Val Matta of CareerShift, a great resource Auburn University students and alumni may access here, shared a great nugget of wisdom in her most recent email regarding the ongoing challenge to move recent graduate applicants to employees. She had listened to Nick Corcodilos if AsktheHeadHunter.com, and much of this post shares his insights.
If you read this blog and have utilized Career Development Services, you SHOULD have a wonderful resume, cover letter and interview skills. However, how do you really make yourself stand out if everyone else is following our guidance. Val proposes that we fail to demonstrate initiative during the hiring process to make ourselves stand out. (The remainder of this post are her words.)
Initiative, n., The power or ability to begin or to follow through energetically with a plan or task; enterprise and determination.
How can we show initiative?
“Walk into your meeting with the employer and demonstrate, hands down, how you will do the job profitably. You also know that getting to that interview requires a huge investment of your time and energy. It requires making critical choices, because not every one of those 500 “relevant” jobs you saw posted are worth that investment.”
In 2009, 50% of jobs were filled from within the organization. 27% were filled from outside the organization through personal contacts. These are people who have experience with you and recommend you to employers who trust the referral. “Job hunters must engage with their contacts. Standing out means sharing something that matters.”
“You need to understand another person’s unique needs. Job hunting is 100% about the other guy. If you can’t show in a job interview that you understand the work to be done, and if you can’t show how you’ll do it profitably, you’re not showing the initiative to stand out and get hired.”
CareerShift (log-in through your Tiger Recruiting Link) can help you research your choices about who you want to work with, find your referrals and demonstrate your initiative.
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