From the Hiring Side: How to Make Yourself a Valuable Commodity
By Louise Kursmark
Having had the opportunity to hear from and interact with HR professionals and hiring managers at recent professional meetings, I’m glad to pass along their words of wisdom and some relevant advice on ways you can make yourself a more attractive candidate during your job search.
“It’s All About Relationships.”
Good companies create a pipeline of candidates, and if you are a good fit for the company and its culture, they will want to talk with you even if there are no current openings. Don’t brush off a meeting just because there’s no current job. Instead, look for the opportunity to build a relationship that may pay off in the long run.
And be on the alert for ways you can help the company – by offering solutions to a current problem, referring candidates for a specific job, or sharing a business idea. You’ll cement the relationship and mark yourself as a high-value potential candidate, someone they’ll remember and call when an appropriate opening does occur.
”We Don’t Have the Time to Figure Out What a
Candidate Can do for Our Company.”
In all of your career marketing materials – your resume, cover letter, and introductions – are you crystal clear about what you can do and your areas of expertise? Or do you try to cover too many bases? A resume that is too broad is ineffective because readers don’t have time or interest to puzzle out what you can do. When faced with a resume they can’t immediately grasp and categorize, their first instinct is to place it in the “no” file (read: trash).
“We Look at Experience First.”
A creative profile or functional-style resume does not deter hiring professionals from going right to the core of the matter – where you have worked (and for how long – are you a job hopper?), what titles you have held (has your career progressed?), and what you have achieved (have you been a spotty or a steady contributor?). Don’t make it harder for them than you have to – yes, there are lots of techniques to put a positive spin on just about anything in your background, but be sure you are giving readers the information they need to make a “call” or “don’t call” decision. If your background is challenging (say you’ve held a series of short-term jobs, worked at several companies that quickly failed, or took a step down in title for any number of reasons), you will need to be extra careful that your baldly stated work history doesn’t sink you at once. Consider hiring a resume writer!
“Past Performance is an Indicator of Future Performance.”
The science of behavior-based interviewing is on the rise at high-caliber companies around the world. The premise is simple: What you HAVE done is the best indicator of what you WILL do. Hiring professionals look for evidence of your abilities through achievements in your resume and stories during the interview process. They want to know details – how much, when, for what reason – and they don’t want generalities. If you are unfamiliar with behavioral interviewing techniques, you may be selling yourself short in your resume and be at a marked disadvantage in the interview.
“Even in Slow-Growth Or No-Growth Times, Companies Need to Hire.”
This is great news! It suggests that no matter what you hear about a company – that it’s downsizing, not hiring, in a hiring freeze, or whatever – you should not automatically cross that company off your list. If it matches your experience… if the culture is a good fit for your values and ethics… and if you really want to work there, target that company and attempt to build relationships within HR and your functional area. When an appropriate opening does occur, you’ll be on the radar screen and leagues ahead of candidates who wait for an announced opening that may never take place. Keep in mind, even the best companies have at least 5% annual turnover. Why shouldn’t one of those open spots be offered to you?
In tackling any challenge, it helps to fully understand the problem, the players, and the possibilities. Armed with information from the hiring side, you can make smart decisions about where and how to target your job search.
