How to stand out in a crowded job market
With everyone blogging, vlogging and tweeting for attention it may seem like you are invisible in the social media world. You may have been passed over for jobs, never making it to the interview stage. With more and more recruiters and employers using online tools to find their next candidate, making sure you stand out and appear in their online feed is more important than ever. So how can you make yourself stand out so you can be noticed by recruiters and employers? Create your brand Manage your profile like a marketer Optimise your CV Be part of the crowd and join the conversation Have an opinion and tell stories Ask for recommendations Create your brand No, this isn't about making yourself into the next Kardashian, but about having a guide for focussing your efforts and presence of social media. Answer the following questions: What do you want to do? What do you want to specialise in? What do you do well? Just having this jotted down will help you focus your efforts on your CV, job searches and in social networking. (Check out “themuse” for more tips on how to create your brand). Manage your profile like a marketer With recruiters now looking on social media to find quality candidates, you need to be in charge of you. So, create a strategy and plan to manage your image and reputation online. Have a plan of what, when and where to post. Use platforms that recruiters use, like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Use tools like Buffer and Hootsuite to schedule posts at peak times. These platforms can even suggest the best times for posting content to get the maximum views. Ensure your branding is consistent across all platforms. Make sure your headline and profile summaries are effective and consistent. Dress for success is just as important on social media – except the dress is your photos, banners and media. Ensure you have a good headshot for each and are sharing rich media. Optimise your CV Most people haven’t updated their CV in years. It is important to keep this updated every month, for example, by adding in new achievements or new skills. Make sure your CV is updated online and is concise and focussed on actions and accomplishments. Make sure you are using the right keywords to describe your skills. For example, you may use the term “IT Skills,” where a recruiter uses “Microsoft Office Skills”. Look for career development needs to keep yourself competitive. See more tips on how to write an impressive CV here. Be part of the crowd and join in the conversation Follow topics you are passionate about, like and share them. Follow influencers and join LinkedIn Groups. More importantly, follow the companies that you would like to work for. Follow industry trends. Employers want to know that candidates are genuinely interested in them and the industry and can see the bigger picture. Comment on other people’s posts. This is a great way of increasing your network and showing your engagement an commitment. Add value. You may have old presentations that you can edit and turn into Slide Shares. Have an opinion and tell stories You don’t have to have a PhD to write something interesting. Odds are, whatever is bothering you is bothering someone else and if you have some insight on it, then write about it. Start a personal blog or use LinkedIn to create compelling content to share with your network and get yourself noticed by employers. Write content that offers value to those in your chosen industry. Be authentic. Don’t suddenly try writing in the style of Lord Sugar. Be true to yourself, and write about what you know. By having content online will make it easier for search engines to find you and employers to notice you. Ask for recommendations Most recruiters have to wait until after they have interviewed you to check your references but having these upfront on your LinkedIn profile will make you stand out. Kingsley Recruitment is an award-winning recruitment consultant, working with high-quality candidates for roles within the Legal and Property sectors Find out more about us at www.kingsleyrecruitment.co.uk.
October 17, 2018
Tweets from @KingsleyRecruit