Talent Connect Job Seeker User Guide
Module 1 Getting Started
Introduction
The goal of the Pure Michigan Talent Connect website is to provide a centralized location for Employers and
Job Seekers to connect. You can search for a job without having an account on Pure Michigan Talent Connect.
However, some features such as saving a job search with email alert notifications or allowing employers to see
your profile and view your resume require an active account.
Tip: To perform a search within Talent Connect, enter a keyword in the Search box and click the magnifying
glass. Note this will only search for information on the web site, not for jobs.
Tip: To provide feedback on any page in Talent Connect, click the feedback link on the bottom right of every
page.
Talent Connect Job Seeker User Guide
Create an Account
Important Information
If you have never used Michigan Talent Connect before, you must Create an Account. With an account, you
can save job postings and job searches and set email notification alerts on potential job matches.
Tip: If you are on any other page of Talent Connect, you can also click on the Job Seeker navigation bar
and click Create an Account.
Step by Step Instructions to Create an Account
Click Create an Account, in the upper right corner of the website.
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On the pop-up page, select Job Seeker as the type of account you would like to create.
Step 1
1. Use the inner scroll bar to read and authorize the Privacy and Terms of Use Statement.
2. Click the Consent checkbox.
3. Click Next.
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Step 2
1. Enter your name, address and phone
number.
2. Enter the email address that you will
use to sign into Talent Connect. An
email address is required to allow
Employers a method in which to
contact the Job Seeker and will serve
as a unique identifier in Talent
Connect. An email address will also
allow Job Seekers the ability to reset
passwords.
3. Enter a password and choose
Security Questions.
4. Choose three different questions and
answer as appropriate. Answers are
not case sensitive.
5. Click Next.
Tip: Fields with a ‘red’ * asterisk are required.
Tip: Passwords must be at least 8 characters
long but no longer than 20, with at least one
upper case letter, one lower case letter, and one
number.
Tip: You must choose three different security
questions. If you forget or lose your password,
these questions will be asked and must be
answered appropriately before you are allowed
access to your account.
Tip: If you forget or lose your password, the
security questions on this page will aid in
resetting your password.
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Step 3
1. Enter your current career status and position level or
levels.
2. Click Available part-time if you are interested in part
time employment.
3. Enter the highest education level you have completed.
4. Click to indicate if you are a Recent or Future College
Graduate. If so, you can enter additional information
such as the name of the college, major as well as your
graduation month and year.
5. Click to indicate any professional
Certificates/Licenses/Credentials you would like to
display on your profile.
6. Select the target Career Category.
7. Select a Career Type from your chosen career category
above. (At least one Career Category and Career Type
are required but additional categories/types can be
added (maximum of 10) by clicking on “Add
Category/Type” below this field.)
8. Enter the amount of experience you have for that
career type. (This field is optional but recommended
and will be displayed to Employers.)
9. Under Top Skills, enter all of the skills you would like
prospective employers to know about you. You will be
searched by the skills in these boxes, not your
resume!
Tip: Click Add Category/Type to enter additional selections.
Tip: Each Top Skill box contains the capacity of 150 characters.
Also make sure your skills are spelled correctly and are of correct
grammar as these fields are viewable to Employers. Please note:
A spell check feature is now available.
Tip: You can click on the map to pin it in a larger window.
Tip: Uploading a resume at account creation is optional. You can
also upload an existing resume or build a new resume after you
have created your account.
Tip: If you elect not to allow your information to be viewable by
employers, you can always change this on the Career
Information tab on the My Account page.
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It’s important to enter complete and accurate
information when creating your account and
profile. Employers will be able to search for
information stored in your profile, but NOT your
resume.
If you elect to have your information viewable
by employers, employers can search for you
based on:
• Career Type
• Desired Position Level
• Education Level
• Location Preference
• Top Skills
Be sure to complete all of these fields in order
to improve your chances of having your profile
viewed by prospective employers.
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Talent Connect Job Seeker User Guide
Module 2 My Workspace
Introduction
My Workspace was designed to help organize your job search. You can save up to 30 job postings and up to 5
job searches. You can set the email notification frequency to receive an email alert when a job is posted
matching your job search criteria.
Important Information
My Workspace has three sections. The first section is Saved Jobs and Applied Jobs where job postings are
saved. You can save up to 30 jobs on the Saved Jobs tab. You can keep a record of jobs you have applied for
by clicking on the Applied button. Doing this will allow you to enter the date on which you applied as well as
record notes pertaining to the position (i.e. date of interview). Once you have indicated you have applied for a
job posting, the job will be moved to the Applied Jobs tab. On the Applied Jobs tab, you can maintain a record
of your job applications as well as print the history if needed. Clicking on the pencil icon will allow you to edit
the notes. The green “M” icon indicates if you have applied for the job posting via Talent Connect. See Module
3: Job Search (Job Details) for more information on how to apply.
The second section has three inner tabs: Resumes, Documents (cover letter, writing samples, references, or
any other job search documents) and Public Profile. Your profile was established when you registered for an
account. This section of My Workspace will be discussed in the next few pages.
