Q&A: To Get a Job, You MUST Stand Out « ZipRecruiter Blog

Q&A: To Get a Job, You MUST Stand Out

Rachel Dotson —  April 3, 2013

With an average of 100+ applications submitted to each job opening, it has probably never been more crucial to stand out during your job search. In today’s expert Q&A, Kevin Hungate teaches you how to do just that.

What is the typical approach to job search? How did we all end up with the same, cookie-cutter approach?

Here’s how the large majority of people approach the interviewing process:

Step 1: They submit their resume online and wait…hoping for a response.

Step 2: If they get an interview, they show-up ONLY with their resume and then wait passively for interview questions to be asked of them.

Step 3: For follow-up after the interview, only an email will be sent.

Job seekers interview in this manner because this is the way it’s always been done. It’s how our parents and grandparents interviewed (minus the email, of course). Also, this approach allows for the candidate to put forth the least amount of effort. Unfortunately, most job candidates choose the “easy interview path” not realizing that it differs greatly from the “successful & effective” one.

What is the problem with taking this approach? Is the problem bigger now given the current economy?

The problem with this approach is twofold.

First, companies want to hire candidates who display effort during the job interview process because it is indicative of the type effort they will put forth once they are hired. The traditional approach to interviewing requires minimum effort and this no longer flies in today’s competitive environment.

Second, with the large majority of job seekers utilizing the same interview approach, few stand out or separate from the crowd. It’s the job candidate who understands the power of differentiation who gets hired today.

This problem is compounded due to the state of our economy. It’s all about supply and demand. There’s a huge demand for jobs but fewer jobs available. Therefore, companies can choose the cream of the crop and it’s typically not the candidate who interviews as I described above.

Generally speaking, what can a candidate do to differentiate herself in a job interview?

It’s important to differentiate from the moment you submit your resume all the way through your follow-up.

Step 1: When you submit your resume, don’t simply rely on the online tool. Do some detective work and uncover the name of the hiring manager and/or an HR contact. Of course, I realize this is not always easy to do. LinkedIn is great for this. Once you have a name, express mail your cover letter and resume to the contact and include a business appropriate and relevant “accompaniment.” An accompaniment is generally a one-page insert that creatively and uniquely positions you for the job and allows you/your resume to standout from the crowd. (See example under next question).

Step 2: Create a presentation for your interview. This demonstrates great preparation/effort and allows the job candidate to drive the discussion and she becomes the one asking questions instead of sitting back passively waiting for questions to be asked of her. Typically 1-2 out of 10 job candidates will do a presentation. Therefore, if you are one of those two candidates, you immediately differentiate from 80-90% of our competition.

Step 3: Most candidates follow-up with an email. Therefore, you should follow-up with a handwritten letter which nowadays is extremely uncommon—thus the effectiveness. If the interview process stretches over a period of months, utilize what I call “next level follow-up.” This is not only the next step within your follow-up process but a method of follow-up that is incredibly memorable and impactful. (See example under next question.)

What about more specifically? Can we have a couple of examples?

Step 1 Example (Resume Accompaniment):

A job seeker interviewing for a job at the Time Warner Foundation created a Time Magazine cover with a business appropriate candidate photo on the front along with a caption reading “Time Warner Foundation’s Next Great Addition: Time hires Jane Doe.”

This approach resulted in the candidate receiving a call from the hiring manager stating out of hundreds of resumes, she was the ONLY ONE to do something creative and thus earned the interview.

Step 3 Example (Next Level Follow-up):

A candidate had an interview at which the hiring manager stated he wanted to hire someone who was a leader and could orchestrate—“like a quarterback.” He actually stated “like a quarterback.” As follow-up, the candidate first sent a handwritten note. His “next level follow-up” was an autographed football that arrived weeks after the initial follow-up and included a note stating “In our meeting you said you wanted to hire a leader and orchestrator—like a quarterback. I look forward to being your standout QB.”

Sometimes standing out can be a bad thing. What are some things that job seekers should avoid during the interview?

