9 tips for standing out as a job candidate

It’s stressful looking for a job these days. It can feel like your application is one in a million. While the job market is undeniably tough right now, it’s possible to stand out as a candidate.

There are two parts to getting noticed for all the right reasons. The first is through your application. You could be the best interviewee in the world, but you won’t get oppourtunities if your resume is shooting you in the foot.

The second part is your interview. We all know the basic interview etiquette — show up on time, don’t trash your previous employer, and so on. But, there are subtle things hiring managers look for during the interview. These can help you look like a candidate employers need to hire.

Part one — your application

1. Optimize your resume

A good resume is short, scannable, and focuses on hard numbers. 1–2 pages is a good length. Make your resume scannable by using headers to provide structure, and keep your sentences short and clear. Speak in everyday language, avoiding business jargon, cliches, and run-on sentences.

To highlight your accomplishments, talk about past jobs using the STAR method. STAR stands for situation, task, action, and result.

Look at the job description you’re applying for. Incorporate vocabulary from the job description into your resume. This will help your resume get noticed by sorting robots.

Finally, create your resume on a plain document. Fancily designed resume templates might be cute, but unfortunately they look juvenile and chaotic to most talent managers.

2. Create multiple versions of your resume

Hiring managers are looking for any reason to say “no” to a resume, since they have to whittle down a pile of 1000 applications to only four or five. They’re looking for resumes with lots of relevant experience to the position they’re hiring for, and they’re looking for a candidate who’s not overqualified or under-qualified.

Customize the work experience section of your resume to play up tasks and accomplishments that are mentioned in the job description. Be sure to use the trick of incorporating vocab from the job description.

3. Attach a cover letter

Some people love cover letters, and some people hate them. The fact is, if the final choice is between two roughly equal candidates, the hiring manager will look at their cover letters as the deciding factor. This is especially true if they’re hiring for a position where communication matters, such as sales, customer service, or marketing.

Show off a bit of personality when creating your cover letter. A cover letter is only useful if it’s customized to the job you’re applying for. Otherwise, it’ll be obvious you’re using a carbon copied letter for every application.

4. Apply at the right time

The best months to apply for a job are January, February, March, April, and May. During the winter holidays most hiring managers are out-of-office. The same goes for summertime. The beginning of the year is when most companies have the highest intent about meeting their hiring goals.

Part two — your interview

5. Present yourself well

You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. Experts suggest dressing a little bit better than your interviewer. Plain, well-fitting, formal business attire will help you look sharp.

If you’re interviewing over Zoom, make sure you have a neat, tidy, and distraction-free background.

6. Know the company’s brand

You should research every company you interview for. Take notes on their advertising campaigns, blogs, press releases, and mission statements. If a company’s mission statement is “We help improve the world by making banking accessible to everyone,” talk about how you’re passionate about financial philanthropy.

Make sure that you don’t mix up a competitor’s brand. If you’re interviewing for Smarties, talking about how “Taste the rainbow” is an ingenious marketing slogan won’t win you any points.

7. Be enthusiastic

With such a tough job market, hiring managers are loath to give positions to apathetic candidates.

Show enthusiasm through your tone of voice and body language. Slouched posture and church mouse whispering don’t give the impression you’re ready to dive into your job duties.

While it’s great to be enthusiastic about the specific job you’re interviewing for, you also need to display that you’re passionate about your career field. Even if you don’t get this java developer position, talk about projects you’re working on, organizations you belong to, and mentoring programs you’re involved in. Hiring managers don’t want applicants who see their jobs strictly as a 9–5. They want passionate people who are willing to take an owner’s mindset.

8. Show that you’ll be easy to work with

Culture fit is a tricky thing. Some companies have very specific cultures, but most companies simply want their people to get along. Hiring managers need to evaluate whether an applicant will be fun to spend 8–10 hours with, Monday to Friday.

You don’t need to fake an extroverted personality if that’s not your true nature, but try and demonstrate you have a good sense of humour, you’re compassionate to other peoples’ needs, and that you can roll with the punches when necessary. If there’s a technical glitch in your Zoom interview, that’s a great oppourtunity to show you’re unfazed by life’s little hurdles.

9. Ask great questions

Asking questions is an oppourtunity to show off your fresh perspective, which is one of the greatest assets you have as a potential new hire. Plus, an interviewee without questions is suspicious. It gives the impression that no research was done beforehand, or the applicant isn’t a deep thinker.

Come up with a few questions about the company through the course of your research. This is essential for your own vetting of the company. If the company wants you to be qualified in all things, but doesn’t yet know what your onboarding, day-to-day tasks, or success metrics will look like, this may reveal they’re disorganized.

Applying for a job, especially in today’s tight market, can be stressful. By using these tips, you can take a more strategic approach to job hunting, and reclaim a feeling of power in the whole process. Job hunting is temporary — you can do this!

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