By Jennifer Nelson
We asked some of the top global recruiters to weigh in with some tips on how to land a job and make an impression.
This article is reprinted with permission from NextAvenue.org.
Mass layoffs, especially in the technology sector, have been widely reported in the news recently, adding to the belief that there are fewer job opportunities. This may be true for the big companies that dominate the headlines, but it’s not true everywhere, and job seekers need to adjust accordingly.
“Big companies recruited aggressively during the pandemic because the market demanded it,” says Chris Tan, director of Storm4, a leader in UK green technology recruitment “Fast forward three years and we find ourselves in an economic downturn, and these companies can no longer maintain their current number of employees.”
See: Global labor market to lose 14 million jobs in next five years: report
But Tan says smaller, more established companies are hiring, although they are still not generating as many jobs as the tech giants have cut. So how can you stand out from the crowd as a job candidate in today’s current work climate? Some of the top global talent acquisition professionals share nine helpful tips.
1. Use your network
Finding and applying for jobs on LinkedIn and other job boards and company websites is essential to the job search. What’s more, this activity helps us feel productive and can help quell feelings of helplessness and hopelessness.
“And those efforts can really lead to results and interviews,” explains R. Carl Hebenstreit, Ph.D., executive coach and workforce development expert at Perform & Function, a management consulting firm in San Francisco.
“However, our networks are the not-so-secret factor that can help improve our chances of success,” he adds. “Networks can alert us to unadvertised or upcoming opportunities that we might not otherwise have found on our own.”
Personal and professional networks can provide moral support, advice and empathy, serve as referrals, and pass your resume directly to hiring managers—or may even be the hiring managers themselves.
And the older you are, the wider your net tends to be. “Tapping into our network is the difference between being busy in your job search and optimizing your chances of success,” says Hebenstreit.
2. Look beyond the perfect fit
Don’t think you have to have all the qualifications in the job description to apply for a position or get hired. Experts say if you achieve three-quarters of the required qualifications, apply anyway. Just be sure to draw attention to your transferable abilities, past successes that have a direct impact on business results, and your contributions and accomplishments that carry over to the new position.
3. Improve your soft skills
Interpersonal skills, also called soft skills, include communication, problem solving, leadership, and collaboration. Investing time and effort in developing your soft skills will help you stand out from other applicants with equivalent experience and technical knowledge.
In both your resume and cover letter, highlight your soft skills and practice explaining them so you can give specific examples in interviews of how you’ve used soft skills in the past and why they matter.
Also read: Who is most likely to lose their job to AI?
4. Match your resume to the job
When you apply for a job, an applicant tracking system will likely scan your resume for keywords in the job description to decide whether you deserve further consideration. To increase your chances of success, pepper your CV with a few keywords from the job listing – as long as they’re correct.
Different keywords communicate different skills, abilities, and experiences useful in different areas, including SEO, branding, and social media management for a communications job, or affidavit and compliance for a legal job posting.
5. Write an original cover letter
Don’t discount the value of an original, well-written cover letter.
“Although my years in the recruitment industry have made it clear that many recruiters avoid reading cover letters altogether, I personally find them useful when multiple candidates have similar qualifications,” says Angela Mangrum, president of Mangrum Career Solutions, an industrial manufacturing recruiting agency operating nationwide.
If you want to stand out, write a cover letter in which you highlight your most significant achievements and briefly describe your motivation to work for your target company. It can distinguish you. “If it goes unread, you have nothing to lose, but if it gets attention, that can be the deciding factor that works in your favor,” says Mangrum.
6. Get the interviewer talking
To stand out, learn everything you can about the company, advises Barry Maher, motivational speaker and author of “Filling the Cup: The Skeptic’s Guide to Positive Thinking in Business.”
During the job interview, candidates should politely take control and ask the committee what it will take to succeed in the job or what the best candidate for the position looks like, he says. Make sure your interviewers have a chance to talk. “The more they talk, the higher they’ll rate you,” he says.
Don’t miss reading: What’s the key phrase women should avoid when negotiating a starting salary?
7. Go beyond the app
After applying, go to LinkedIn and search for and send a message to the company’s talent acquisition person. Introduce yourself, tell them you applied and express your interest in the job.
“Don’t ask to be connected to the hiring manager—recruiters are the gatekeepers, and you need to convey that you want to connect with us, not bypass us,” says Ashley Nelson, a talent recruitment consultant in Portland , Oregon.
“Don’t say anything polite or overconfident. I get a lot of “look no further, you’ve found your project manager,” Nelson says. Even if you have a lot of experience, humility is underrated.
“Finally, you have to interact with them in other ways,” she adds. “Like their content, comment on a post, and share some of their content even after you message them. Your name may become recognizable.’
8. Send a thank you
The number one way to stand out as an employee candidate in this economy is to send a thank-you note in the mail, advises Julie Brown, founder and CEO of Super Purposes. This career coaching company specializes in helping people find purposeful careers.
Brown worked with a candidate interviewing for Nike ( NKE ) and suggested sending thank-you cards to everyone involved in the interview process. The specially made cards with the words “Just do it” arrived three days before the final decision. What sealed the deal? The overwhelming response was, “Talent, skill and that smart card blew us away.”
Also read: “Are older workers getting laid off?”
9. Be positive and persistent
If you can’t send a physical card, then an emailed thank-you note will do, but it’s not as effective as something that arrives in the mail or is hand-delivered.
Remember that looking for work at any age can be challenging, but following these tips and staying positive and consistent can increase your chances of finding the right opportunity, even in a job market where layoffs are prevalent.
Be brave and ask for help or advice from friends, family, mentors, and your millennial and Gen Z-age kids. With the right mindset and approach, you can land your dream job. Good luck!
Jennifer Nelson is a Florida-based writer who also writes for MSNBC, Fox News and AARP.
This article is reprinted with permission from NextAvenue.org, (c)2023 Twin Cities Public Television, Inc. All rights reserved.
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05-15-23 0501ET
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