The economy may be showing signs of recovery, but the job market remains as competitive as ever.
If you want to boost your chances of landing the job of your dreams, you need to do far more than just ace the interview – you need to ensure that every aspect of your life that is within your control highlights your suitability for the role.
Read on for a few tips to make sure the next job you go for is the one you get.
Choose with care
Although you should always be aiming as high as possible, it’s most important to be realistic with your expectations. There is no point in applying for jobs that you lack the experience of qualifications for.
Instead, you need to spend some time looking in detail at your own strengths, weaknesses and interests in order to find the job that would suit you best.
You can then work on building your skillset in that area and gaining the kind of experience that will impress those in charge of recruitment.
You might also want to spend time refining your CV and going through your social media accounts to ensure there is nothing there you would not want a prospective employer to view.
Show some flair
You can also use social media as a platform to show off your skills and creativity. If you love taking dramatic pictures of cityscapes, put them front and centre in your Instagram account and provide links as part of your application.
You can also show off your flair for design by using a banner creator to create dramatic backdrops for your Facebook and Twitter pages. Take every possible opportunity to show what you can do as you never know when such skills might come in useful.
Ask for feedback
If you’ve been unsuccessful for a number of positions you felt you were ideally suited for, it’s a good idea to approach the company concerned and ask for feedback.
This isn’t something you have an automatic right to and many companies may feel they are too busy to comply or simply fob you off with a stock response, but when you find a company that is willing to provide you with detailed, genuine feedback about why someone else was selected for the position, it can be invaluable.
If you are told that you consistently underplayed your strengths, that you didn’t seem excited enough by the role being offered, that you failed to translate your experience in a way that made the interviewer confident that you could manage the position you were hoping for or simply lacked experience in a key area, these are all takeaways that you can work on to ensure you are better prepared the next time around.
Use any feedback you receive as an opportunity to turn your failure to land a particular job into something positive. Use it to move forward and, though it might be painful to hear, always see it as something that will ultimately help your career.
