If you believe that your technical skills and experience are enough to convince interviewers, you may face frequent rejections during your job search.
With over 173 million job applications submitted in the first six months of 2024, landing your dream job requires more than just expertise, you need to be able to sell yourself to potential employers. there is.
It is true that the word “sales” may have a negative connotation. So, just to be clear, “selling yourself” means effectively demonstrating why your ideas, values, and cultural alignment make you the best fit for a particular role, and helping others with similar skills. Think of it as separating yourself from others.
“The reality is that the moment you become a job seeker, you become a marketer,” says Amanda Augustine, career expert at Carrer.io and TopResume. The real reason why some people get offers and others don’t is because people in the former category are able to convince hiring managers that they’re the better choice.
Here are some ways to highlight your strengths and unique qualities in a way that is compelling, persuasive, and authentic.
Stand out using differentiators
The process of marketing yourself begins when you create a professional brand and make an effort to understand and define your unique value – what you can offer an employer, says Certified Professional Resume Writer and CEO Arno Marx says. Founder of iCareerSolutions.
Many people can check the box in the job description. The process of creating your brand requires you to think about your success and how to describe it in a way that matters to potential employers. “It’s not enough to say you’re unique; everyone says that,” Marx warned. You should prove how unique you are by providing specific examples of projects that had the biggest budget, biggest impact, or biggest challenges.
“Numbers sell,” Augustine pointed out.
How many people did you supervise? What was the budget for that project? How many bugs were reported after release? How did you reduce costs and improve morale?
Explore job descriptions, connect with people within your company, and understand your project environment and how you use (or want to use) technology to drive your business strategy. Then, use your KPIs and metrics to cite examples of your experiences and successes that the hiring manager will find relevant and valuable.
Use mirroring technology
Most importantly, marketing yourself addresses selection criteria that may not be listed in the job description.
It’s about proving that you’re a good fit for the culture and can mesh well and work effectively with the team.
The ultimate goal is to make the hiring manager think you are already an employee of the company by demonstrating qualities and attitudes that will make a yes-or-no decision. Augustine said. It’s about demonstrating alignment with the organization’s core values and norms in a natural, unscripted way.
To do this, you need to research the company and manager ahead of time, then structure your experience in a way that shines through your personality and interpersonal skills to interact effectively with others. Don’t memorize the answers word for word. You run the risk of seeming scripted and inauthentic. Instead, try to maintain a general sense of how to respond to specific questions and keep the conversation going.
Marcus points out that while what you wear to an interview may seem like a small detail, it can also reflect your personality and cultural fit.
Mirroring is another technique that can help you build trust with the person you’re talking to. This requires subtly matching the body language, tone, and language of the person you’re talking to, whether it’s an HR reviewer, a technology evaluator, or a CIO. You can build trust and credibility by tailoring your message to the interviewer’s needs and characteristics.
Consider using an interview simulation tool to practice your responses and get detailed feedback on your strengths and how to improve your tone of voice, use of fillers, pause frequency, and pacing of your speech. I will receive it.
Finally, ask questions that show you’re equally interested in finding the right opportunity and environment to perform at the highest level. Candidates who show that they value their decision to join the company and treat the interview as an opportunity to gauge compatibility will win over hiring managers.
Be confident, not arrogant
When promoting yourself, it can be difficult to walk the fine line between self-promotion and coming across as an arrogant bastard, but you’ll need to master it to come out on top.
In fact, when TopResume asked recruiters what personality traits they found most and least attractive when evaluating job candidates, confidence was among the top four most attractive traits. whereas arrogance was the second most negative.
How can we avoid going overboard? First of all, don’t take responsibility for your team’s success. Give credit to others and explain the role you played. Don’t overstate or exaggerate the truth when describing your experiences and accomplishments. Be authentic and accurate. Case in point: a TopResume study found that lying was considered the most unpleasant deal breaker.
express interest in the job
Not everyone will feel comfortable asking for the job, but showing interest and having a clear understanding of the role will make the interviewer ask, “Why should I choose you over another candidate?” will help you answer important questions.
If you are bold enough and really want the job, you can ask the recruiter if they have any concerns about hiring you and you will have a chance to resolve them. But at the very least, expressing interest and enthusiasm for the company and the position will convince the hiring manager that you are the best, most capable, and most qualified person for the position. .
