Six ways to home in and land that elusive job
As you pound the virtual and actual āpavement for a new job, here are six strategies to ace your job search and crush your career this year.
Identify your āit factorā
According to Christiana Smith Shi, co-author of (Scribner), you should think abź¦out your professional brand the same way a consumer company strategizes and markets its brand. Consider the top strengths mentioned during your last performance review, your proudest accomplishments and what youāre most passionate about.
āIdentifying your āit factorā or āspecial sauceā is an important step in establishing and managing that positioning for yourself,ā said Smith Shi, a former president of Nikeās consumer direct division. āIt could be the followership youāve built išn previous roles.
A good metric: How many people comią“ng up behind you have you helped get promoted? Leadership may be a truź¦e, demonstrated differentiator. It could be your problem-solving skills. Think about situations where you helped a team get āout of a boxā by applying analytics and logic. Those things are most likely the building blocks of your professional brand.ā
Get several cups of Joe
Reach out to your network for informationalą² interviews within induš stries or companies youāre interested in pursuing and ask what they love about working there and whatās challenging.
Maggie Mļ·ŗistal, life purposeš“ career and executive coach and host of the recommends soul-searching and researching and then tapping into your network. Scheduling informational interviews will help you gain valuable insights about an organizationās culture and values so you can ālook before you leap.ā
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āThereās a great concept of ā50 coffees strategyā ā you are 50 coffee conversations away from achieving any goal,ā said Mistal. āThe more interviews, the better quality job opportunities they are able to identify and match themselves with. They know what to call what they want,š where it exists, whoās doing it and how to position themselves for it. My clients impress interviewers because they are so deliberate and specific about why theyāre a fit for that job at that company.ā
Discover your interview style
To crush your next job interview, Anna Papalia, authā±or of (Harper Business), recommends identifying your interview style. Are you a charmer, challenger, examiner ļ·ŗor harmonizer?
āYouāve heard of the five love languages, now we have the four interview styles,ā said Papalia, a former talent director whoās participated in over 10,000 job interviews. āKnowāing what you prioritize ahead of a job interview helps you make a better impression and you will better understand your interviewer. Charmers want to be liked, challengers want to be heard, examiners want to get it right and harmonizers want to adapt. Charmers, for example, like to share stories and they prefer unstructured conversations, whereas challengers look at an interview like a cross-examination and they arenāt afraid to ask tough questions.ā
Upload a video
Jaclyn Slattery, employment trends expert and branch director at talent solutions firm in Midtown and Wall Street, has seen candidates stand out by sending a one-minute unscripted video explaining why theyāre interested in the role and how their skills match the requirements. Slattery suggests adding it as an attachment to onlineā applications or emailing it to the hiring manager. You can also send it via LinkedIn message.
āSpeaking candidly will allow your personality to shine,ā said Slattery. āIf you have a connection or commonality with the hiring manager, you could poinš°t that out. I went to Penn Stš§ate for undergrad, so if I was applying to a position and the hiring manager went to Penn State as well, I would close with āWe Are!āā
Add your personality type
Including your personality type results in your rĆ©sumĆ© such as or can be an asseā¤t, says William Vanderbloemen, author of (HarperCollins š¬Leadership).
āCandidaą¶£tes should definitely list their āpersonality test results on the rĆ©sumĆ©, preferably just below their education,ā said Vanderbloemen. āThe real magic happens when you can show what those results mean and how it makes you a fit for the job.ā
By studying your results, you āwill separate yoā¤urself from the crowd,ā he said.
Embrace AI skills
Margaret Lilani, vice president of talent solutions at , said there wasą¹ a significant increase in demand for AI skills on theš¦ir platform ā AI was the fastest-growing category last year.
āIf you have any skills related to generative AI, highlight that on your rĆ©sumĆ© and emphasize it in šyour interview. Businesses are constantly seeking professionals with expertise in AI and that ācould be the key to landing a job,ā said Lilani.