Researching Job Openings

Market Research

Before writing a single word of the resume, it is critical to adopt the mindset of a researcher or military strategist surveying the terrain before battle.

The most common mistake is to write based solely on one's memory of what one has done; the correct approach is to write based on what the market is asking for today.

To do this, one must perform a systematic analysis of real offers, a task that very few candidates perform and that makes a huge competitive difference.

The methodology consists of collecting between 10 and 20 current job offers for the target position, even those that have already expired or closed, as their informative value is still valid.

Let's imagine a Civil Engineer who wants to specialize in large infrastructures.

His task would be to search for recent vacancies from leading construction companies and "dissect" each advertisement. It is not a question of applying yet, but of extracting data.

What requirements are repeated in 80% of the offers, and do they place more value on experience in team management or mastery of specific structural calculation software? This analysis reveals the "truth of the market", which often differs from what they teach at university or from the candidate's personal perception.

Keyword detection

Once the offers have been collected, the next step is textual data mining.

Recruiters and artificial intelligence systems (ATS) do not read intuitively, but scan for exact matches.

It is vital to identify technical terminology, soft skills and tools that appear recurrently.

These are the "keywords" that will act as master keys to open the interview doors.

For example, if a Digital Marketing professional notices that 12 out of 15 offers mention "Google Analytics 4" and "SEO Strategy", but on his resume he only puts "Web Analytics" and "Search Engine Optimization", he is losing opportunities to be detected by the algorithms.

You should replace your generic terms with the specific ones dictated by the industry. In addition, you need to pay attention to the action verbs and adjectives used.

If the offers ask to "lead," "innovate" or "transform," the resume should reflect that proactivity, aligning semantically with the employer's expectations.

Future projection

Market analysis has a strategic utility that goes beyond the immediate search: it serves as a compass for the long-term career.

By studying offers for positions above the current one, we can identify the competency gaps that separate us from the next level.

This allows us to map out a realistic and ambitious career development plan. Let's say a junior software developer aspires to be a Systems Architect in five years.

In analyzing the offerings for that senior position today, he might discover that certification in cloud services (such as AWS or Azure) and experience in Agile project management are required.

Even if you don't have those skills now, knowing that they are a must-have allows you to start training or ask to participate in related projects in your current job.

In this way, the resume not only reflects the past, but begins to intentionally build toward the desired future, anticipating the demands of tomorrow's market.

Summary

Before writing, it is essential to adopt a researcher's mindset and systematically analyze real offers. Collecting and studying 10 to 20 ads allows you to understand what requirements and skills the market currently demands, avoiding relying on memory alone.

The next crucial step is data mining to detect recurring keywords . Identifying and using the technical terminology and skills sought by the algorithms ensures that the resume passes the automatic selection filters .

Finally, this analysis serves as a compass for long-term career planning. Studying the demands of senior positions helps identify competency gaps and allows the candidate to intentionally train to reach their next career level.