Be Visible to Employers

Today's job market is beyond tough. In a sea of experienced professionals and recent graduates you need to stand out as a job applicant. Maintaining a professional online presence, re-crafting your resume, networking for job opportunities, and standing out in interviews will all help you become visible to employers.

Steps

Creating and Maintaining Your Digital Profile

  1. Keep your social media accounts accurate, up to date, and professional.[1] Social media profiles like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook are often the first impression a potential employer will have of you. Use these accounts to publicize both professional and personal aspects that may be appealing to employers.[2]
    • Be sure that all the information in your online profiles matches up. Inconsistencies can lead to being rejected for a position.[3]
    • You can include information on your current position, education, work experience, career aspirations, and hobbies.
  2. Eliminate unsavory and unprofessional aspects of your public profiles. You may not make a positive first impression on your future employer if your Facebook profile is filled with photographs of drunken undergraduate shenanigans. In the same vein, your public tweets shouldn't contain foul language or illustrate your political views.
    • Delete photographs depicting alcohol or drug use.
    • Delete old tweets or status updates that are political in nature and refrain from posting similar material in the future.
  3. Create a LinkedIn profile and keep it up to date. Make sure your summary section clearly illustrates what you do and how you do it.[4] Your profile should also include detailed experience and education sections that illustrate your job experience since college and education, respectively.[5]
    • Update your LinkedIn headline. Make sure it is specific, forward-focused, and describes what you hope to do next in your career.[6]
    • Include a professional headshot with your profile, if possible.[7]
  4. Create a personal website. One way to expand your professional presence online is to create a website and use it to market yourself to future employers. A personal website should highlight your best work, showcase your skills, and give employers a glimpse of your personality.[8]

Building a Professional Network

  1. Network online with potential employers. Utilize social media to connect with potential employers.[9] If there is a company you'd like to work for, follow them on Twitter or join an industry-related LinkedIn group. Be sure to keep up to date on company news as well.[10]
    • Use your online networking as a way to gather information about future employers and stay up-to-date on employment opportunities.
    • If you hear of a job opportunity through a social media channel, take the time to place a call and ask for more information about the position. This is a great way to make a human-to-human connection with a future employer.
  2. Attend career fairs. This is especially relevant if you are a new or soon-to-be college graduate seeking employment. Check with your school's career services to learn about upcoming job fairs. Dress professionally, talk one-on-one with company representatives, and take along multiple copies of your most up-to-date resume to share with potential employers.[11]
  3. Join professional organizations and attend their events. Joining professional associations is an easy way to connect with potential employers. Attend conferences and other professional gatherings to build your professional network and learn more about the sectors you do or hope to work in. Be sure to take along current copies of your resume and business card.
    • If you're interested in making a connection with a specific person, attend their panel at the conference, ask a question after their presentation, and introduce yourself when the panel is over.
    • If you meet someone from a company you'd like to work for, exchange business cards with them and ask them to shoot you an email if they hear of a job opportunity.

Crafting Your Resume

  1. Research the position and company to which you are applying. Understanding the job, a company's history, and where the company is heading are all key to crafting a position-specific resume. Utilize the company's website and social media profiles to conduct your research.
  2. Keep it concise and specific. You don't need to put everything on every resume you submit. Keep a master list of all jobs and experience and use this to craft concise, position-specific resumes that market you as a great fit for the job.[12] Three pages or less is more than sufficient.[13]
    • Start with your current or most recent job and list no more than a total of five positions.
    • For example, if you are applying for a job as a teacher you probably don't need to include the pet store job you worked in high school.
  3. Give examples that illustrate your ability to learn, be mentored, and take on a new responsibility. Be specific and to the point about how you progressed in a particular position. For example, if you gradually took on increased responsibilities over the course of your internship, highlight this in your resume.[14]
  4. Demonstrate your accomplishments and results. Employers don't want you to tell them about what you accomplished, they want to see it demonstrated in a tangible way on your resume. Be clear about outcomes and how these contributed to the overall success of a particular project or organization. [15]
    • For example, if you designed an educational program at the local museum as part of your internship, include information on how many school groups and individuals participated. This will demonstrate a tangible outcome from your work.
  5. Avoid resume stunts. Flashy, over-the-top, and exceptionally lengthy resumes will do little to increase your odds of being hired for a position. Your efforts may instead come off as desperate, juvenile, or self-serving. Get back to the basics and craft a resume that illustrates results and authenticity, and pair it with a cover letter that demonstrates your understanding of what a potential employer wants.[16]

