Wednesday, May 15, 2013
To Land the Job, Do Something Different
In this new digital world of work — where it’s more
competitive than ever to land your dream position — offering a standard resume
and writing an introductory cover letter will get you nowhere.
Why? Because those are the exact same things everyone
else is doing. To move yourself to the top of that virtual pile, you’ve got to
do something different.
Now, what you do varies according to your chosen
industry. If you're applying for a job in the financial industry, for example,
you might want to stick to the standard application process for the most part.
But for most industries, you don't want to fit in — you want to stand out.
Here are four ways you can help a hiring manager
notice you and go out of his way to get you on the team.
1. Create Something
Penelope Trunk says instead of writing a resume, you
should start a company. I’d broaden that to start anything.
Creating something — whether that’s a company, blog,
lifestyle business or Etsy store — shows you're a self-starter and a go-getter.
It shows you have it in you to get stuff done. It proves you’re creative and
know how to follow through.
Starting something can also be your key to closing a
knowledge gap or a lack of experience. Who cares if you don't have two years of
experience working at a certain type of company — if you've created something
significant that requires those same skills, plus some serious self-motivation?
2. Write an Interesting Cover Letter
Rather than introducing yourself in the first
paragraph — and putting the recruiter to sleep in the process — share an
anecdote that showcases what you most want the employer to know about you.
Tell a story about how you did something other people
said couldn’t be done. Write about results. Share a change you helped bring
about, and how that affected someone's life.
Writing an an eye-catching cover letter is more
difficult than writing a boring one that regurgitates your resume, the type of
letter hiring managers have read a million times. If it were easy, everyone
would do it. But putting in that extra effort is exactly what’s going to help
you leap ahead of your competition — and working a job you actually enjoy.
3. Approach Your Dream Employer
Being proactive pays off, particularly in the job
search — and not only because every employer wants proactive employees.
If you approach an employer and show how you can help
them reach their goals, you’ve not only jumped ahead of the hoards of job
seekers who might’ve applied to that company’s job post. You’ve also saved the
employer the effort of continuing to look for the right person.
Here are five tips for sending an attention-getting
cold email. What’s even better, though, is finding a way to make a connection
at the company you want to work for (via Twitter, for example), and eventually
asking that warm contact for an introduction to the hiring manager.
When you pitch yourself, don’t focus on how working
at the company will help you — focus on how you can help the company succeed.
What does the company need, and how can you help its employees make that
happen? What can you offer that will help them take business to the next level?
4. Supplement Your Application
Do this even if the employer doesn't ask for a
supplement. Actually, do this especially if the employer doesn’t ask for one,
because that extra effort will show the employer just how much you want to work
for him.
When Marian Schembari wanted to become community
manager for Couchsurfing, she created a video having members of the community
vouch for her — using the exact community-rallying skills she'd use in the job.
(She got the gig!) Job hunter Jannic Nielssen used his web marketing smarts to
create a resume that looked just like Kickstarter. (He was hired, too.)
What hiring manager wouldn't want these hustlers on
the team?
Doing something different isn't only about the
result; it’s about proving that you think a little differently from everyone
else. So next time you want to move up in your career, forget about what
everyone says about applying for a job, and buck the status quo
Credit: Mashable