In a job interview, standing out is only negative if it’s for negative reasons. If you don’t stand out—if you’re not memorable—you will have great difficulty getting a job ( « Tweet This ). Of course, the wrong follow-up idea, etc., can have a negative impact on your ability to get a job. If you stand out for all the wrong reasons, that’s far worse than not standing out at all. In everything you do, make sure it’s appropriate for the company culture and the job function as well as in-line with the hiring manager’s personality. It’s not always easy to assess appropriateness. Trust your instincts but don’t be afraid to be bold.

Is there anything else you would like to say about this topic?

Job competition is fierce and the interview process has evolved. Focus on two key principles:

1. The power of differentiation
2. Displaying above & beyond effort during the entire job interview process

As stated earlier, most candidates take the same approach to interviewing—which sends them down the “easy interview path.” Step off the “easy path” and onto the “effective” one. You’ll be amazed at the end result.

---

About the Expert:

Kevin Hungate is the author of “I Can Start Monday: Powerful Interviewing Tips to Take You Above and Beyond the Short List” and creator of one of the most comprehensive interviewing video series available. He is also an interview coach, public speaker and creator of a mobile app that provides job seekers with inventive ideas for follow-up after the job interview.

Q&A: To Get a Job, You MUST Stand Out « ZipRecruiter Blog:

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How To Bounce Back Stronger After You Blow It At Work

BY DEBORAH GRAYSON RIEGEL , MARCH 8, 2013

Three strategies to manage disappointment when it shows up. Because, for better or for worse, it will.

Eight years ago, when I was just starting my coaching practice, I was thrilled to win a large, lucrative contract with an international advertising agency. Several days a month, I would train and coach staff from all levels of the company on presentation skills, management skills, and professional presence--a dream assignment. Business chugged along successfully for three more years, until my biggest and best client merged with another agency, and that agency had preferred vendors of its own. And I wasn’t one of them.

IT WAS THE KICK IN THE BUTT I NEEDED TO DEVELOP A THICKER SKIN, MORE PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL RESILIENCE, AND YES, A MORE STRATEGIC BUSINESS PLAN THAN “PRAY THAT NOTHING CHANGES, EVER.”

I suddenly went from a professional high to deep disappointment. In addition to losing a significant chunk of my income, I had lost my plans for the future with this client, the “luxury” of postponing business development, and yes, some of my pride. And while my business has more than bounced back since then, the sting of this disappointment is still a part of my consciousness.

Now, in retrospect, that blow to my ego and my bottom line wasn’t the worst thing in the world. It was the kick in the butt I needed to develop a thicker skin, more personal and professional resilience, and yes, a more strategic business plan than “pray that nothing changes, ever.” Nonetheless, in the moment, I felt like my professional world was crashing down around me--and that tomorrow would only look and feel worse.

Sound familiar? Whether you blew your big presentation, failed to land the account that you had “in the bag,” or got passed over for a promotion, you know what disappointment feels like. It sucks--it sucks our energy, our confidence, and our dreams. Disappointment itself has many cousins in the family of negative emotions (anger, fear, sadness) but it also has a unique formula, as highlighted by author Chip Conley is his New York Times best-selling book,Emotional Equations: disappointment equals expectations, minus reality.

In other words, disappointment shows up in the gap between what we planned or hoped for and what we actually got. Sometimes that gap is a small fissure, easy to manage and simple to bridge. Other times, that gap is a giant chasm, and it can feel nearly impossible to pull ourselves out. What’s distinctively difficult about disappointment is that we grieve for the loss we feel today while we have to reconcile that our plans for a particular future that we had envisioned are lost as well.

We all deal with disappointments of all shapes and sizes in both our professional and personal lives on a regular basis: like the “sure thing” client (expectation) who went with another firm (reality); like the book proposal that we labored over (expectation) that got rejected by seven publishers (reality), and like the love of our life (expectation) who decided to love someone else (reality…AND reality TV, sadly). But we don’t just have our own disappointments to deal with: We have those of our colleagues, clients, bosses, family, and friends to consider. And the way in which we handle (or don’t handle) our disappointments can expand or limit the ways in which we support others in dealing with theirs.

