7 Actionable Tips to Get Noticed Online & Offline
Finding your dream job and having a well established career path is not easy. It takes time and work but it’s not impossible. Most People think that when you start looking for a job or changing careers the main thing to do besides having a resume, is to create a cover letter. There are many ways to land that dream job without putting all your effort in that cover letter that your are hoping is going to stand out from hundreds or thousands received by recruiters. Moreover, nowadays many companies are using cover letter-type fields of one paragraph or with a restricted/limited number of characters in their online applications.
Here are 7 tips that can help you get noticed online and offline and none of them have to do with the mythical cover letter:
1) There is Only One Chance For a First Impression
You’d better have that in mind every time you go out with a friend or coworker as well as how you interact in each one of the social media platforms you have. You don’t know if that friend of yours knows somebody who, at the end, will be the contact that leads to your next job.
2) Facebook is not Only For You and Your Close Ones
Remember that employers check Facebook in order to see your other side; basically they are checking that you are not a partier or crazy person. I suggest you clean up the content in your profile as well as those pictures where you are with your friends in College partying. If you are going to post something ask yourself this question “What would my mother think of me if she sees this?”
3) How about that LinkedIn Profile
A complete LinkedIn profile is not only a good introduction to people who don’t know your work but also to those who don’t know you at all. The more complete your profile the better. One of the most important parts is the summary statement and headline, where you describe your skills and what you are looking to do in the future. If you have work or school projects, don’t forget to upload them. Recruiters will look not only for recommendations but also for those projects. Potential employers love looking at LinkedIn profiles because they learn about prospects work experience, involvement in an industry and how colleagues, previous employers and industry leaders regard them. You should follow companies you are interested in and join relevant professional groups. However, the best way to get noticed is by posting and engaging on public discussions where you can prove your literacy in the topics they are talking about and sharing in those groups.
4) Twitter is Beyond Those 140-characters
If you have a Twitter account and still have an egg as a picture, I suggest you update that picture and start seeing Twitter as a powerful networking tool for professionals. In addition, you can create your bio displaying your interests and skills, as well as a link to your personal website or LinkedIn profile. Most companies have a Twitter account, you can follow them and start getting an idea of their culture and possible news or trends in the industry, which you can bring up on an interview showing how interested and engaged you are with the work that the company does. There are other ways to know relevant information and that’s through influencers or employees in those companies; you can start connections just when you follow people like them. On Twitter you can join Twitter chats that you can find following communities of professionals since they will promote those chats. For example, if you are interested in Marketing, you can find one chat focused on #DigitalMarketing or #SEO. Twitter is a micro-blogging platform. Use it in that way to provide value to your followers and you will get noticed.
5) Let’s Do Some Networking
Now that you have all your social media platforms ready, step away from the computer and start attending to niche focus events. You can do it as an attendee or volunteering your time (give something to get something). I’m a Graduate student and I have attended many seminars to learn the best way to do networking but I love the approach given on this video and in my opinion this is the best way to not only connect with people but also be more effective and have fun.
With this I’m not saying that you shouldn’t be prepared with an elevator pitch but try to apply the 80/20 rule, focus 80% of your conversation on whomever you are talking to and only 20% talking about your story. After meeting people at events connect with them by LinkedIn and Twitter. Through these platforms you can keep in contact with them.
6) Informational Interviews are The New Job Interviews
If you are looking to get into a particular industry or simply a particular company and one or a couple of your connections work at that company or on that field, you can send them emails where you explain your interest in learning about them, their career and company or sector they work in. You can ask to meet for 15 minutes for coffee or if the person is from out of town a phone or video conference. When the person agrees to the meeting you are going to start preparing and researching about the company and relevant industry and be prepared to ask intelligent questions; Anthony Robbins once said “If you want better answers ask better questions”, that will later help you increase your knowledge and to be certain if that is the company and field you want to get into. Even though you are not the center of the conversation, be prepared to discuss your value proposition and how you would see yourself in the future .If in the future this person sees an opportunity that you could fit in, he/she will have you in mind and recommend you.
7) Technology is Your Friend…
Don’t be afraid to use the new trends in the industry. We spoke about LinkedIn and Twitter and how they are great tools to stay up to date on your industry, job openings and announcements. Moreover, there are many websites dedicated 100% to post open positions. Nowadays there are applications such as Switch that uses the information from your LinkedIn profile and anonymously sends you job postings directly to your phone or IOS device. The Tinder for jobs, allows you to browse through the positions you receive daily, swipe to the right if you are interested in the job or pass it to the left if you are not. If an employer is interested (match), you will receive a message so, you can engage with a recruiter to continue the process.
Put these 7 tips into practice, and you’ll see faster results landing that dream job.
I hope you find these tips helpful. If so, please recommend and share this post.
This post is part of Inbound Marketing Clinic, a research project at NYU SPS