Acing the Interview

  1. Prepare for the interview. You'll need to spend time researching both your future employer and the position itself. Think through possible questions and come up with responses. You should also come up with a list of questions to ask at the end of your interview.
    • Use internet search engines to research the people that might be interviewing you.
    • Ask a friend who just landed their dream job about what went well and what didn't go so well during their interview.
    • Do a mock interview with a friend or family member. Have them ask you the possible interview questions you came up with.
  2. Dress professionally for the interview, even if it's online. People can form their first impression of you in as little as 30 seconds, and what you wear to an interview can play a major role in whether or not an employer decides to hire you. Avoid dressing casually and instead, aim for a business professional look.[17]
    • Research the office attire at your future place of employment prior to the interview. If everyone shows up at work in shorts and flip flops, a three-piece suit might be a little over the top.
    • Generally speaking, suits, dresses, even dress pants or a skirt paired with a jacket are all professional choices for most interviews.
  3. Be on time. This should go without saying, but it is critical you are punctual when interviewing for a position. Arrive at least 15 minutes early and allow plenty of extra time for unanticipated obstacles like traffic.[18]
  4. Ask questions. Bring along a mental or paper list of questions about the job, the company, and the future of the position to which you are applying. Asking questions provides you with an opportunity to learn more and show employers you are curious and prepared.[19]
    • Try asking, “I'm excited to learn about new branches of the company opening up in Tulsa and Kansas City. Do this mean the position will require regular travel to these locations?”
  5. Follow up. It's important to send a thank-you letter after the interview, regardless of how you think it went. Whether or not you send a thank-you to your interviewers affects their decision-making process.[20]
    • While it's permissible to send a handwritten letter, it may not reach your interviewers before they make a decision. Instead, try sending an email within 24 hours of your interview.
    • Your letter should thank the interviewer for meeting with you, state something you enjoyed about the interview and reiterate your interest in the company and position.

Related Articles

References

  1. ↑ [v161390_b01]. 29 April 2020.
  2. ↑ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matt-sweetwood/5-tips-to-stand-out-in-a-_b_10167556.html
  3. ↑ [v161390_b01]. 29 April 2020.
  4. ↑ [v161390_b01]. 29 April 2020.
  5. ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/linkedin-strategy-selling-high-value-products-lawrence-klamecki
  6. ↑ http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2011/10/26/6-ways-to-stand-out-in-a-tough-job-market
  7. ↑ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matt-sweetwood/5-tips-to-stand-out-in-a-_b_10167556.html
  8. ↑ http://communitytable.parade.com/322273/heatherhuhman/7-secrets-for-standing-out-in-a-tough-job-market/
  9. ↑ [v161390_b01]. 29 April 2020.
  10. ↑ http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7647-tips-for-getting-hired.html
  11. ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/tips-fresh-graduates-stand-out-job-market-ayesha-zaman
  12. ↑ [v161390_b01]. 29 April 2020.
  13. ↑ https://www.themuse.com/advice/43-resume-tips-that-will-help-you-get-hired
  14. ↑ http://fortune.com/2016/01/21/monsanto-resume-tips/
  15. ↑ http://communitytable.parade.com/322273/heatherhuhman/7-secrets-for-standing-out-in-a-tough-job-market/
  16. ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/wrong-way-make-your-resume-stand-out-brian-de-haaff
  17. ↑ http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/06/20/how-to-dress-for-your-next-job-interview/#4298eee638ba
  18. ↑ http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2015/02/17/8-subtle-ways-to-ace-the-interview
  19. ↑ http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2015/02/17/8-subtle-ways-to-ace-the-interview
  20. ↑ http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5578-sample-thank-you-letters.html
Retrieved from "https://kipkis.com/index.php?title=Be_Visible_to_Employers&oldid=268824"