YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The right appearance on social media and the right keywords can help job seekers now and into the future, and employers can do more to attract the right talent.
Caress Witherspoon, president of the Western Reserve Chapter of SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management, emphasizes the importance for job seekers to have a “crisp appearance” on social media sites like LinkedIn.
“Employers are going online now, searching for employees when they’re applying,” says Witherspoon. “They’re searching your name and seeing what comes up… They’re looking at a lot more than just what’s being read on that résumé. So, I think it’s important to make sure you have a good digital presence.”
But that is only if you get that far. Many companies are using AI and algorithms to scan résumés first.
Witherspoon notes with AI and job recruiters scanning for keywords in the job posting, changing your résumé to show your skills match can make the difference between being rejected or moving on for additional consideration.
“Sometimes I have students tell me, ‘As soon as I applied, I received an automated email saying, thanks but no thanks.’ If they’re using applicant tracking system, it is that quick at times,” says Christina O’Connell, executive director of the Williamson College of Business Administration Center for Career Management at Youngstown State University.
When her office helps students strategize for their job search, she encourages them to print out the job postings and highlight repeating keywords.
Scanning your own résumé with AI tools also can help you optimize it and prepare you for interviews, according to Witherspoon.
Networking
O’Connell encourages college students to use LinkedIn in their job searches another way.
“Utilize LinkedIn to look to see who’s working at a company they just applied to and reach out to those individuals,” she says. “LinkedIn is also great to see if there are YSU alumni there… We’re big enough that we have alumni all over the place and they’re always willing to help YSU students.”
Whether the person is alumni or not, finding someone to personally connect with in a digital world can be important for your job search.
O’Connell says asking questions about how they got their position, what their job entails and any advice for how to become successful – even if there is not an opening at the company – can lead to creating a network and future opportunities.
“You have to network. You have to make sure the person [knows] you and what you can do, not just who you are, but what you can do for the company,” O’Connell says.
Witherspoon says joining or attending the events of professional or alumni associations is a great way to network. At Western Reserve SHRM meetings, HR professionals from all over the area gather monthly, sometimes to network and sometimes for educational purposes. Many professions have professional organizations, which can open the doors to people getting to know who you are and what your career interests are, especially if you are considering moving into another field.
“I think especially now, because of how so many things are automated and you get lost in the shuffle of a million résumés coming in, it’s making yourself seen, making yourself visible and getting yourself out there.”
Another way to set yourself apart from your peers, O’Connell says, is to develop and list career readiness competencies on your résumé, like those listed by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). The ability to communicate, think critically, understand teamwork and leadership, as well as understanding professionalism and technology, are all included on NACE’s list.
Even if your part-time or current job is outside your field, O’Connell says realizing that skills can transfer is important. For instance, she notes a server in a restaurant develops valuable skills in conflict resolution, critical thinking, teamwork, leadership and communication.
Witherspoon says it’s also important for job seekers to add certifications required for desired positions on their LinkedIn pages, and to include a professional photograph.
Additionally, internships or other relevant experience can set the successful job seeker apart from others if the résumés are similar. Having that experience also shows you have worked in the field and want to pursue it further.
“One internship is good. Two internships are great,” says O’Connell. “But at least get one internship on your résumé so you can continue expanding and exploring the area that you are interested in and working on your skills.”
And submitting 20 résumés will not lead to a job unless you’re a proactive and follow up, notes O’Connell.
Industrial Athletes
On the employer end, Mark Lamoncha, owner and president of Humtown Products in Columbiana and Boardman, and a board member of the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, believes manufacturers can help develop their future workforce.
Humtown Products recently won a 2025 Manufacturing Leadership Award in collaborative ecosystems for an initiative called, “Where Education and Manufacturing Unite to Empower Nex-Gen Industrial Athletes.” Lamoncha, who consides himself the head coach of his business rather than a CEO, has credited changing how Humtown views and trains employees as industrial athletes rather than just a work force, with saving the company after it struggled during the 2008-2009 recession. He’s co-authored a book, “The Industrial Athlete,” documenting how Humtown transformed culture and developed a team-oriented approach to business and success.
Lamoncha got into manufacturing because his father was a pattern maker and owned a pattern shop in Columbiana. A young Lamoncha learned about manufacturing while cleaning up around the shop.
“But if your parent doesn’t own a business, how are we in the future going to create early awareness and early exposure?” Lamoncha asks rhetorically.
He believes from kindergarten through 12th grade, students need to have an hour each day dedicated to exposing them to careers in a safe manner.
“So, when I realized I was over privileged, I realized that our factories of the future need to become classrooms for our students at an earlier age,” Lamoncha says.
Humtown partners with local schools to teach students hands-on about additive manufacturing and sand core and mold production.
Those students then lead their peers on tours, demonstrating the process along the way.
“They’re brilliant beyond their years and it creates a learning experience,” says Lamoncha.
Brenda Covert, who has a marketing and support role at Humtown, said when she watches student-led tours through the factory, she is amazed at how much they absorb when their peers talk to them on their own level. She also adds most students do not have an idea of what modern manufacturing entails.
“I think when they come to places like this and they see that manufacturing isn’t what they perceived it to be, it’s very enlightening to them,” Covert says.
In addition to piquing the interest of students, a group of Crestview teachers recently came through to learn about what they can take back to their students. Lamoncha says business is the customer of education and that connection is key.
“If everyone in the Lake to River region would actually open up their factory and turn it into, the opportunity for doing the student led tours, what will happen in time is you develop this relational pipeline,” Lamoncha says.
Lamoncha notes a lot of students do not know what happens behind the factory doors in their hometown. By developing their excitement about opportunities in the area, he believes fewer will leave the community.
He also is a proponent of digital classrooms and immersive technology, which give students a chance to learn about industries and interact with specialists in other places.
Earlier career awareness can lead to more students having a better idea of what they want to do with their lives and lead to less turnover at companies. Lamoncha says the turnover rate in the U.S. is 47%. At one point, Humtown was around 70%, but now it’s single digits.
He says career alignment helps students know what job positions they are interested in and suited for based on the thinking style, interest and aptitude needed to complete the tasks. He contrasted the interests of a fighter pilot versus those of someone who flies a military transport aircraft.
“The fighter pilot just loves to live on the edge and they love that speed,” Lamoncha says. “And if they were going slow, like a C-130, they really wouldn’t be satisfied. And on the other hand, that C-130 pilot is steady as she goes and it would be difficult for them to adjust to be a fighter pilot.”
Pictured at top: Mark Lamoncha of Humtown Products.