Here are three strategies to manage disappointment when it shows up, because, for better or for worse, it will:

Recognize that there’s no correct way or time to manage disappointment. You may want to find the bright side (“So what? Losing this client means we have time to pursue other, more exciting clients!”) while your boss or colleague chooses to sit with the darkness or fear for a while (“Losing this client looks bad for us. We’ve got to figure out how to spin this before it becomes a PR disaster”). Don’t feel compelled to pull someone out of their misery prematurely or to ask someone to tone down their Pollyanna approach that rubs you the wrong way. As positive as I tend to be, I have a strong, negative reaction to people who need for me to see the bright side before I’m ready to. Just take some space and give some space, and don’t force someone to see your perspective immediately.

Assume that you have something to learn from this setback. When I lost my big client, I realized that I had minimized the importance of creating a long-term business pipeline in order to maximize short-term profits. Yes, I was busy making hay while the sun shined, but I hadn’t planted the seeds for the following harvest. Now, I am constantly doing business development while I do income-generating work because that disappointment taught me a terrible and terrific lesson that I don’t want to have to repeat. Your disappointment might highlight some shortcoming in your business strategy, an inflated setup in expectations, a mistake in your assumptions, an error in judgment, or even a character flaw in yourself. Don’t waste the pain. Force it to yield you valuable personal and professional rewards.

Don’t shrink your goals to avoid future disappointment. The anger, sadness, and embarrassment that can result from a setback can be a huge deterrent to putting yourself back out there, professionally and personally, to do what you were meant to do and be who you were meant to be. Do you set an undersized goal for your annual sales so that you are all but guaranteed to achieve it? When your superstar staff member quit to take a bigger job elsewhere, did you replace her with someone less fabulous as a (hopeful) retention tool? Are you hanging on to a book proposal that you won’t share with agents for fear of rejection? When we set a low bar for ourselves as a way to feel safe and even victorious when we achieve those small objectives, we deprive ourselves, our companies, and the world of our excellence and brilliance. Now that’s the real disappointment.

Author Marianne Williamson wrote, “Your playing small does not serve the world.” The big pain of disappointment can lead to even bigger outcomes and opportunities if we’re willing to be patient with the process, do the hard work to learn critical lessons, and, yes, put ourselves out there again. And again.

--Deborah Grayson Riegel is a communication and behavior expert and president of Elevated Training Inc. and MyJewishCoach.com. She is the author of Oy Vey! Isn't a Strategy: 25 Solutions for Personal and Professional Success.
[Image: Flickr user Kenny Louie]

How To Bounce Back Stronger After You Blow It At Work | Fast Company:

How to Tone Down Your Resume

Has your resume run amok? Has attention-deficit diluted your writing prowess as you seek for the latest, hippest ways to market You, Inc.?

If you have watched television programs or read articles from some of the major media lately, you’d think that “resumes gone wild” is the way to go. Here are three examples:

1. Six-second “Vine resumes” have crept through the latticework of the career landscape.

2. An Amazon resume developed by a web product manager creatively detailed his career.

3. Job-seeker billboards straddle the grounds of major highways.

Attempts to disrupt the resume market have indeed multiplied.

While brilliant, nuanced and attention-grabbing resumes are vital to set you apart from the competition, defining how to color outside the lines while maintaining a message that is crisp, clear and purposeful to your audience is equally vital.

Unfortunately, the media’s need for sound bites and traffic-generation often supersedes providing pragmatic value to the job-seeking audience. While boots-on-the-ground resume strategists who have intimate experience working alongside job seekers sit quietly holding their tongues, the airtime often goes to reports touting sexy, outlandish resume methods under the guise of ingenuity.

Filter Out the Hype

If this confusing message has sent your blood pressure soaring and compelled you to seek the craftiest way to market yourself, calm down – creative resumes that tell a ‘value story’ still net the best results.

