To prepare for a big job interview, most job seekers spend the majority of their time planning what they will say. While what you say is extremely important, you shouldn’t forget that how you look and present yourself in a job interview holds substantial weight in the eyes of hiring managers. Learn how to display proper body language in a job interview by reading our tips below:
Tag: Job Seeker Tips
College graduates and entry-level workers continually face this age old dilemma: you can’t get a job without experience, but you can’t get experience without a job. Don’t worry; we are here to tell you how you can spin your lack of professional experience in a positive way in order to help you land your first job. Continue reading “How to Land a Job with Little (or No) Experience”
Many employers enlist the help of staffing agencies to help them fill open positions, both permanent and temporary, which means your resume needs to get through a recruiter before it is ever seen by the hiring manager. So in order to optimize your resume for review by a recruiter, you need to know what goes through a recruiter’s head as they read it.
When companies seek the perfect candidate to fill an open position, there are specific traits employers look for that set candidates apart and significantly increase their chances of landing the job. To help you succeed in your job search, we’ve compiled a list of essential traits and qualities employers look for to help you land that coveted dream job:
- Meet the Minimum Job Criteria: Ensure you meet the basic requirements outlined in the job description to be considered a viable candidate. These specifications are the foundation for building your resume; position yourself as a promising candidate by making sure your skills meet the job criteria.
- Relevant Experience: Highlighting your experience and the skills that directly align with the role you’re applying for is crucial. Showcasing a track record of measurable success in similar positions and demonstrating traits employers look for will give you a direct advantage over other candidates.
- Alignment with Organization’s Mission: Embrace the company’s values and demonstrate your understanding of its mission by giving examples of how you can support its values and goals. Showing your enthusiasm for their causes can make a compelling argument for your candidacy.
- Providing Specific Examples: Back up your qualifications with examples showing your ability to excel at the job you apply for. Including examples of measurable accomplishments adds depth to your resume and showcases your ability to work effectively in different settings, one of the top qualities employers look for!
- Competent Communication: Connecting with your interview audience and displaying competent communication skills will help you articulate your value to the employer. Your written and verbal communication skills during the application and interview process will convey your value to the hiring team.
- Confident Interviewing: The interview is your opportunity to showcase your knowledge. Acing the interview by projecting confidence, providing well-thought-out responses to interview questions, and asking pointed questions will leave a lasting impression on the hiring team.
- Building Rapport: Beyond qualifications and experience, building rapport during the interview is crucial. Demonstrating resourcefulness, intellect, and genuine passion for the role can create a positive connection with the hiring manager. Remember, a personal connection can play a role in their final decision!
- Asking Thoughtful Questions: Exhibit your interest in the organization by asking well-researched and relevant questions that reflect your preparation. Research shows when you do your homework and ask good questions it comes across as genuine engagement and enthusiasm, demonstrating your investment in the company–a major trait employers look for.
- Enthusiastic References: Offer references that attest to your enthusiasm and work ethic. Positive endorsements from previous supervisors can reinforce your candidacy and give hiring managers added confidence in your abilities!
- Growth and Development: Employers look for and value candidates with continuous learning and professional development qualities. Highlight ongoing education, certifications or training that showcase your commitment to personal growth within the organization.
- Likability: While possessing the right qualifications is vital, one critical factor can make a difference: your likability. How you connect with the receptionist, hiring manager, and anyone else you meet during the interview process is essential. A candidate who may be slightly less qualified could secure the job because they had better chemistry with the hiring manager. It’s important to remember that being likable is yet another invaluable trait employers look for when interviewing candidates!
When applying for jobs, try to keep these traits in mind in order to leave the hiring manager with the best possible impression and a higher likelihood of getting the job. If you are beginning your job hunt, check out our job listings and reach out to one of our recruiters at resumes@whitmanjobs.com to get started with your career search.
When an employer is looking to hire a recent graduate to fill an open position, certain qualities can outweigh others. Typically, the most important thing a recent graduate can offer an employer is relevant experience, but there are other qualities that come into consideration.
Continue reading “What do Employers Expect from Recent Graduates?”
It’s true that looking for a job can be a full-time job in itself, and most will agree that it is the worst job ever. Job seekers can easily adopt a defeatist attitude towards their job search after receiving little to no feedback from hiring managers, but it’s important to keep your attitude positive. For unemployed job seekers, thinking about your job search as a full-time job can help you to keep on track and eventually lead to your success. Think about it this way: if you are working in an office environment and you stop taking your job seriously (putting little effort into your work, showing up late, etc), you will probably be fired. Similarly, if you don’t take your job search seriously or put real effort into it, you will probably end up being unemployed for a lot longer than you’d like.
If you have been in the same job for a long time, you might think about what your next career move will be. Will you start applying for jobs at a higher level, will you change your career path entirely with a new position, or will you continue on in a similar role? An easy way to help yourself make this decision is to craft what we’ll call “a resume in advance.” Crafting a resume in advance means creating a future (imaginary) position for yourself and listing it on your resume. While this isn’t a resume you’d send to any potential employers, it can help you decide what you are looking for in your next role.
Continue reading “An Easy Way to Plan Your Next Career Move”
If you’re a parent, you probably understand that there’s a fine line between helping your children do something and doing it for them. While you want to do anything you can to help them achieve their goals, you also want them to learn how to be independent and how to work for what they want. Whether your high school student is looking for a summer job or your recent college grad is applying for his/her first full-time position, read our tips below to learn how you can help your child land a job without finding one for them.
In your younger years, summer vacation was just that – a vacation. But now, as young adults, high school and college students alike use their summers to gain valuable work experience in the real world through internships. As summer quickly approaches, your chances of landing that summer internship grow smaller and smaller. If you have lost hope of finding one this year, don’t worry, there are other ways for you to gain that valuable work experience over your summer break.
Continue reading “What to Do if You Didn’t Land that Summer Internship”
Job postings are typically vague and it can be hard to figure out exactly what a company is looking for. To help make your job search a little easier, we’ve provided a list of common terms used in job postings and decoded their meaning with some help from Glassdoor.com. Check out the full article in the link below.
