How to More Effectively Communicate Your Value During the Job Search Process

1. Give examples. Everyone’s resume is filled with words like “creative,” “problem-solver,” and “team player.” Most professionals now strongly encourage staying away from static lists of traits. Instead, you want to choose a better tactic: give examples of what you’ve accomplished. From your resume to your interview, highlight your best traits with examples of the actions you completed in your former positions. For example, you might say that you achieved a higher rate of sales than anyone else in your department or that you effectively saved your company ten percent of their marketing expenses by developing a more efficient plan. By highlighting your accomplishments instead of your traits, you show your future employer what you’re really capable of.

    

2. Practice your answers. When you know you’ve got an interview coming, don’t just assume that you’ll be able to come up with the right answers to the most common interview questions.Instead, when you’ve got a big interview coming up, take the time to look over those lists of interview questions and consider how you would answer each one. Take the time to come up with examples. Consider writing out your answers, not to give to your future employer, but to give yourself a chance to put your thoughts in order.

    

3. Keep the lines of communication with the company open. You don’t want to pester the HR department or your inside contact about whether or not you got the job, but you do want to make sure that they’re receiving the information you’ve sent them and that everything is moving smoothly. Take the time to communicate with prospective employers. Ideally, you should use the method set out by the company: if they contact you primarily via email, send emails back with your questions. If they prefer to communicate by calling, you should do the same. Don’t be disturbed, however, if it takes them a day or two to get back to you: remember that they have a number of applications besides yours to deal with and plenty of other things on their plates. Even if you’re rejected for a position, take the time to ask why. A personalized explanation could make it easier for you to get the next position you have your eye on.

    

4. Network extensively. Get to know the company where you’d most like to be hired. As much as possible, make contacts inside the company–especially in the department where you’d like to work. The more time you spend with members of the team you’d like to work on, the better the chance they get to know you and everything you can bring to the table for their organization.

    

5. Check your social media profiles. Everything from the LinkedIn profile you haven’t updated since the last time you were job hunting to the security settings on your Facebook profile could be important in your job search. Make sure that your online presence shows the face you want future employers to see. Clean up your public comments, make sure your profiles showcase your unique selling point, and check to be sure that your webpage, if you have one, shows your best work. Potential employers are going to do their homework and learn as much as they can about you. Make sure that what they learn paints you in the best possible light!

Setting yourself apart from other candidates can be a challenge. When you develop your communication skills and learn to market yourself, however, you’ll discover that it’s easier to step into the job of your dreams. Before you know it, you’ll be walking through the door of a new job in the place you’ve always wanted to work. 

Michael DeSafey is a leading executive recruiter for professionals in the construction, engineering and environmental industries. He is currently the President of Webuild Staffing www.webuildstaffing.com . To learn more about Michael or to follow his blog please visit www.michaeldesafey.com