More than ever, in fact, doing the roll-up-your-sleeves work to research your target company, hiring manager and company culture is critical (Glassdoor’s robust company search features will help speed your research!). By doing the arduous work in understanding your recipient’s needs and then vetting out your methods of fulfilling those requirement in your resume, cover letter, emails, elevator pitches, biographies and social media profiles you will ultimately stand apart and get the right person’s attention.

While the flash-in-the-pan resume infographics may dazzle a news reporter, the reader that matters is the one who will choose your resume from the stack of thousands and ask you for the interview. That person is silently waiting for the most qualified candidate, not the most innovative sound-bite resume.

Zero in Your Message on Your Target Reader

Your focus when writing your resume should be the hiring decision-maker, and how you will help them make more money, get things done faster, stop falling behind, look better, regain control of the overflowing project list and stop the bleeding! Nothing less, nothing more. It’s not about you and your capriciously designed resume. It’s about THEM.

Showcasing your words with a little flair is advisable – think, “framing” and value-add illustrations. For example, the following resume snippet shows how focus on the individual’s value proposition and achievements take center stage; the spots of color and the chart serve to frame the information, adding pop, but not overwhelming the message:

How To Tone Down Your Resume For Better Results | Glassdoor Blog:

The 2 Things Savvy Interviewers Are Looking For - On Careers (usnews.com)

The 2 Things Savvy Interviewers Are Looking For - On Careers (usnews.com):

1. People who have the right behavior patterns for the job. 

2. People who possess the core competencies required for success. 

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Beef Up Your Resume

by Sara McCord, February 27, 2013 

Did you catch the recent Office episode when Pam was applying for a new job? After spending pretty much her whole career at Dunder Mifflin, her resume was a blank page with a few lines on it—text so brief that it “could fit on a Post-it note.”

Sure, it was funny (and yes, she still got the job!)—but for some of us, it hit a little too close to home. You often hear the advice, “keep your resume to one page,” but what if you type out your education and work experience, and you still see a half page of white space left?

Don’t worry. Whether you’re right out of school or you’ve been at the same company for years like Pam, here are a few strategic ways to fill up that page.

 Do: Consider All of Your Professional Experience

Did you leave off your babysitting gig or that pizza place you worked at while you were in college because you thought it sounded “young?” Well, it’s time to reassess—some of those jobs can be surprisingly useful.

Begin the resume-lengthening process by typing out all (yes, all) of your previous jobs and adding a few bullet points to each. You might not include every one on every version of your resume, but it’s helpful to see what you have to work with.

Then, think about the position you’re applying for, and consider including any job that gave you relevant or transferable skills. My first resume, for example, included my time at Abercrombie and Fitch—it was sales experience, and I knew that skill would directly translate to my dream job in fundraising. Were you a shift leader at Starbucks? That’s management experience. And even a babysitting or tutoring job demonstrates that you’ve been hired and deemed responsible.

 Do: Expand Upon Accomplishments

Once you’ve finalized your list of jobs, remember that you have a luxury more experienced job seekers don’t—space to get into more detail. Imagine that you and another candidate both held the same first job in social media. The other candidate, who’s also listing many other positions, may only have space for one bullet point—e.g., “maintained integrated online social media program”—but you can use your extra space to really flesh that experience out. List out how many thousands of fans you grew the organization’s Facebook page by, your experience editing videos for YouTube, and the monetized campaign you led on Twitter.

Or, say you were an executive assistant responsible for some event planning. Don’t just say, “Assisted with 10 events per year,” separate it into bullets explaining your expertise in designing invitations, finding venues, and overseeing set-up. Just because you’ve only held one position doesn’t mean you don’t have a variety of experiences—and when you’re starting out, being able to detail all that out will go a long way in showing the hiring manager what you have to offer.

 Do: List Volunteer Experience

If you’re short on work experience but you’ve done some volunteering, this can (and should!) be its own section. It’s a great way to list additional skills and responsibilities—plus, sharing that you built houses for Habitat for Humanity or ran three charity races last year gives hiring managers additional insight into who you are. Within this section, list each of your volunteer positions the same way you do your paid jobs, with your title (even if it’s just “Volunteer”), the organization, dates of service, and your accomplishments.