The last section Saved Searches is where up to five job searches can be stored. You can set the email
notification frequency to Daily, Weekly or None.
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Tip: You can delete searches or change the email notification frequency at any time.
Tip: Resume Viewed tells you the number of times your resume has been viewed by employers and “Appeared in
Search” lets you know the number of times your profile has appeared in an Employers Search for Candidates.
Resumes
Important Information
The last section on the Workspace page is Resumes which is divided into 3 sections: Resumes, Documents,
and Public Profile. On the first tab entitled Resumes you can save up to three resumes. One resume must be
designated as your primary
resume and can be viewed
by potential employers.
Each resume can be
tailored to specific career
types and skillsets so you
can change which resume
you want to be your
primary without deleting or
recreating one.
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Step by Step Instructions to Set Primary Resume
• To set the Primary resume, click the radio button of your resume preference. Click Set Primary.
• To make changes to a resume that you built on Talent Connect, click on the update link. This will open
the first page of the resume builder.
• Make your changes and click Save and Preview on either the second or third page or Complete
Resume on the last page of the resume builder.
• To upload a resume, click Upload a Resume. Browse and select file to upload.
• To build a new resume on Talent Connect, click Build Resume.
(Please see Module 4: Resumes, for more information on this feature.)
Documents
Important Information
The second tab entitled Documents is where you can save up to 30 additional job search documents on Talent
Connect. You can either upload the documents or have Talent Connect help you build them.
Step by Step Instructions to Create a Document
1. To create a document, click “Create New Document.” From the following screen you can create a new
document such as a cover letter, thank you letter, reference list or any document pertaining to your job
search.
2. Once you have completed the document. Click on “Save Document.” Documents can be saved in either
PDF or Word format (select your preferred format at the bottom left hand corner).
Tip: Use this feature to store materials related to your job
search so that you can easily access them when applying
for jobs. Examples of documents include: transcripts,
references, cover letters, work samples, and more.
Employers cannot see these documents but you can use it
as a convenient place to store them.
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Step by Step Instructions to Upload a Document
1. To upload a document, click “Upload Document.” On the Document tab, the acceptable file types are:
PDF, DOC, DOCX, RTF, XLS, XLSX, PPT, PPTX, TIF, JPG, PNG, GIF and BMP.
2. To replace a document listed on this page, click its replace link.
3. Navigate to where your document file is located by clicking “Choose File.”
4. Click Upload A Document.
Public Profile
Important Information
Public Profile contains the information you entered when you registered your account. This information can be
modified at any time.
Tip: If you do not allow your
information to be shown to
employers, your Public
Profile will not be searchable
by employers. To change this
setting, click on the edit
button and select the “Career
Information” tab. This change
can be made at the bottom of
the tab.
Step by Step Instructions to update your Public Profile
1. To change or update your Public Profile, click Edit.
(Please see Module 5: My Account, for more information on this feature.)
Your email address is your User ID for signing in to Pure Michigan Talent Connect.
If you change your email address, you will need to verify this change by clicking on the link that was
sent to your old email address. If you do not have access to your old email account, please contact
talentconnect@michigan.gov.
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Talent Connect Job Seeker User Guide
Module 3 Job Search
Introduction
One of the many benefits of having an account on Talent Connect is that you can save job searches and set
up email notifications to alert you of potential job match. When a search matches your criteria, an email
notification based on the frequency you selected will be sent to you.
Important Information
To begin a new job search, click Search Jobs from the Job Seeker Workspace (A job search can also be
performed from the home page of Talent Connect.) To help narrow your job search, select the options that
describe your job interests. The more criteria you enter, the more limited your search results will be. Entering
fewer criterions will usually return more jobs in your search results. When an employer posts a job, the same
category and career type selections used.
Tip: You can choose to show jobs posted in the past: 1 day, 1 week,
2 weeks or 1 month.
Tip: Searching on Keywords such as Project Manager will search on
both words. If you would like to search on the exact phrase use
quotes as in “Project Manager.”
Tip: When you begin typing a job title, the system will generate a list
of active job titles currently in the system.
Tip: When you select a career category, the career type list is prefilled with selections for that category.
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Talent Connect Job Seeker User Guide
Job Search Results
Important Information
Your search results will display with the job name, the company address and the date it was posted. The
default display setting for the number of jobs on one page is 25. However, you can change this to your
preference. If there are more jobs that can be displayed on the first page, you will see additional page icons to
click on to display that search results page. You can narrow your search using the Refine Search pane. To
view a job posting, click on the job title link.
Tip: You can also sort your results by
Posted Date, Title or City and then click
Update Results.
Tip: If you would like to refine your search
results, enter additional criteria on the
Refine Search sidebar and then click
Apply Changes.
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Job Details
Important Information
The job code number along with a detailed description displays on the Job Details page. Information on the
employer posting the position is on the second tab if the employer has chosen to display this information.
Tip: Be sure to include your contact information. The email address from your account has been defaulted
into the message. The email is sent from webnoreply@michigan.gov.
