Video: Job Seekers: Three Small Ways to Set Yourself Apart

Four Little Ways Job Seekers Can Set Themselves Apart ~ By Christina

It’s no secret that its a tight job market right now and there are a significant number of applicants for each and every job. As a job seeker you have to find ways to set yourself apart from the others.

Here are a few tips:

#1: Read the posting carefully and follow the instructions. If a posting asks you to title the subject of your email in a certain way: Do it. If the posting asks that you submit a covering letter: Do it.  If the posting asks that you apply for the job by emailing a recruiter: Do it (aka: don’t email the company directly because you think it sets you apart; it sets you apart in the wrong way as we’re left wondering if this applicant is capable of following instructions.) Make it easy on the hiring team by following the postings requests. They’ve asked because it helps in their process, so help them out by following along.

#2: Your resume: Name it, Combine it and PDF it. Firstly, please, please think about the file name of your resume. If we have 50 applicants for one Account Manager role and all the resumes are called “Account Manager” it’s incredibly difficult to keep them organized. Including your own personal name within the file name helps us make a stronger association between the resume and the person. Secondly, please put your Resume and Covering Letter in one document.  There are exactly zero reasons to keep them separate and it looks much cleaner from an administrative perspective. Lastly, converting your application documents into a PDF file is strongly recommended. It helps to ensure they don’t get modified in any way and that the formatting you’ve worked so hard to craft stays looking beautiful.

#3: Do your research. If you take zero minutes to poke around the website, I can tell. If you take any number of minutes to poke around the website of the company, I can tell.  The interest you have in a job truly shows and if you actually want the job you are applying for take a couple of minutes to review the organization and then work that into your resume or covering letter.  See a similar project? Be sure to mention it. Have similar values? Let us know. Does accepting the role require a move? Tell us why you’d like to live and work there. The energy you put in a resume is evident and reflective of the energy you might put into the job itself.

#4: Say Thank you. I recently interviewed 22 people for a role and received exactly one thank you email. When I started in this business 20+ years ago it was standard practice to receive a handwritten thank you card in the mail, that was slowly replaced by emails (and so it should… save the trees and all…) but now we just don’t hear from a candidate at all. Crafting a two minute thank you email that reiterates your interest in the role and thanks the interviewer for their time buys you serious brownie points. Emailing a thank you shows character and who doesn’t want to work with someone who is polite and thoughtful? I certainly do!

I know that job hunting is tough – probably one of the toughest jobs out there. These few small things don’t take much energy or effort but they certainly help you to rise above your competition. Because at the end of the day, employers want to hire people that they actually want to work with. It isn’t just about the experience you’ve had – it’s also about the person you are.

Job Seekers: Which Resume is Right for You? ~ By Christina

Did you know there are three common resume formats: chronological, functional, and combination. There are also target and mini resumes for specific uses. Read on to find out which is best for you!

Chronological

A chronological resume generally opens by listing your work experience. Start with your most recent role first and work backward from there. Employers typically prefer this type of resume because it's easy to see what jobs you've held and when you have held them – and remember the whole point in writing a resume is to get yourself in front of employers, so what they think definitely matters. It's by far the most common type.

When to use chronological: You have a strong, solid work history and want to highlight it.

Functional

A functional resume focuses on your skills, experience, and abilities. Rather than focusing on your work history, it focuses on what you can do and how you might contribute to an organization. They often start with accomplishments or a skills section that lists the various attributes you have developed over the years. Truly functional resumes do not include employment history at all, but some include a concise list of work history at the bottom.

When to use functional: You are changing careers, you're just starting out, or you have gaps in your employment history. Basically, anytime you would rather emphasize your qualifications over your job history.

Combination

The combination resume is a mix between chronological and functional. It's an opportunity to highlight your work experience as well as your skills. Often at the top of the resume is a list of your qualifications and abilities. Below, you would include a chronological work history. What makes this a combination resume is the fact that your work history is not the focus of the resume and typically doesn't take up a lot of space.

When to use combination: You want to highlight why you're qualified, and provide the employer with what they are looking for which is where you’ve worked and when.

Target

A targeted resume is a resume that is specifically customized to highlight experience skills and qualifications you have that are relevant to a specific job you're applying for. Targeted resumes take significantly more time, however, the effort will not go unnoticed. Employers can easily see when you submit a generic resume rather than why you are qualified for that specific job .

When to use target: You are the perfect match for a specific role.

Mini

A mini resume contains a very brief summary of your career highlights and accomplishments and qualifications. It only contains information related to a specific position or industry that you were hoping to work in.

When to use mini: You are attending a job fair or career networking event, or you are passing along your resume to a contact in order for them to pass it on to a hiring manager or a recruiter. It's helpful when you want to leave something more than just a business card.

Regardless of which format you choose for your resume, the most important area of focus is on ensuring it reflects you and the job you want.  

Can the Myers Briggs Help Job Seekers?

Yes!

About The Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

The MBTI is a proven and effective tool that can create the platform to understand differences, increase the effectiveness of communication and decrease the presence of stress is your workplace. We work with you to help identify your own ‘’best fit’’ type and provide deeper contextual meaning of your preferences. We utilize exercises to identify both your strengths and your areas for growth.  Prior to your session, you are asked to complete a 20 minute self-assessment which generates an impactful report that is yours to keep.

What We Do During The MBTI Session

The session will include background information into your specific MBTI preferences looking at each preference through the lens of ‘team’ and how you might best flourish at work. The session is designed to inform you, not only about your own preferences, but to make you aware of the preferences of others on your current and future teams and what the impact of those differences can be.  Exercises (no weird role-play, I promise!) will be utilized to illustrate your strengths and blind spots, generating discussion on areas where you can improve performance. The session will be comprised of a PowerPoint presentation, real-life examples, open discussion and MBTI workshop exercises.

The Myers Briggs Type Indicator is an awesome tool for job seekers!

What You Can Expect After the Session

After completion of the MBTI attendees report that they experience:

Improved Communication: A greater understanding of the preferences of others leads to more open and collaborative dialogue throughout partnerships, teams, between leadership and employees as well as across separate teams of employees. Improved communication is seen both at home and at work through the use of understanding your and others preferences.

Improved Team Performance: Whether your team is at home or in a workplace, the insight gained into the preferences of those around you can aid in decision making, training, project management and other initiatives. Also, by understanding the sources of stress for your family, colleagues, team members and others, you are better able to aid and avoid pitfalls.

Conflict Resolution: With increased communication and understanding of differences comes a reduction in the nature and severity of usual conflicts within any environment.  You become better at being empathetic to colleagues, personal relations and even strangers on the street!

Building of Effective Teams:  If you understand the underlying dynamics of your groups and teams, it becomes easier to put your teams together.  Your success can be as simple as optimizing the people that are already onboard with you and understanding that varying styles and preferences can become your greatest strength as a team.

Can This Help me With a Job Search?

Immensely! By knowing how and where you best function – where you thrive, you are easily able to target the kinds of activities and responsibilities you will want to undertake in your next role.

 We look forward to hearing from you and potentially working with you and your team. Just drop a quick email to hello@praxisrecruitment.ca!