August marks an exciting new frontier for me and I am doing the happy dance! I am a contributing blogger for US News’ On Careers.
You know this logo, but perhaps you are not familiar with their “On Careers” page…I encourage you to add it to your newsfeed or bookmark it! I join the ranks of great writers in the careers field such as Alison Green, Lindsay Olson, Miriam Salpeter, Ritika Trikha , Rebecca Thorman, Arnie Fertig and the Glassdoor team, to name a few!
My first post is about the four things you can do to stand out from the applicant pool when applying to a job. Simple advice, yet not necessarily easy to implement!
1. Adapt your resume and cover letter
Consider the job posting an RFP (request for proposal) and your resume is your proposal. Tweak every detail to clearly show you are the most qualified candidate!
2. Take ownership.
Persistence and follow through is the key. Not being a pest. I’ve engaged in some dialogue on Twitter today with some who think that following up once a week would mark you as a nuisance. I still maintain the belief that if you are not hearing back after you’ve applied, you demonstrate your interest by appropriately following up!
3. Find an insider.
Getting a referral will increase your odds of standing apart!
4. Don’t be a victim.
It is easy to blame others…don’t!
Please, go check out my post and take a minute to see who else is there! I hope you will enjoy the posts from me and the other great contributors on “On Careers”.
Hannah Morgan speaks and writes about job search and career strategies. She founded CareerSherpa.net to educate professionals on how to maneuver through today’s job search process. Hannah was nominated as a LinkedIn Top Voice in Job Search and Careers and is a regular contributor to US News & World Report. She has been quoted by media outlets, including Forbes, USA Today, Money Magazine, Huffington Post, as well as many other publications. She is also author of The Infographic Resume and co-author of Social Networking for Business Success.