Are you tired of being overlooked for the best opportunities?
Do you leave job interviews wishing you had left a better impression? Does your professional profile need a makeover?
If you want to become a magnet for career success, your personal brand should be irresistible and your interview should spark heightened levels of interest.
Here are some tips on how you can enhance your professional profile in order to turn the tables and become a highly sought after candidate for recruiters.
1. Provide “Bait” for the Recruiter
Dull profiles do not receive an interview. If your written presence doesn’t mesmerize the employer within 6 seconds, your chances of receiving an interview date are slim. Make sure that your resume and LinkedIn profile exudes professionalism and portrays a meaningful taste of personalism.
Target your resume by including keywords your next employer values. Identify buzzwords by examining organizations’ websites, reviewing LinkedIn profiles that share your targeted job title, studying conference program descriptions and their speaker bios, reviewing job descriptions, and scheduling informational meetings with prospective colleagues.
When an employer sees items of interest on your resume, you have successfully lured them in and will have a chance to influence their hiring decision.
2. Do not become a walking cliché
Let me guess. You have excellent communication skills. You are a team player. Your weakness is that you are a perfectionist. You think ABC is a great company to work for because their earnings potential is high.
Welcome to the, “I’m the same as every other job seeker in the resume pile” club.
If you want to stand out from the crowd, reveal your personality in a unique way. Need help? What are three words that you use to describe you or what are three strengths that allow you to positively contribute to organizational goals?
Now make sure every line on your resume projects the personality that you want to convey. For example, individuals who want to be known as leaders focus on leadership accomplishments on their resume in order to influence the perception that the employer has of them.
Leaders are described as those who are problem solvers, who are selfless, who put the company first, who want to grow others, who are team players, and who are able to predict everyday hurdles and overcome them. Your accomplishments should highlight instances in which you have been successful in performing these leadership traits. Being thoughtful about the type of experiences you share and how you craft your statements (story) will allow you to stand out in a unique way.
3. Use language that displays confidence.
Many women unintentionally use language that displays uncertainty. When verbal and non-verbal cues convey doubt or fear, you diminish your credibility in the workplace.
For example, writing or saying that you “hope” implies that you are chasing an opportunity and “hoping” things will work out in your favor. It subconsciously creates the image of a person who is begging for an opportunity versus being the creator of opportunities. Constantly using “I think” shows that you may not be sure of yourself.
Projecting confidence starts with the resume. When writing your resume accomplishments, don’t be modest. There is no need to downplay your impact. The interviewer wants to know your success stories. Share them in a way to show how you can support the organization with their current challenges.
When giving answers, don’t second guess yourself. Rather, explain your point of view in a thorough, authentic, and knowledgeable manner. It’s the best you can do. You can’t control the questions you receive or how the interviewer feels but you can control how you respond.
Your words should communicate that you are the right person for the position and would make a valuable contribution. Stick to language that exudes high levels of confidence whenever possible.
4. Avoid Negative Associations.
Avoid the temptation of focusing on your misfortune or how others have negatively impacted you. You become what you focus on the most,
While you may think this is a great way to receive empathy and create an angelic image of yourself, all it does is make employers think that you are a negative person and may not be a team-oriented person who would be a good addition to the team.
Attract the opportunities that you do want by appearing to be a happy, fun-loving person. At the end of the day, the most impactful companies are attracted to positivity, not women who come across as disgruntled and jaded.
Employers quickly hire people that are self – confident, optimistic, energetic, passionate, and engaging people because they will have a positive impact on the organization.
5. Flip the Script.
You are not the only one being interviewed. It is your job to interview the employer too! Approach the conversation as if there is a valuable exchange taking place. Don’t give up your power!
You have the right to get to know the company beyond what’s presented on the company website. The website is just a resume for the employer that is used to lure you in. So you must come prepared with thoughtful questions that convey your interest in the company.
Show them your intellectual curiosity. The interview is not all about you and the interviewer will be impressed if you ask questions that genuinely matter to you. It is your job to make sure that the company is a good fit for you and the culture provides an environment in which you can thrive in.
A woman on a mission never stops learning, growing, and building meaningful relationships that expose her to new possibilities. This is why she is always in high demand!
You can never become bored by watching her because she is always on a journey to tap into the unknown while fully embracing the presents that she is unwrapping in the moment.
She is a true leader that many admire and trust. These are traits that never go out of style. And as long as she maintains this goddess demeanor, the phone calls from prospective employers will keep coming!
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