The hiring industry has completely changed to the point where mass submitting your resume really doesn’t do much good. Maybe you’ll get lucky and get some call backs for interviews. Even if you do get an interview, is it at a company you’re passionate about working for? How do you get the attention of those companies you’d love to work for?
Something I’m super passionate about, it building your own personal brand. Especially, when it comes to searching for a job, in my own personal opinion it is one of the best things you can do. In the past I’ve found the following strategies to have a high impact on the amount of call backs I received when submitting my resume. Instead, I actually having recruiters messaging me to see if I’d be interested in positions. It also made me feel so confident while I applied to my dream job at Automattic.
Here are some of my favorite tips that I tell all of my friends based off of my own personal trial and error:
Graphically Designed resumes or Interactive resumes are super important. You need to stand out. When it comes to employment and your dream job, investing in a resume that is not only well written but stands out is HUGE. It’s part of communicating to your future employer your worth. This is not one of those DIY projects you want to take on, you’re going to want a professional to help you or at the very least proofread it for you.
You will be Googled. The company that is looking to hire you, they want an inside track to what kind of person you are. Are you a team player? A positive person? Do you like puns and enjoy coffee?
- The worst thing that can happen, is that negative items show up in the search results (drunk pictures, negative status updates, or negative reviews).
- Or no results show up when your name is Googled, which in my opinion is almost as bad as negative search results showing up, especially when you’re applying for a job in the online or marketing industries. Having nothing show up when you name is Googled shows you aren’t leveraging online tools. Also, it’s a huge missed opportunity… which brings me to my final point.
- One of the best things you can do is have positive results showing up when your name is Googled. Thing is, they don’t just appear out of nowhere. You have to create them. Create a blog where you write about things going on in your industry or that you find interesting. Have a Twitter or LinkedIn account where you’re connecting with leaders in your Industry or at least sharing topics of interest in your industry. You can tell potential employers in your resume all about how much you know about the industry, but the most powerful thing you can do is show them. This is your space to do that.
The job market isn’t the same anymore. Mass submitting resumes to job postings just doesn’t cut it like it used to. So I hope these tips help you in your job search journey.
Tish Briseno 