• The official blog of Abacus Group — a place to share our knowledge and thoughts on trends in recruiting •

Like any role, hard skills must be complemented by soft skills in order to not only land the job but to excel in the role. Below are five important hard skills that are currently sought after in administrative professionals.

Resume writing services are absolutely everywhere—but will someone else’s version of this essential professional document improve your prospects of getting hired? Abacus Group’s recruiters, who review hundreds of applications daily and know what hiring managers seek from candidates, have a few critiques of “store-bought” resumes.

Regardless of your place in the job search process, recruiters will only reach out to you if your professional background appeals to their clients’ needs. Clients compensate recruiters to identify top-tier professionals that meet high-level qualifications. Accounting & Finance Recruiter Gary Glassman offers five possible reasons why you’re inadvertently discouraging recruiters from initiating contact with you.

On average, recruiters and hiring managers scan a resume for just six seconds before determining the candidate’s qualification. To help hiring professionals make the most of this miniature interval and screen resumes with greater efficiency, we’ve identified six of the biggest resume warning signs.

With summer’s unofficial end, Labor Day, just around the corner, many professionals have their sights set on securing new employment in the fall.  Conveniently, many employers reactivate hiring in early fall because they want to take advantage of their firm’s remaining recruitment budgets before the year’s expiration. If you aim to land a job in the fall—before the holiday season—it’s undoubtedly the best time to get started.

Many professionals are determined to secure a change in employment in the New Year. That’s a very smart plan. But commencing a job search is daunting and, with the holidays approaching, most individuals will find it difficult to make time for a full-fledged hunt. To help you begin, we’ve compiled 16 small, painless action items.

Many job seekers wonder, “Do I really need to submit a cover letter with my resume? You might be surprised to learn that the answer is generally yes. The question is often the subject of much debate in the hiring and job search process, but the fact is that an effective cover letter remains a necessity if you actually want the job.

When your resume looks outdated, you appear out of touch. You present yourself as unwilling to adapt to new challenges, or as unprepared to succeed in a fast-paced, competitive environment. This isn’t about age or years of experience; this is about maximizing a brief opportunity to make an outstanding first impression. Unfamiliarity with current practices is an easy disqualifier to employers looking for anything to eliminate your candidacy.

Forecasts for how companies will hire this year are, well, higher. 60 percent of employers plan to increase their hiring in 2015, reports Dice. An increase in hiring is generally a good sign; but, like any business decision, the act of bringing new employees on board must be approached with caution.

To find the right opportunity in a competitive and unpredictable market, job seekers need to take initiative and place themselves in control. Strategic networking, assertive interviewing and targeted self-presentation to employers are all ways in which job seekers maintain control of their careers to reduce reliance on luck. On the other hand, a surefire loss of control in your job search occurs through the careless distribution of your resume.