Resume Assistant in Word, Powered by LinkedIn

Microsoft 365 in 365 blog series

8/365

What It Is:

There were a few people scratching their heads when Microsoft acquired LinkedIn, spending $26 billion on the purchase, but not me — I was excited about the expansion possibilities to the Microsoft Graph, the Dynamics platform, and even to typically internal-facing collaboration platforms like SharePoint and Outlook. Not that the acquisition didn’t come with concerns: soon after the deal was done, there was an ugly rumor floating around that Microsoft was going to bloat the platform (very valid concern) and make Word the primary user interface for profile updates. Yikes. Pretty sure that was pure FUD, but in case anyone from Microsoft is listening, PLEASE do not make Word the default UX for LinkedIn!

Unfounded rumors aside, the potential is massive for personal and enterprise productivity enhancements between the leading business networking platform and the leading productivity suite, Microsoft Office. One of the first fruits of this alignment is the Resume Assistant, which allows you to create better, more compelling resumes using machine-learning. According to an Engadget article, “Microsoft claims that more than 80 percent of resumes are updated in Word, which could make this new assistant super useful to a ton of people, many of whom change roles and jobs much faster than in the past.”

Whether good or bad, most job seekers have experienced the problem of having the right experience for an open role, but not getting through the keyword-driven firewall of most recruiters, many of whom are not in any way experts in the areas for which they are hiring, and may not be able to decipher your poorly-crafted CV and recognize your inherit value and greatness. Now you can leverage the power of your network, combined with artificial intelligence capabilities, to create a more readable, and therefore successful resume.

High-level Description:

From Blog.LinkedIn.com:

Today we’re bringing the power of LinkedIn into Microsoft Word with the launch of Resume Assistant. With this integration, you’ll get the inspiration and resources to craft a compelling resume directly within Microsoft Word, and you’ll see relevant job opportunities on LinkedIn that are personalized for you. [Read More]

From Blogs.Office.com:

A new feature in Microsoft Word to help Office 365 subscribers craft compelling resumes with personalized insights powered by LinkedIn. With over 80 percent of resumes updated in Word, Resume Assistant helps job seekers showcase accomplishments, be more easily discovered by recruiters, and find their ideal job. [Read More]

Recent News/Media:

“LinkedIn and Microsoft team up for a resume building assistant in Word”

LinkedIn, the social network for professionals that was acquired by Microsoft for $26.2 billion, is today rolling out the latest product in its deepening relationship with its owner. The two are unveiling Resume Assistant, a resume builder in Microsoft Word that will be powered by data from LinkedIn — letting you import information about yourself and the companies that you have worked for into your Word document, tapping into some algorithms and artificial intelligence to help suggest wording and other items to help fill out your experience. [Read More]

“How to Land a Dream Job with Microsoft Resume Assistant”

In the slideshow, PCMag breaks down the many ways Resume Assistant will try to turn your standard resume into an eye-catcher for human resources managers and recruiters, and help you land your next dream job. Resume Assistant is rolling out today to Microsoft Office 365 Insiders. General availability will be rolled out “in the coming months,” according to a Microsoft statement. [Read More]

“Opening a resume on Microsoft Word will now give you LinkedIn job hints”

LinkedIn and Microsoft are teaming up on a Resume Assistant tool inside Microsoft Word that promises to help you tailor a resume to your chosen career path, or more specifically, to one of the 11 million jobs posted on LinkedIn.

Microsoft bought the career and business-oriented social network in June 2016 for $26 billion, a play for LinkedIn’s professional users and their data. It’s slowly begun to knit its productivity-focused software offerings with the job networking site.

Resume Assistant will initially be made available at no extra charge to members of the Microsoft Office 365 Insider program starting Thursday, before it rolls out more broadly to all Microsoft Office 365 subscribers. [Read More]

Support Articles:

“Write your best resume in Word with help from LinkedIn in Resume Assistant”

Your resume is your opportunity to shine a spotlight on your skills and expertise, so that hiring managers will recognize you as the person they’re looking for. Still, writing your resume presents a challenge: how to showcase your accomplishments in just a few words? Resume Assistant in Word helps get your creative juices flowing by showing you examples of how real people — professionals in the fields you’re interested in — describe their work experience and skills. [Read More]

“Using Resume Assistant in Microsoft Word”

Your resume is your opportunity to shine a spotlight on your skills and expertise, so that hiring managers will recognize you as the person they’re looking for. Still, writing your resume presents a challenge: how to showcase your accomplishments in just a few words? Resume Assistant in Word helps get your creative juices flowing by showing you examples of how real people — professionals in the fields you’re interested in — describe their work experience and skills. [Read More]

Relevant Videos:

Insider look at Resume Assistant that brings the power of LinkedIn to Microsoft Word [Office Videos on YouTube]

https://youtu.be/0wQ6K0o7IiM

 

Bringing AI to job seekers with Resume Assistant in Word, powered by LinkedIn [Office Videos on YouTube]

 

Step-by-step demo of LinkedIn Word Resume Assistant, plus new LinkedIn integration in Office 365 [Microsoft Mechanics on YouTube]

Microsoft Tech Community Discussions:

“Bringing AI to job seekers with Resume Assistant in Word, powered by LinkedIn”

Today, at LinkedIn’s headquarters in San Francisco, we announced Resume Assistant, a new feature in Microsoft Word to help Office 365 subscribers craft compelling resumes with personalized insights powered by LinkedIn. With over 80 percent of resumes updated in Word, Resume Assistant helps job seekers showcase accomplishments, be more easily discovered by recruiters, and find their ideal job. [Read More]

Christian Buckley

Christian is a Microsoft Regional Director and M365 Apps & Services MVP, and an award-winning product marketer and technology evangelist, based in Silicon Slopes (Lehi), Utah. He is the Director of North American Partner Management for leading ISV Rencore (https://rencore.com/), leads content strategy for TekkiGurus, and is an advisor for both revealit.TV and WellnessWits. He hosts the monthly #CollabTalk TweetJam, the weekly #CollabTalk Podcast, and the Microsoft 365 Ask-Me-Anything (#M365AMA) series.