This time of year offers special opportunities for job seekers. Holiday networking events, for example, can be great chances to meet professionals you might not encounter otherwise. Additionally, some employers are still eager to fill positions before budgets reset or headcount is finalized in the new year, making it a prime time to stand out with a strategic approach.
Here are five ways you can stand out from the competition this holiday season and find a job before the end of the year.
1. Showcase The Right Skills On Your Resume
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When updating your resume, focus on aligning your experience with the specific demands of the industry. Go beyond just listing responsibilities; dig into job descriptions to identify the core skills that consistently appear for your target roles. By tailoring your resume with these keywords, you not only capture the attention of hiring managers but also boost your chances of passing applicant tracking systems (ATS), which are often programmed to scan for these key terms. It's all about keywords!
During the holiday season, hiring managers are often managing tight timelines and high demands, making it crucial for candidates to demonstrate that they’re ready to hit the ground running. Highlighting industry-relevant skills shows you're not only familiar with the landscape but also equipped to make an immediate impact. Be sure to include examples of how you've leveraged these core strengths in previous roles to support team goals or tackle challenges (aka quantify your work experience). The holidays are hectic, so share with the potential employer how you'll be a positive addition to the team by leveraging your strengths and emphasizing your value as a business-of-one.
2. Dress The Part
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Don't underestimate the power of a great first impression. Dress for the interview in professional attire. Even if the job description mentions a casual dress code, such as jeans and a sweatshirt, it’s essential to show respect for the employer by dressing in a way that demonstrates your commitment to making a positive impression. Wearing attire that reflects your professionalism shows you care about how you're perceived and the impression you leave on others.
Not sure what to wear? We recommend dressing conservatively in clothing one level above what the current employees at the company are wearing. You want to look professional, but not like you don't fit in with the workplace culture.
3. Show Your Connection To The Company
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Employers like to hire candidates who have a passion for what they do. Why? Because when people are passionate about their work, that enthusiasm often translates into a higher level of commitment, creativity, and productivity. This intrinsic motivation can lead to consistently strong performance and a positive impact on the team and company as a whole.
In your disruptive cover letter (and during your job interview), demonstrate how and why you admire the company. Highlight what you love most about their products and services. Give examples of how you have personally used them in your own life with success. The more you can show them you understand and respect the business, the more likely you'll impress the hiring manager and move forward in the interview process.
4. Demonstrate Your Value
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It's important to remember that you're a business-of-one, and you're trying to sell the service you provide as a business-of-one to employers (the customers who will be paying you for the service).
To find a job during the holidays, you must adequately demonstrate your value as a business-of-one and highlight your strengths and the specific benefits you bring as a potential employee throughout the hiring process. How do you do this? Well, make sure to quantify your work experience on your resume. Use numbers to showcase your accomplishments. Clearly state how you'll make or save the company money with your employment. Do this, and you'll easily become one of the top candidates for the position.
5. Express Gratitude
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The holidays are busy for everyone. When you're applying for jobs during the holiday season, keep gratitude in mind. This positive mindset not only helps you stay resilient but also shines through in your applications and interviews, leaving a memorable impression on potential employers.
After every job interview, always send a thank-you note. It's just the polite thing to do, and you'll score more points with the hiring manager. Even if you get rejected, or never hear back about a position, make sure you send an email thanking the employer for the opportunity and wish them the best of luck with finding the right job candidate.
Don't be bitter. Be gracious. You never know what will happen in the future. You might want to apply for another job at the company down the line. So, don't let your frustration get the best of you. Remember: If you get rejected, they didn't say, "No, not ever." They just said, "No, not today."
A successful holiday job search depends on a solid strategy. Follow the guidelines above and land a job this holiday season!
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I’m a huge fan of the TED Talks and this one by educator, Diana Laufenberg immediately got me thinking. In it, she highlights how we’ve become obsessed with having ‘one right answer’ and the concept of rewarding those who strive to always be correct. The result: A failure to learn – isn’t that ironic?
I could not agree more with her thinking on experiential learning and the need to embrace failure as a way to educate. Her talk made me wonder, “How many struggling, dissatisfied professionals out there are stalled because they’re trying too hard to avoid failure?”
As adult learners, I believe our ability to embrace failing as a way to learn is squelched by our pride to look ‘smart’ and to be ‘right.’ My own personal experience as a career educator has proven to me that it’s not until people are in acute pain and feeling total failure that they finally ask for professional help. As tough as it is, failure motivates us to learn and grow!
One ‘Failure’ Success Story
Recently, a member of our Career HMO wanted some coaching on how to reach out to a stranger on LinkedIn to request an informational interview. We have lots of video tutorials and articles on the subject inside our program, but we also encourage members to send us a draft initially of the template they are using when sending a request so we can help them make sure it is a balance of both personal (to get the person’s interest) and professional (to get the stranger to feel we are worthy of connecting with). This member was eager to get going and felt he understood the concept well enough he sent his e-mail to someone without first having a career coach review it. The result was an unpleasant response from the person he sent it to, a.k.a. he failed.
Now, had he not been a member of our Career HMO, he could have easily given up and decided this was a terrible way to network. Instead, he sent me his initial e-mail request and we discussed where it missed the mark. He immediately saw how it needed to be changed so it got a better reaction and put the new template to use. The very next attempt resulted in something incredible: Not only did the stranger reply positively, but he offered extensive information and guidance to help our Career HMO member connect with some people in the industry he is trying to break into. His small failure, coupled with instant feedback to help him learn from it taught him so much – and now he is on his way to expanding his network with confidence.
For those of you who haven’t realized the power of failure, I hope this post inspires you to fail more! And for those of you who don’t know what a Career HMO is, I encourage you to come check it out. We’ll show you how to take all that failure and put it to good use!
Anybody else have thoughts on the need to fail more to find the professional success we desire?
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