Setting up your NECTA Profile for Success

When creating a profile on the NECTA platform, it is important to remember that your goal is to attract the attention of potential employers. To do this, you need to create a profile that is both complete and accurate. Here are some tips to help you create an effective job candidate profile:

1. Choose a Profile Picture that is professional and flattering.

During initial matching, your profile picture is not shown. This is to avoid any unconscious bias. However, once you are matched with a hiring manager, your profile picture is one of the first things that potential employers will see when they view your profile, so it’s important to make a good impression. Here are some tips for choosing a flattering profile picture:

• First, consider the purpose of your picture. If you’re looking for a job in a conservative field, such as banking or law, you’ll want to choose a professional-looking headshot. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a job in a creative field, you may want to choose a more relaxed picture that shows your personality.
• Next, think about the background of your picture. A busy background can be distracting, so it’s best to choose a simple background that won’t take away from your face. A solid colour or a bland landscape are both good options.
• Finally, pay attention to your lighting. Natural light is always best, so try to take your picture near a window. If you’re using artificial light, make sure it’s not too bright or too dim. The goal is to avoid any harsh shadows on your face.

By following these tips, you can choose a profile picture that will make the best possible impression on potential employers.

2. Write a Clear and Concise Summary of your skills and Experience

First impressions are important, especially when it comes to making a good impression online. Your “About Me” section is one of the first places potential employers will look when they visit your profile, so it’s important to make sure that it’s clear, concise, and representative of your skills and experience. Here are a few tips for writing an effective “About Me” summary. Remember the first 5 lines are the summary that hiring managers see when they are deciding to swipe right or left: 

• Keep it brief: A good rule of thumb is to keep your summary to around four or five sentences, taking no longer then a minute to read. 
• Highlight your strengths: Use your “About Me” summary as an opportunity to showcase your most impressive skills and experience.
• Be specific: Generic statements like “I’m a great team player” don’t tell the reader anything about you. Instead, try to include specific examples of times when you’ve excelled in a team setting. 
• Use keywords: If you’re targeting a specific industry or job, be sure to include relevant keywords throughout your summary. 
• Proofread: Always proofread your work before publishing to ensure that there are no typos or errors.

By following these tips, you can create an “About Me” summary that makes a strong impression and gives recruiters a clear overview of who you are and what you can do.

3. Be sure to list all relevant education and training.

Adding your education, training, awards, and skills to your profile is simple and straightforward. Simply click on the “Add Education & Qualification” section on your profile and fill in the relevant information and associated skills. In addition to listing your current education and qualifications, you can also add any previous accomplishments, as well as any awards or skills you may have. This information will then be displayed on your profile, making it easy for potential employers or clients to see what you have to offer. By taking the time to add this information to your profile, you can make yourself stand out from the competition and increase your chances of success.

Our AI system uses education and qualifications not only for cultural fit but for related experience and credibility.

4. Don’t forget to add your work history and relevant experience.

Your work history is an important part of your profile, as it gives potential employers a sense of your skills and experience and what you can offer to them if they offer you a contract. To add your work history initially, simply navigate to your Experience section or upload your CV to your profile Settings. Our

Automated Parsing technology will automatically extract data from your resume or CV and update your Work Experience on your NECTA Profile, this is especially useful if you have a lot of previous experience and want to save time. Manually adding Job Experiences are just as simple through NECTA with areas for a brief summary and your responsibilities. Lastly, our AI system will assign skills per experience you listed and then give you overall experience level skills. It is always good to double-check check all your keywords are listed under responsibilities.

5. Choose your preferences!

One of the key benefits of  NECTA is the ability to choose who contacts you and for what. Under Profile > My Settings you can adjust your contact information and your preferences.

We have a minimum hourly rate and preferred hourly rate to keep a pay band that suits you. Not everyone wants to work from home or full-time in an office, so under the policy, adjust what you want and if applicable, choose the traveling radius from your home that you are willing to travel.

Notice periods are fundamental to decreasing the time between engagements. We recommend always keeping this up to date with an accurate date your current opportunity ends or once you are ready, the notice period you wish to give.

Lastly, we do have hiring managers searching for Permanent or Fixed Term talent. As such we have added additional options for you to choose if this is of interest to you.

Remember, NECTA and Hiring managers WILL NOT contact you if your preferences are not in line with the opportunity.

6. Testimonials & Work Rights

Accurate and time savings mean a lot to hire managers. Therefore, we ensure that we have testimonials and proof of work rights ready to go.

Testimonials can be added at any time. It is best to link them to the engagements you have completed earlier as they will have a larger attribution to the AI. When you are ready, hit the “Request Testimonial” button. This will send an email to your contact and when they respond, it will show you how many testimonials you have. There is no limit to the number of testimonials you can have.

As for the rights to work status. You can place the type of Visa you have, remember, some hiring managers can only hire Citizens and for others, this doesn’t matter.

MOJ Checks can be completed HERE. They are free and save a lot of hassle in the long run. We recommend every six months, getting a fresh MOJ check completed and upload. We do not have access to this information as it is encrypted. Only when you accept an offer of contract is a copy available to the hiring manager for due diligence.

An identification check is similar to an MOJ check, it is stored but not accessed by anyone other than an approved hiring manager.

Both of these documents are always required when entering a contract or permanent opportunity. If they are uploaded in advance, they allow the Hiring manager to onboard you quicker and reduces downtime!

7. Update your Profile regularly to keep it current and relevant.

Once you’ve created your profile, it’s important to keep it up-to-date with your latest skills, experience, and education. This will ensure that your profile is always accurate and relevant and that potential employers or clients can see the most recent information about you. In addition, updating your profile regularly will also help you to stay on top of your job search and increase your chances of success.

To update your profile, simply click on the “Edit Profile” button on your NECTA Profile. Here, you can make changes to your “About Me” section, add new experiences or qualifications, update your work history, and much more with a few simple steps.