Are you convinced that you are the ideal candidate for the desired position, but you are not the only person being considered? Here are some tips to make an active search and raise you up above the fray.
- Identify your “unfair advantage”
The concept comes from entrepreneurship. To succeed in business, says author and entrepreneur Ash Maurya, you have to find the thing you possess “that cannot be easily copied or bought.” This is what he calls the “unfair advantage”.
In your career, what element gives you a head start over the rest of the pack in the job you are targeting? Is it a specialization in a specific field? Find your “unfair advantage” and articulate your argument around it.
- Control the message
These days, cleaning up and updating your social profile is a matter of course before beginning a job search. After all, 70% of employers check these media before convening a candidate, according to a CareerBuilder survey.
However, you can go further, by putting your CV online on a platform distinct from LinkedIn, such as on a personal website or a CV production website. You will then have full control of the message, with all the flexibility of personalizing your CV for the desired job. There is no shortage of templates, from classics at the Uptowork site to the trendy style of the Sumry start-up.
- Pay close attention to details
A CV full of mistakes is not so much a sign of a poor command of English as a blatant lack of seriousness in your approach. Do you doubt it? Close to 60% of recruiters will reject a CV that contains errors, a survey from Ayers reports.
The same attention to detail is important for dress, when you are called into an interview. As a warning, a survey by the British firm TheLadders.co.uk in 2009 found that 37% of executives surveyed had rejected a candidate for clothing considerations. That’s all you need to know about taking care of your outfit…
- Be proactive in an interview
A candidate who is eager to win a position in a company does not rest passively seated to answer questions from recruiters. He rather takes part in the interview as if it were a conversation.
Don’t hesitate to ask questions and make sensible observations that relate to the line of business and the company. You will only be demonstrating your interest in the position!