Two Ways to Stand Out and Get Hired
You may think it difficult to grab the attention of employers at busy job
fairs or on big employment web sites like Monster.
But it can be done.
By using information and your network creatively, you can cut through the
clutter and make a connection with hiring managers.
That’s what two smart job seekers did, whose stories are below. What can
you learn from each?
1) Get Hired Online by Creating Buzz
Here’s a clever method that got one woman hired for a director-level
position she found advertised on Monster.
Yes, that’s right, Monster, where millions of resumes are competing against
yours for every job opening posted.
She did it by creating buzz about herself that got the hiring manager’s
attention.
Here’s her story, in brief …
“A search on Monster turned up the opening I wanted. I then used my network
to find people who’d refer me. I timed submitting my resume through the job
board with the referrals,” says Barbara Finer, from suburban Boston, Mass.
Finer’s smart sense of timing ensured that her resume and the referrals
from people in her network all arrived about the same time.
“The resulting confluence of resources got me on the top of the pile, and I
was hired as Director of Product Marketing at a Boston-area company,” says
Finer.
You can do this, too, in five steps …
1. When you find a job posted online that you really want to apply for,
don’t. First, use your network — especially your contacts at LinkedIn,
Facebook or MySpace — to reach out to people who work at the target
employer.
2. Ask folks to refer your resume to the hiring manager of the department
you want to work for. Give them one specific day to do so, say, Tuesday.
3. On Tuesday morning, submit your resume to the job posting online.
4. These multiple, coordinated contacts — from your resume coming in via
the job board and the people in your network contacting the hiring manager
— should generate enough buzz to get your name on the employer’s radar.
5. From there, it’s up to you to interview and follow up intelligently. But
getting noticed for a job posted on a major employment web site is half the
battle.
2) Get Hired at a Job Fair by Doing Your Homework
One of my clients, Tom W. from Golden Valley, Minn., was just hired for a
new position after attending a Minneapolis Star Tribune job fair.
The critical success factor for him was one simple thing he did before the
job fair itself: His homework!
Here’s the story …
“I kept up on the local business scene by reading regularly. In one
magazine article, I learned that one company had picked up 200,000 square
feet of office space downtown on a 10-year lease, and I filed that
information away,” says Tom.
When he saw that company’s name listed among the employers at the job fair
he planned to attend, Tom knew he had an effective conversation starter.
“When I met the hiring manager at the event, I told him what I knew about
their plans to expand, based on my reading. He was impressed with my
knowledge and we really clicked. Everything went very quickly after that,
ending with a job offer a few days later.”
Here are two ways you can be like Tom, and make a fantastic first
impression at a job fair …
1. Research and find relevant facts about employers before meeting them.
Good news: All job fairs publish a list of participating employers before
the event, which eliminates guesswork. Simply research companies that
interest you until you find unusual data about them, their competitors,
markets, problems, or opportunities.
2. Bring notes to the event.
Once you’ve found information that proves your interest in an employer, jot
down notes on 3×5 cards (or in your PDA) and bring them to the job fair.
That way, you can review your notes before talking to hiring managers, so
you can make the best impression, stand out … and get hired.
Kevin Donlin is Creator of TheSimpleJobSearch.com. Since 1996, he has provided job-search help to more than 20,000 people. Author of 3 books, Kevin has been interviewed by The New York Times, Fox News, CBS Radio and others.‰ His latest product, The Simple Job Search System, is available at https://www.collegerecruiter.com/guaranteed-resumes.php
Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates seeking entry-level jobs and other career opportunities.
