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
Bigstock
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
Bigstock
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
Bigstock
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
Bigstock
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
Bigstock
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!
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!
One of the challenges associated with creating a hospitality resume is making sure it zeros in on the position you’re applying for while highlighting the many skills you bring to the table, especially when some may step outside of the realm of the job.
If you’re applying for a job in the restaurant sector but have training in a broader array of industries within hospitality, you may be scratching your head trying to figure out how to fit it all in. Don’t fret. There is a way to create a great document that can showcase it all.
Use Your Job Target as a Guide
A great way to not only lure a hiring manager into reading your resume, but also guide them through the document to know which skills and qualifications to look for, is by creating an eye-catching job target. The job target is similar to the subject line of an e-mail or the title of an article in it provides insight into what the reader can expect.
In this case, writing a target that zeros in on your skills acquired while working in restaurants but also mentions other experience in the hospitality field tells the manager that you bring both types of experience to the table. An example of this type of target might be: “Head Waiter with 10 Years Extensive Team Management, Sales and Customer Service Experience; Trained in Expanded Hospitality Services.”
This target not only explains that you are highly skilled in managing a team, handling sales, and dealing with customers, but you have a background in other areas of hospitality that will encourage the manager to look through your resume to see how else you can be an asset to the company.
Dig Deeper with Your Career Summary
Now that your job target has served as the tip of the iceberg, hopefully convincing the hiring manager to read more about you, you can go into further details about your background in your career summary.
The career summary provides you with the opportunity to highlight moments that stand out in your hospitality career. You can bullet-point your highlighted moments as a head waiter by sharing some great achievements, individual or team awards won, record number of customers served, etc.
This can also be a place to expand on your hospitality skills as long as they show that you will be a better head waiter thanks to those skills. For instance, you if spent two years as a hotel management trainee who took responsibility for the cooking staff, you can highlight this as well.
It’s great to have expanded experience in the hospitality field. The key is to make sure you focus on the job you’re applying for and only sliding the other details in when they suit the position. Otherwise, your resume will look more like a cluttered document than an accomplishment-packed masterpiece.
Jessica Holbrook Hernandez, CEO of Great Resumes Fast is an expert resume writer, career and personal branding strategist, author, and presenter. Click here » to review FREE resume and cover letter samples.Image from auremar/Shutterstock