Click on any of the links in the Job Tools sidebar to:
•
•
•
•
•
Save - Saves this job posting to My Workspace.
Email to me – Sends this job posting to yourself or others.
Report this job to Talent Connect – this feature allows you to report inappropriate postings.
Print – Print the job posting.
Share - You can share a job posting on a variety of social media sites including Facebook, Twitter, and
LinkedIn.
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Step by Step Instructions How to Apply
1. If you are interested in application information, click How to Apply. If the employer has chosen to allow
potential candidates to apply via Talent Connect, the “Apply Now” button will display.
2. Clicking on Apply Now will display a customizable message (screenshot below) that will allow you to
email the employer via Talent Connect. You will also have the option to attach a resume and/or
documents you would like to send to the employer. The default resume will be your primary resume but
this can be changed to another resume saved in Talent Connect if you choose. Click on the
“Documents” tab to select any documents you would like to send to the employer.
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Save Job Searches
Important Information
If you have job searches that you will run on a frequent basis, you can save your search criteria. Another
feature of Talent Connect is to have daily or weekly email notifications on searches sent to your email address.
Step by Step Instructions to Save a Job Search
1. In the Save This Search sidebar, type a name for your search.
2. Select an email notification frequency.
3. Click Save Search.
4. To view saved job search results, click show result under Saved Searches on the Job Seeker
Workspace.
5. To update your email notification frequency, go to the Job Seeker Workspace and select your
preference from the drop down list under Saved Searches and click Save Email Preferences.
Note: Check your email often to ensure you are not missing any job search notifications or inquiries
from employers! Employers may email you to request that you apply for their positions if they see your
profile and think you might be a good fit.
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Module 4 Resume
Introduction
The resume feature on Talent Connect allows you to save up to three resumes. However, you must designate
one to be your primary resume. If an employer elects to view your resume, your primary resume is sent. You
can upload a resume you already created in PDF, Word or RTF format from another location or you can
choose to build a resume with Talent Connect Resume Builder. This four step process has built-in resume
templates to choose from.
Upload a Resume
Important Information
You can upload a resume already created in PDF, Word or RTF format from another location. Resumes are
saved in the same format as created.
Tip: To set the primary resume, click the desired resume radio button and then click Set Primary.
Step by Step Instructions
1. Click Upload a Resume.
2. Click Browse and navigate to the location where your resume is stored.
3. Once the file path is viewable in the Browse box, click Upload a Resume.
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Build a Resume
Important Information
Talent Connect can help you build your resume. The contact information is pre-filled based on the information
provided on your profile. Several types of resume templates are available to choose from.
Step by Step Instructions
1. Click “Build a Resume.”
2. Type a name for your resume.
3. Update your resume contact information, if desired.
4. Click the radio button to select the desired resume
type and Click Next.
Tip: If you change your resume contact information,
your account information is not affected. Likewise, if
you change your account information it is not changed
on your resumes.
Tip: For an example of each resume format, click on
the Sample link.
Tip: Chronological resumes will list your information in
date order.
Functional resumes will group your information by
function.
A Combination resume will give combination of each
of these types or resume formats.
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Build a Resume – Step 2
Important Information
Enter your Employment objective. To see an explanation of the build a Resume process, click on the Question
Mark icon in the upper right hand corner for additional details. In the School section, enter your education and
the years you were in attendance.
Tip: To add additional fields
such as schools or
certificate / license /
credential information, click
the Add links.
Tip: The Certificate /
License / Credential field will
pre-populate based on
information entered on the
Job Seeker profile.
Step by Step Instructions
1. Type an employment objective and
enter your school information and
certificates/licenses and credentials.
2. Click Save & Preview if you would
like to preview your resume as you
are building it or if you need to stop at
this point.
3. To proceed, click Next.
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Module 5: My Account
Introduction
My Account contains your personal profile information such as contact and career information. You can make
changes to your profile by locating the Job Seeker tab at the top of the page and clicking on “My Account.”
Contact Information
Important Information
This tab contains your contact information. Your email address can be changed on this screen; however, this
will become your new user ID the next time you sign into Talent Connect. You will need to confirm this change
by retrieving the email sent to your old email address.
Tip: With the exception of your first name, last name, and email, employers will not be able to view any of your
contact information. However, the contact information provided on your resume will be seen by employers.
Step by Step Instructions
1. Click Edit Profile to unlock the fields.
2. Update as necessary.
3. Click Save.
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Career Information
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Change Password
Important
The last inner tab in My Account is Change Password. You can change your password at any time.You will be
prompted to change your password every 180 days.
Tip: You cannot use a previously used password for the next 3 password changes.
Step by Step Instructions
1. Enter your current password.
2. Enter a new password which must be at least 8 characters long with a maximum of 20. You must use at
least one upper case letter, one loser case letter and one number.
3. Click Save.
Note: If you lock your account, one of the three security questions you answered when you registered
your account will be asked. These must be answered correctly before you will be able to gain access to
your account.
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