In today’s post, I would like us to step into the hiring manager’s shoes and try to look at things from their perspective. When a company seeks out to fill a certain vacancy, it’s very much like grocery shopping, with the only exception of not having to actually go to the supermarket.
I want you to wear the hiring manager’s hat for a few minutes. You have been tasked with finding the right candidate to fill up a vacancy. With the amount of resumes received with every job posting, it makes it almost impossible to go through them all without missing out on a few minor yet important details that make the whole difference. To bring the idea closer to home, try to imagine walking into a Kroger or a Safeway supermarket to buy shampoo for the first time and the only visible difference is the brand name on the bottle. Picking out the right shampoo is therefore left to trial and error. Hiring the wrong talent can be very costly and time consuming.
Now back to you! Do you really want to leave the opportunity of being chosen to fill up that vacancy to mere chance? Of course not!
It’s all about using the right communication channels and tools to attract the attention your personal brand deserves. Here are some quick tips of how you can redesign your shampoo bottle to standout from the clutter.
1- Spice up your CV – Give it some flair. Add some color to it. Create an infographic to showcase certain information: your skills for example. Sites like vizualize.me can help you do that. Get inspired by googling “creative CV”! It doesn’t have to be complicated, here’s mine.
2- Customize the CV – make it relevant. There’s a brand of shampoo for your every need – for extra shine, for volume, for split-ends, for colored hair … I could go on forever. Your CV should be tailored to meet the requirements of a certain job vacancy. If the job demands problem-solving skills, make sure you highlight that in your resume and link back to it in your cover letter.
3- Don’t dismiss the cover letter – it makes all the difference. In most online job applications, adding a cover letter is optional. This is an option you really don’t want to miss out on. The cover letter serves as an introduction about you … think of it as a sneak preview. Remember you shouldn’t be repeating on your CV in your cover letter. Use it to highlight certain skills that don’t have a chance to be showcased properly in your resume. Tell the hiring manager how and why you’re the shampoo they need!
4- There can only be one! Your online brand should be a mirror of your offline brand. Hiring managers are looking more and more into the profiles of candidate’s of interest online. Go back to my article entitled “Social Recruitment – The War for Talent” and follow the steps there to build you brand online.
Don’t be just another brand of shampoo … be THE BRAND! And remember what I always say, “You Shy, You Die!”
This article was first posted in issue #102 of YOUnique newsletter on July 25, 2013 as part of my monthly column dedicated to help graduates stand out from the crowd and take control of their career legacy.