Landing a Job Interview: 4 Key Tips for Success
Let’s cut right to the chase: searching for a job is no fun. You have to refine your resume, work on cover letters, compile all your experience and then start the search. There are so many sites you might find yourself bouncing around.
You’ll apply to tons of jobs to only hear back from a handful and out of that handful, you may get an interview or two. It’s a long process that no one ever looks forward to doing.
There are lots of ideas and suggestions on how to make this process go by smoother and below are a list of the top four to help you get started. Soon, you’ll be on your way to your dream job.
Network, network, network
One might think that every job in the world is posted on a big website like LinkedIn and all job applications are pretty straight forward. Send your contact information with a resume and cover letter, the recruiter will look it over and then (hopefully) get back to you at a later date.
That’s still the way many people get hired and it’s definitely still an option for you. One of the best ways, however, is to start networking yourself and getting to know people.
Even though we use the internet for everything these days, roughly 70% of jobs are never posted online.
You may consider yourself to be a rather introverted person and you can still be one, but it will be worth your time to start going to fairs and other networking events.
Get Specific With Your Resume
Even though employers are not going to be spending hours pouring over the intricacies and wonders of your resume, it’s important that you tailor-make your resume to go with each job posting.
Yes, this does mean more work for you in the immediate future, having to add different lines and change your wording, but you can make each resume tailored to each specific job posting.
When you’re going through the job posting, make note of what exactly the job is asking for and think about how you can get specific on those points. Do you have any relative experience? Have you participated in any similar projects?
There are bound to be aspects of your job history that you want to focus on and prioritize going from job to job, so take the time to think about all those options and see what you can do.
Be Mindful of Your Online Presence
With the rise of social media, so many people are using it for keeping in contact with friends, reading their news and additionally, finding jobs.
That means you need to be mindful of your online presence and how you are presented online. If potential employers find your Twitter profile is full of nothing but partying pictures and offensive language, chances are they will just throw your resume in the trash and never look at it again.
Go through your profile settings and make sure you’re set to private if you don’t want others to see what is in your profile. Remove any posts or photos that you think may come across as sketchy or offensive.
You can also build up your online brand by having a strong LinkedIn profile or professional Twitter page. It’s a great way to showcase yourself as well as putting yourself in direct contact with recruiters.
Practice Interviewing
Whenever you finally get your foot through the door, you may eventually be called up for an interview. Research the company or place of work and make sure you know what they are about and what they’re doing.
If it’s your first interview or you first one in a long time, get some practice in. Review those typical “interview questions” and see if there is a career coach near you where you can go and try to get in a rhythm. Make sure you know your resume backwards and forwards and be prepared to expand on anything. Remember, they didn’t pour over your resume so now is the time to explain and talk about your past experiences.
Don’t be caught flat-footed. Go in there knowing you did everything you could to be prepared.
