Tips for Improving Your Chances of Getting Hired
tips for Improving
When it comes to your job search, you want to take every advantage that you can get. So when you’re applying for a job, why not use some of the same tools that hiring managers are using when they’re determining who their top candidates are? Here, we’ll take a quick look at some of the things that managers look at when making their decisions, and how you can use that information to help you.
What does Your Commute Like
How long is your commute to work going to be every day? This is actually pretty simple to figure out, and many employers do this anyway to make sure that their compensation offerings can stay as low as possible. If two equally qualified candidates are up for a job, but one has a 90 minute commute, while the other has a 15 minute commute, it’s far easier to justify hiring the one that lives closer. Not only does that person have a better statistical shot of staying at the position, the company can pay them less without the increased cost of getting to and from work hanging over anybody’s head. If you aren’t sure how far you live from the place that you are considering applying to, look it up on Google Maps. They can give you a pretty precise time on how long it will take to get there.
Watch Your Facebook Usage
Everyone is on Facebook. You are, your friends are, and your prospective employer—and the people that will be making decisions about whether or not they should hire you—are. With all of this very obvious, why would you put things on Facebook (or any other social media site, for that matter) that might jeopardize your chances of getting a job? Spend some time cleaning up your social media trail, and make sure that you are creating a professional image for yourself.
Also, there are a ton of tools on social media that can help you find a better job, too. Putting the power of networking aside, think about the apps that are out there that you can use. One helpful one is called a word cloud. Word is perhaps the most popular example here. You can put your resume into this app, and it will let you know which keywords you are using, and how often. And when this is compared to the job application that you’re filling out, you can now see which keywords you should be adding to your strengths and skills in order to help yourself stand out from everybody else that’s applying for the job. It’s a simple trick, and it allows you to fine tune your resume and application answers based upon the industry, the company, and the position that you’re going for.
Speaking of social media, LinkedIn has some powerful tools that allow you to show your expertise in certain areas. I’m not talking about the parts where you can list your skills and people can endorse them, but the interactive parts. You can write and publish articles on the site, or you can just link to those that have already been published. Sharing them with people in your groups and in your network shows that you take your industry seriously. More importantly, it shows future employers that not only do you understand your career path, but that you are sincerely interested in it, a student of it, and that you want others to know that. If you’re unsure where to start, start with the things that you’re already reading that interest you. If you find them helpful, others will likely find them the same. Just don’t overpost.