Nothing new here: Differentiation is the key to getting a job.
No matter who you are you will have scores, perhaps hundreds, of competitors.
You have to differentiate yourself. As I have written elsewhere, you have to grab the attention of the recipient who is tired of reading boring misleading cover letters and resumes.
It’s relatively simple to do. Focus on actual accomplishments and not on self-praise. Don’t tell a hiring manager how great you are; tell them what you have actually done that speaks to the position for which you are applying.
Great! You’ve done it! How do I know? You’ve gotten the interview. Job Search 101: The purpose of the cover letter is to get the recipient to read the resume. The purpose of the resume is to get an interview. The purpose of the interview is to get the job offer.
Well, you got them to read the cover letter, and then the resume, and then they called and you are preparing for the interview. And you are doing your due diligence. Just like the three or four other candidates being considered (you beat the scores or hundreds of competitors because their cover letters were tomes and their resumes started with self-praise, both of which turned the reader off) you have memorized the company’s website. But you did more. You Googled the company. You found old press releases or interviews given to the press by the company’s leaders. And when your time came in the interview to ask questions, you asked questions about the information that you dug up on the company. Without telling them that you are a great researcher, you showed them! And they were impressed!
But that was not good enough. Because Sally or Joe did the same thing. And asked just as good questions. But you did something more. And this is the key:
What’s the one piece of information you have about the company that the company provided you with and which is key to a successful interview? The names of the people who will be interviewing you. And what did you do with that information? You wrote it down on a piece of paper and entered it into your calendar just like the competition. Big deal!
Some things are obvious. On my radio show, I interviewed Asia Bird who is an expert on LinkedIn. Her key point, what she says is the biggest mistake people on LinkedIn make, is they do not accept any and all invitations. My reaction, at the time, but not on air, was, “Duh!” Well of course you have to accept all invitations. You can’t build a network if you are not accepting invitations. Everyone knows that!
Well, duh! I was wrong. Asia was right. I have actually been to a number of events recently when LinkedIn came up. The question is always, "How many first degree contacts do you have?" If I am standing in a group, I always win since, by the end of the year, I’ll have 28,000. Then they want to know how I did it. More times than not, a few people will say, “Gee. I guess I should be accepting invitations.” Ya, think?
The same thing is true for the biggest mistake people make when preparing for an interview. And it is just as a much a “duh” moment as realizing you have to accept all invitations on LinkedIn. And here it is:
Research the people with whom you will be meeting.
People hire people they like. If two candidates are equally qualified for a position, employers will hire the individual they like the most. The person who gets hired is ALWAYS the candidate the employer thinks they will get along with. It all comes down to making a personal connection with the individual.
I am convinced I once secured an executive recruiting client because I asked the manager with whom I was meeting how she went from being an oboist to working for a non-profit that had nothing to do with music. Her co-workers did not even know that she had a musical past life. When she asked me how I knew I responded, “I am a consummate professional. I do due diligence better than anyone else. I can find out anything about anyone. I have an international network!” Of course, I had a big smile on my face so she knew I was being sarcastic. And then came the punch line, “And it’s on your LinkedIn profile.”
A career counseling client of mine told me he had discovered the owner of the company where he was interviewing had played lacrosse in college. So had my client. He used a lacrosse term in his conversation with the owner – don’t ask me what it was! – and that seemed to close the deal.
Sometimes it’s just as simple as that.
Wrong way yellow road sign image from Shutterstock
Bigstock
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
BigstockMake a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
- How did I learn about this job?
- How did I apply for the job?
- Did I earn an interview?
- What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
BigstockAre you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
Let's start with resumes!
Every resume should be tailored to the position in order for it to stand out to recruiters and hiring managers. It may seem like a lot of work, but it's actually less work than submitting the same resume over and over again and never hearing back.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
BigstockYour job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
- Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
- Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
- Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
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