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
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The leaves are changing, the kids are back in school, and that familiar chill is in the air. You think it's the perfect time to look for a job, and it is! But are your job search fears preventing you from making that leap?
It's not uncommon to feel lost when embarking on your job search journey. After all, school teaches us everything except how to get a job. What should you put on your resume? What questions should you ask in an interview? How can you stand out in the hiring process when there's so much competition?
Are you feeling spooked yet?
Believe it or not, there's no need to be afraid of the job search process! You can land your dream job with the right tools and strategy. You can find a job that won't give you nightmares. Here are three spooky secrets every job seeker should know as they look for a job this fall.
1. An Effective Job Search Starts With An Interview Bucket List
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Despite your fears, you've decided to take the plunge and look for a new job. You might be asking yourself, "Where do I start?" The answer is simple: start by creating an interview bucket list.
An interview bucket list is a list of 10-20 companies you'd love to work for. Are you passionate about a company's products or services? Do you feel connected to its mission? Can you relate to its values and beliefs as an organization? If you answer "yes" to any of these questions, that company probably belongs on your interview bucket list.
Once you create an interview bucket list, you'll be able to conduct a targeted job search, one with direction and a foundation upon which everything else will be built. An interview bucket list helps you focus your job search and networking strategies on the right opportunities, making it easier to get your foot in the door at one of your dream companies.
2. Your Job Application Needs To Disrupt Hiring Managers
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In order to stand out in the hiring process, you need to disrupt recruiters and hiring managers. You accomplish this by doing two things: optimizing your resume and writing a disruptive cover letter.
A well-optimized resume includes keywords from the job description. This ensures your resume gets past the ATS and into the hands of the hiring manager. Once it's in front of the hiring manager, it needs to grab and keep their attention. Quantifying your work experience—adding numbers to your bullet points—will make you stand out from other applicants. Hiring managers will want to know more about you and your accomplishments, and that's how you land a phone interview.
Before that, though, a hiring manager will read your cover letter. To disrupt them, you need to write a disruptive cover letter (obviously!). A disruptive cover letter gives you the opportunity to tell a story about why you feel connected to the company you're applying for. It's that storytelling aspect that will stand out to hiring managers and compel them to pick up the phone and give you a call.
3. Employers Hire You Based On 3 Things
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You can't get hired unless you know what employers are assessing you on in the interview process. While your skills and expertise matter, companies actually hire for three things: personality, aptitude, and experience (in that order).
Most job seekers don't realize how important it is to demonstrate their personality, aptitude, and experience in an interview. You could have the right experience for a job, but if the hiring manager doesn't think your personality is a good fit for the company culture, you probably won't get a job offer.
Make sure you demonstrate your soft skills and learn how to answer behavioral interview questions to prove you're the best candidate for the job you're applying for, not just the most qualified.
Want To Learn More Job Search Secrets?
As you look for a job this fall, it might be helpful to know some more spooky secrets so you can get over your job search fears and finally take control of your career.
We know the job search process can be scary. However, it's important to get clear on what you want to do next and focus on conducting a strategic job search, or what we refer to at Work It DAILY as job shopping. This is the only way to effectively market yourself to employers. If they can't see exactly where and how you add value, then that's going to decrease your chances of landing the job.
The competition is fierce, and there are a lot of factors that are out of your control. But the one factor you can control is your job search strategy, the tools and tactics you use to land a job.
If you want to learn the secrets to conducting a strategic job search, sign up for our Job Search Bootcamp, a two-hour, on-demand video workshop that comes with a free workbook.
In this video workshop, you'll learn:
- How to use backchanneling to get directly to hiring managers.
- The secret to using a connection story to stand out against the competition.
- How social media can be your secret weapon to get job interviews.
- The resume format that is getting job seekers more job interviews.
- And, a lot more hacks for job search success!
Let us show you the secrets to getting a new, better-paying job you actually love. Sign up for our Job Search Bootcamp today.
Are you ready to land the job of your dreams (and leave the job of your nightmares)?
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