look forward to assisting you! Please contact our Support Centre for any further questions not listed in the FAQ's.
1. Can you do the job? 2. Will you love the job? 3. Can we tolerate working with you?
That’s it. Those three. Think back, every question you’ve ever posed to others or had asked of you in a job interview is a subset of a deeper in-depth follow-up to one of these three key questions. Each question may be asked using different words, but every question, however it is phrased, is just a variation on one of these topics: Strengths, Motivation, and Fit.
Can You Do the Job? – Strengths
Executive Search firm Heidrick & Struggles CEO, Kevin Kelly explained to me that it’s not just about the technical skills, but also about leadership and interpersonal strengths. Technical skills help you climb the ladder. As you get there, managing up, down, and across become more important.
You can’t tell by looking at a piece of paper what some of the strengths and weaknesses really are…We ask for specific examples of not only what’s been successful but what they’ve done that hasn’t gone well or a task they’ve, quite frankly, failed at and how they learned from that experience and what they’d do different in a new scenario.
Not only is it important to look at the technical skill set they have…but also the strengths on what I call the EQ side of the equation in terms of getting along and dealing or interacting with people.
…younger employees do not wish to get paid merely for working hard—just the reverse: they will work hard because they enjoy their environment and the challenges associated with their work…. Executives who embrace this new management style are attracting and retaining better employees.
Can We Tolerate Working With You? – Fit
Continuing on with our conversation, Heidrick’s Kelly went on to explain the importance of cultural fit:
A lot of it is cultural fit and whether they are going to fit well into the organization… The perception is that when (senior leaders) come into the firm, a totally new environment, they know everything. And they could do little things such as send emails in a voicemail culture that tend to negatively snowball over time. Feedback or onboarding is critical. If you don’t get that feedback, you will get turnover later on.
40 percent of senior executives leave organizations or are fired or pushed out within 18 months. It’s not because they’re dumb; it’s because a lot of times culturally they may not fit in with the organization or it’s not clearly articulated to them as they joined.
Preparing for Interviews
If you’re the one doing the interviewing, get clear on what strengths, motivational and fit insights you’re looking for before you go into your interviews.
If you’re the one being interviewed, prepare by thinking through examples that illustrate your strengths, what motivates you about the organization and role you’re interviewing for, and the fit between your own preferences and the organization’s Behaviors, Relationships, Attitudes, Values, and Environment (BRAVE). But remember that interviews are exercises in solution selling. They are not about you.
Think of the interview process as a chance for you to show your ability to solve the organization and interviewer’s problem. That’s why you need to highlight strengths in the areas most important to the interviewers, talk about how you would be motivated by the role’s challenges, and discuss why you would be a BRAVE fit with the organization’s culture.
Executive Onboarding
Once you’ve got the job, be sure to pay attention to executive onboarding, the key to accelerating success and reducing risk in a new job.
There are several components of this including positioning yourself for a leadership role, selling before you buy, mapping and avoiding the most common land mines, uncovering hidden risks in the organization, role, and fit, and choosing the right approach for your transition type.
Career Centre 
