It seems like social media is everywhere. You can’t turn on the TV without hearing about the latest celebrity tweet. Businesses are rushing to Twitter and Facebook - even if they’re not quite sure what they stand to gain. To some, social media is refreshing and authentic. To others, it’s vapid and tasteless. But one thing is for sure: the commercial world has embraced it with astonishing speed. That includes your next employer.
Social media has the ability to shape, generate, and channel “buzz” like nothing else. It helps people decide which products, services, ideas, and colleagues are worth their limited attention. The question: How can your resume benefit from the lessons about positive press businesses have learned through social media? The answer: your resume needs the “social advantage” built on genuine testimonials.
All tweets and Facebook updates are tiny little testimonials. Facebook has led the way in making this clear, with the ubiquitous “Like” button and featured stories. All these tools are compelling because we are more likely to believe opinions from people we know - or at least, people we identify as “like us” - than strangers or pitch-men. When we identify someone as having an angle, that person loses credibility by the bucket.
Employers know your resume has an angle: to get a job. So, how can your leverage social authority in a way that speaks to their needs... without making them feel as if it is part of a sales pitch? The key is sourcing and selecting the right kind of quotes about your past work and distributing them through your resume.
Giving Your Resume The Social Advantage
LinkedIn makes it easier than ever to collect kudos about your past job performance without the awkwardness. Through LinkedIn, it’s easy to request and trade endorsements. Supervisors, peers, and clients can get involved. But you should always collect endorsements strategically, with your end goals in mind.
When your resume reaches the hiring decision-maker, that person will often forward it to peers in other departments who are impacted by the decision. That means there is already a “social network” evaluating your resume. If you’ve been in your industry for a while, you can figure out some connections: for example, a sales engineer is closely connected to IT and sales.
When you know the cross-functional connections that influence the hiring decision, you can collect endorsements that appeal to each “link” in this social network. If you suspect your resume will be evaluated by operations, marketing, and finance pros, you can focus on collecting endorsements from colleagues in these areas. Then, it becomes a matter of displaying endorsements on your resume in an engaging way.
Although a chronological resume is often best, you can modify the chronology of your resume so your contributions to multiple departments are obvious. I call this a “Social Advantage Resume.” Done well, with the research and crafting it needs, it calls out to decision-makers from multiple departments and shows what you offer them. That means plenty of readers with clout will “vote up” your resume.
Using Social Power Shows Innovation
One of the most common problems with resumes is even when your achievements are outstanding, your document may look and read like hundreds of others. A socially-based resume shows you are focused on the needs of the company you are applying to - that you want to work there, not just anywhere. This projects confidence!
A social resume leaves a tremendous impression, but it has many moving parts: from the networking to the employer research to the visual design and strategic use of quotations. A socially focused resume is best if you know exactly what company you wish to work for and what role you want; this way, you can determine just who your readers will be.
Another opportunity this kind of resume creates comes from the fact it looks and reads differently from a traditional document. Open positions may attract hundreds of resumes, and the majority look like the old “Microsoft Word resume template” documents bosses have read countless times. By emphasizing the social aspect of your career, you easily stand out from a huge crowd.
Is A Social Resume Right For You?
A social resume may not be your best bet if you are testing the waters in a field and do not have a specific goal in mind. Likewise, it’s not a practical tactic when your job search has to start right away. But if you are focused on a specific role at a specific company, finding and displaying the right quotations can make all the difference. Through the opinions of others, decision-makers are invited to feel as if they already know you; and that’s precisely the feeling that will make them eager to talk to you in person.
Photo Credit: Shutterstock
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
Bigstock
Make 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
Bigstock
Are 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.
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
Bigstock
Your 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!
Need more help with your job search?
Become a member to learn how to land a job and UNLEASH your true potential to get what you want from work!
This article was originally published at an earlier date.
Bigstock
Bigstock
Bigstock