Don’t have any volunteer experience? Sign up for something now! Even if you’re stuffing envelopes or hanging flyers, that experience is one more line on the page than you had before—not to mention valuable (and hopefully rewarding) experience.

 Do: Section Out Your Skills

Let’s say you have some foreign language, software, and leadership skills, plus a few more competencies, noted in your “Skills” section. That’s great, but it’s a bit of a laundry list, and odds are it will get skimmed.

So try this: Break out one skill that directly relates to what the position calls for and put it in its own section. Does the job description specifically ask for someone with fluency in a second language or software expertise? Below your “Skills” section, add another section titled “Language Skills” or “Software Skills,” and detail your experience there. This not only adds a couple more lines to the page, but it highlights what makes you a particularly strong candidate.

 Don’t: Stray from Standard Margins and Font

So what if, even after all of the tips above, you still have a half page left over? While having some white space is OK, don’t go to extremes changing the margins and font size to make your resume “look bigger.” This is obvious and comes off as unprofessional—like you didn’t think you had enough to fill a page or you’re trying to “fool” the hiring manager. If you’re really at a loss for what to include, consider including your website or social media profiles or listing your references at the bottom of your resume.

 Above all, though, don’t let these early resumes intimidate you. Everyone’s been in your shoes at one point (even the hiring manager)—and hey, the only way you’re going to grow your experience is one position at a time.

 Photo of woman working on resume courtesy of Shutterstock.

Paragraph to One Page: How to Beef Up Your Resume | The Daily Muse:

How To Be More Charismatic

Interview – Harvard/MIT Lecturer Olivia Fox Cabane teaches you how to be more charismatic

by eric barker

• 

Olivia Fox Cabane is the author of The Charisma Myth. She’s lectured on the subject at Harvard, Stanford, Yale, MIT, Google and the United Nations.

I spoke with her about how charisma works, the science behind it and how anyone can become more influential.

For brevity’s sake I’m only going to post edited highlights here.

If you want the extended interview I’ll be sending it out with my weekly newsletter on Sunday. Join here.

———————————————

How does charisma work?

Eric:

In The Charisma Myth you break down charisma into presence, power, and warmth. Can you speak a little bit about those?

Olivia:

Absolutely. One of the things that was most interesting for me was that when you look at some of the neuroscience studies, such as the Princeton studies on first impressions, power and warmth were actually the first two elements that the human brain evaluates and reacts to. Those are the sections of the brain that light up when we are first encountering someone, we evaluate their warmth and their competency, their power. So, presence actually is the dimension that underlies both of these. When you think of people describing their experiences, seeing charisma in action, it doesn’t matter whether it’s Bill Clinton, Condoleezza Rice, or the Dali Lama, they often mention this quality. They give you the feeling that they’re completely present with you in the moment. Power is not actual power. It’s not the actual power you yield. But it’s our perception of your ability to influence the world around you.

What most people get wrong about charisma.

Olivia:

The most commonly held myth that I encountered when first doing this research was that charisma is an innate quality, that some people have it and some people don’t and whatever you’re born with you’re stuck with. In fact, charisma’s a quality that fluctuates. It’ll be there one moment and gone the next. It’s also a very learnable quality. So, a lot of people who are known today as some of the most charismatic people actually learned charisma step by step.

Making your body language more charismatic has little to do with your body.

Olivia:

Body language is in fact quite a bit more important than content. It’s the old but accurate:it’s not what you say but how you say it. One of the things to realize is there is way too much body language to control consciously. One of my favorite tricks to show people how this works is, if I ask you right now, were you aware of your eyelids fluttering in front of your eyes?

Eric:

No.

Olivia:

How about the position of your toes and your feet?

Eric:

Nope.

Olivia:

Have you forgotten your eyelids again?

