Standout in a Crowded Job Market

As you are probably well aware, searching for a job is a full time job in and of itself. You spend hours searching for jobs, emailing resumes, researching companies and making connections on LinkedIn.

Nothing could be more cumbersome, yet so necessary than finding a job. The fact of the matter is that the individual interviewing you would like nothing better than to hire you on the spot.

Hiring and recruiting is arduous, expensive and very time consuming.  Whether you know it or not, you are at an advantage in this situation.

Related: Become The Hunted. How to Lead Recruiters to You

Standing out in a crowded job market boils down to one thing.  How quickly you can convince a recruiter or hiring manager that you are without a shadow of a doubt the right person for the job.  So how do you become the right person?

Read below to find out.

1.  Make sure you want the job.  Right now the tendency is to take the first thing that comes your way.  Really think about why you want the job.  What is it about the company or job opportunity that makes it a good fit for you and vice versa.

2. Make sure you can clearly articulate the reasons why you are the right person. By the time you reach the interview stage, you should have a thorough understanding of the company and the job description.

Put another way, you should know almost everything there is to know about the company.  This isn’t an exaggeration.  Navy S.E.A.L.S. just don’t blindly go into missions.

They know everything they need to know in the event the mission changes or something unexpected happens.

Let the interviewer know you can not only do this job, but you will excel in it and can adapt on the fly.

3. Dress appropriately. Unless you are applying for a job someplace where tattoos and miniskirts are prevalent, cover yours (your tattoos and your thighs) up. Dress one step above what you see other employees wearing.

This may mean taking a drive by the office prior to your interview date.  If it’s a business casual office, you wear a suit. If it’s a jeans and T-shirt type of place, you wear nice pants and a button-down shirt.

A lot of companies are hiring individuals that can not only excel at what they do, but would be good cultural fits. Let me restate that. Cultural fit, especially for younger companies is huge! You spend more time with your coworkers than you do with your own families.

Ask yourself if these are the kind of people you can be around for eight hours a day, five days a week.

Personality plays a huge factor, and that can be conveyed in the way you dress and carry yourself during the hiring process.  Your swagger needs to be at the “I can see myself working with this guy/gal” level

4.  Demonstrate how you can do the job. Prior to the interview, ask if there is some problem/project the company is working on that you can present a solution for.

This is somewhat radical, but imagine how well you’ll be received if you walk into the interview with a proposal for the company’s biggest problem(s). This just shouts, “Hey, this guy can do this job and is ready to go!”

There are many more tips that I could add, but if you master these basics you should go pretty far.  Always remember to be yourself.  Companies want to hire people, not just someone who can do the job.

Question: What are some ways that you have been able to stand out during your job search?  You can leave a comment in the Comment section below.