LinkedIn and Microsoft join hands to present a new feature for India

Professionals’ social networking platform LinkedIn today announced partnership with software titan Microsoft to launch a new feature on the latter to assist users with resumes. Named 'Resume Assistant', this too aims to reinvent job search and empower workers in job hunting.

India is among the 15 countries in which the feature will be available to Office 365 subscribers. Other than India, the feature will be available in the following countries too — Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, the UK, and the US.

Need of the hour

A LinkedIn blogpost says that in a recent survey of US professionals, nearly 70 percent stated the most challenging part of writing their resume is not knowing whether they are portraying themselves in the most effective way, and more than 50 percent reported that customising their resume for a specific role was a roadblock to success.

Resume Assistant will provide helpful content and tips from LinkedIn on how to write an outstanding resume. Users can even connect with a professional Resume Writer via LinkedIn's freelance hiring marketplace, ProFinder, directly from within Microsoft Word through Resume Assistant.

A press release from the company states that the tool provides users resources to craft a compelling resume directly within Microsoft Word, and also highlights relevant job opportunities from LinkedIn.

Detailed research

Gathering insights from millions of LinkedIn profiles, the tool shows you how others in similar roles describe their work experience. It also throws light on the top skills which other professionals in those roles have as well as job requirements from real job postings.

Around 15 million job applications are presented on LinkedIn every week. Resume Assistant helps connect with experts who can help them with interview techniques, career coaching, and resume writing.

The blogpost adds: “After selecting a role and desired industry, Resume Assistant can help surface relevant job opportunities for professionals directly within Microsoft Word. Professionals can even let recruiters know that they are open to new opportunities by turning on Open Candidates.” The Open Candidates feature signals to recruiters that you’re open to new opportunities.