[laughter]

Olivia:

So that’s how it works. In every minute we have hundreds of thousands of body language signals that are pouring out from us and broadcasting how we’re feeling and thinking to everyone around. So even when you manage to control your facial expression consciously, sooner or later what’s called a “micro-expression” is going to flash. And even if it’s as fast as 17 milliseconds, people will catch that because that is how fast people read each others’ facial expressions. So trying to control your facial expressions is not just impossible, it will even backfire. Since the micro-expressions will be incongruent with the main expression, they’ll give the impression that something is not quite right and you can end up seeming fake — which, of course, ruins trust and charisma.

Eric:

So is there any way to improve your body language then?

Olivia:

There is. This is one of the cases where we turn to techniques that are used in sports psychology, for example. The same way that athletes get themselves “into the zone” you get yourself into a mental zone of whatever body language you want to emanate. And that way it will cascade through your body from whatever mindset that you wanted to get. So it really is mind over matter in the sense that whatever’s in your mind will come out through your body language.

Want to be more charismatic? Think about your toes.

Eric:

What’s something we can use to increase charisma that’s quick and easy?

Olivia:

So for that one I turn to presence; because there’s no such thing as too much presence, and presence is always going to improve your charisma immediately. And one of my favorite tools for that is to tell people to focus on the physical sensations in their toes. Like right now, focus on the physical sensation in your toes. And though it may seem slightly quirky it actually is very effective because it forces your brain to sweep your body from head to toe and get you very physically present in the moment.

What’s another great resource for learning more?

Eric:

So, other than The Charisma Myth, are there any other books on the subject of charisma that you would recommend to people?

Olivia:

There are some exceptional books on influence. One that I always recommend is Robert Cialdini’s book, Influence: the Psychology of Persuasion.

Interview – Harvard/MIT Lecturer Olivia Fox Cabane teaches you how to be more charismatic | Barking Up The Wrong Tree

Pointers for Surviving the Dreaded Panel Interview

By HANNAH MORGAN

Hannah Morgan


There is probably nothing more overwhelming than walking into a room where five, six, or more people are sitting behind a table waiting to interview you. What will you do to level the playing field and take on the team?

To prevent this surprise from happening in the first place, be sure you ask the person coordinating the interview who you will be interviewing with and what the format of the interview will be. Yes, you can ask these questions.

Armed with an idea of who may be in the room, start researching the interview team by looking on the company's website and LinkedIn to learn more about their background. As you research the people and the company, create a list of questions you would like them to answer. Asking questions during the interview shows interest in the job and creates a more balanced conversation. Here are some questions to get you started:

What are the most important elements of this job?

* What are the three main factors you will be using to determine the right person for this job?
* What did the last person in this position go on to do?
* How is job performance evaluated at your company, and how often will I be evaluated?
* What types of skills do you NOT already have on-board that you're looking to fill with a new hire?
* What goals do you expect the person who takes this job to achieve during the first year (or 30, 60, 90 days)?
* What are common mistakes that people just starting this job make that I can avoid?
* What do you like best about working here?
* Has anyone on your staff been promoted over the last couple of years? If so, what was the reason why this person was promoted?
* A panel interview provides the interviewers with the opportunity to evaluate you and your answers given the same set of circumstances. It also saves time. To help level the playing field, establish rapport when you first enter the room. Walk up to the panel and shake each person's hand and introduce yourself. Don't forget to smile and have a firm handshake.

During the interview, it may feel like questions are being fired at you from different angles, and you may wonder who to address when you answer a question. The key is to make regular eye contact with the person who has asked the question. Once you have finished your answer, quickly scan the expressions and body language of the other panelists. You're hoping to see smiles, head nods, or body language that indicates they're listening and engaged. You may want to address your next question to the person who seems least interested or engaged to draw them in.

At the close of the interview, be sure to thank each person on the panel and shake their hands again. Don't be afraid to ask for their business cards. You will need this information to send each panelist a customized and unique thank you letter.

http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2013/02/27/pointers-for-surviving-the-dreaded-panel-interview