Let’s face it – there’s a lot of candidates out there in the job market. So, if you’ve been applying for several jobs with no prevail, it could be that your CV is getting lost in the pack of countless other applicants you’re competing with.
It could also be that your interview technique just isn’t showcasing your personality and professional skill set. That’s why it’s all the more important to find creative ways of standing out to impress a head hunter.
But, how? That’s exactly what we are going to discuss in this short but insightful article today!
The Benefits of Working With an Interim Management Firm
Just before we move on to our tips, we’d like to mention that if you’re a senior executive or experienced management professional looking for a temporary role, an interim management position could be perfect if you’re looking to make short and long term impact.
This type of role can be hugely rewarding as there is usually a problem that you need to solve during your time with any given company. Even better, there are now plenty of executive recruitment firms that specialise in interim management roles.
Our Tips for Standing Out
One: Personalise Your CV and Cover Letter
Sending a generic CV and cover letter for many different roles isn’t going to do you any favours. If you do, it shows that you haven’t paid close attention to the job listings and put in the effort, which negatively reflects on you as a candidate.
Recruiters don’t have a lot of time to go through CVs, so when they see one that aligns with exactly what they’re looking for, it makes them stop and check it out more thoroughly.
Two: Project The Right Attitude During the Interview
Every candidate can spend time creating a killer looking CV. However, to see the professional energy and charisma of an eager candidate is a gamechanger. Often, head hunters will opt to employ a candidate who has less experience but more passion and drive than other candidates.
Some might question that it’s possible to fake passion and drive during an interview – let us just tell you, you can’t. An experienced head hunter will have screened and interviewed 100’s of candidates and will have a keen eye on who’s actually passionate and who just wants to be paid at the end of the month.
Three: Focus on Your Achievements Rather Than Skills
Candidates will often focus on their skill sets and previously held positions. And, whilst you may think that this is the right approach to take – it isn’t. The problem is, if every candidate in a pool approaches their interviews in this way, there’s very little chance that any of them will stand out in the eyes of a recruiter.
An excellent way to stand out and make that “all-important” lasting impression is to make your achievements front and centre during an interview.
But, it’s essential to be specific. For example, tell the recruiter how much money you made for your previous company, what products/services you launched and how many people you managed. Once you’ve spoken about your achievements, only then support them with your skillset.
Four: Show That You’re a Problem Solver
Before you have an interview, find a problem or opportunity related to the position you’re applying for. And, if you want to showcase your energy and passion, you could present it in the form of a blog post and send it over to the recruiter before an interview.
Within the copy, you could outline the steps you would take to resolve the problem if you were successful with your application. But, instead of posting the blog post online, copy and paste it into an email and send it over to the recruiter.
Five: Showcase Your Initiative
During a job interview, you must effectively communicate that you’re the type of employee who takes initiative. Even at entry-level, recruiters like to hire candidates who will put the work in to evolve into leaders. But, these types of candidates must showcase their ability to self-start very early on.
During an interview, you can convey this by providing an example of a past project where you used your initiative and went above and beyond.
Final Thoughts
Due to the successful rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination programme, the UK’s job market has seen tenfold growth over the last few months.
So, if you’re looking for a new role or even an interim management role like we suggested above – this is undoubtedly an exciting time. Use our tips to position yourself as the ideal candidate, and you’ll be sure to find a new role in no time at all.