Tips and Tricks To Help Your Poached Profile Stand Out During a Competitive Hiring Season
The job market is getting competitive out there! There’s an uptick in people looking for hospitality work—so whether you’re trying to book gigs through Poached Shifts or submit applications for full-time jobs, you want your Poached Profile to be ON POINT.
As a site dedicated to finding employment within the hospitality industry, we have some insights on what employers are looking for and how you can update your Poached Profile to put your best foot forward when looking for work.
What Is a Poached Profile?
Whether on the app or the web, anyone registered as a Job Seeker (someone looking for work) on Poached can create a Profile. This works as an alternative to a formatted and uploaded resume.
You can manually create your profile by adding a profile image, work history, certifications, and any education information. Or, you can just upload a resume, and we automatically populate the Poached Profile with details from that resume.
Why Use a Poached Profile vs. My Resume?
If you’re applying for full-time jobs and have a nicely formatted resume that you’re particularly proud of, then, by all means, use your resume when applying!
But remember, if you want to pick up gigs with Poached Shifts, you’ll need to build out your Poached Profile. As mentioned, you can easily upload your resume to transfer your information to the profile.
Regardless, using the Poached Profile comes with a few perks. For starters, it’s much more convenient to update.
When things change, like you have a new job or certificate, or you just want to tailor your resume to each job or shift you’re applying for—you can quickly edit that information from your Poached account.
When using a resume, you need to find the previous document to make your edits (and hope adding new information doesn’t mess up your formatting), then upload it to your Poached account. It might not sound like a lot, but it can add extra time to your job search.
Additionally, sometimes formatting gets in the way of important things like your skills and experience. Too many bells and whistles are distracting, and when you’re applying for a hospitality job, it’s not necessary.
When applying with the Poached Profile, we display a simply formatted resume so your skills and qualifications can shine.
Tips To Make Your Poached Profile Stand Out
1. Upload a photo.
If you’re looking to pick up gigs with Poached Shifts, a photo is required since this is how employers will know who you are on the day of the shift.
The best profile photos are clear headshots that focus on your face without distractions like sunglasses, hats, cute pets, or cute friends.
To really make your profile stand out, be sure to dress professionally. Even though it’s a headshot — how you dress does influence how you feel and will aid in exuding professionalism in the photo.
We don’t display your photo when using your Poached Profile to apply to permanent hire jobs on the site—it’s unnecessary.
2. Fill in the About Me section.
Don’t overlook the about me section—it’s a great way to share a few sentences about your experience, aspirations, and goals.
If you don’t have recent hospitality experience, you can use this section to build context around why you want to work in the hospitality industry and how your previous experience set you up with some transferable skills.
Given the amount of no-call, no-show interviews employers experience, they’re always looking for clues that someone is responsible and serious about their application. Filling in the About Me section shows you’re taking that extra step to put some thought and context behind your resume and application.
3. Include relevant work history.
Your work history is essential to your profile, so it should be thought out and strategic.
In a perfect world, you have three recent work experiences related to the job you’re applying for—but we don’t live in an ideal world, and sometimes you have gaps in your history or unrelated experience.
If you haven’t worked in hospitality for a while and want to jump back in, include your most recent hospitality experience (even if it was years ago).
Use the About Me section to create context. Describe why you want to get back in the game and how your previous and recent experience (in another field) will help you in the role you’re applying for.
Keep in mind, if you’re hoping to pick up shifts with Poached Shifts—some direct hospitality experience is required.
If you’ve never worked in hospitality—don’t fret. There are plenty of employers willing to train new blood in the industry through full-time or part-time employment. Just be sure that your work history focuses on how skills you learned in another job will help you in the role you’re applying for.
No matter your job experience, a good way to ensure you stay relevant to the job you’re applying for is to read the job description carefully. Jot down a few keywords mentioned in the job post (multi-tasking, communication skills, reliability, etc.), then note how you developed those skills in each work history listed.
4. Constantly re-evaluate!
As someone who writes a lot, there is nothing like a pair of fresh eyes to spot awkward language or missing details.
Re-evaluating your resume will help you improve significantly, so do it often! One thing about the job hunt is that experience only makes you better.
Every time you apply for a job or shift, revisit your Poached Profile and see if there is a better way to describe something or an important skill you should have mentioned. It’s quick and easy to update.
Now that you know what a Poached Profile is, how it works, why it’s superior to a standard resume ;), and how to make your profile stand you—you are ready to get that job or shift!
If you haven’t yet, download our Poached app to conveniently review and update your profile and stay ahead of the competition.
