A few weeks ago, my husband and I were strolling down a shop-filled street in Newburyport, a seaside town north of Boston, when these gorgeous window boxes caught my eye. Purple is my favorite color, so I literally stopped in my tracks.
After admiring them for a moment, I looked up at the store’s sign to learn the name of the business, and peeked through the window to see inside. Then I walked in the door and browsed.
That got me thinking: Would I have shopped in that store if their flowers didn’t catch my eye? Wouldn’t I have walked right by?
The same lesson relates to the job search. When applying for a job, how can you increase your chances that hiring managers will stop and look at your resume, instead of skipping right over it? Here are a few tips:
✔️ Tailor your resume to the job you’re applying to. This includes incorporating industry-specific keywords and phrases, acronyms, and jargon that reflect your experience and your fit to the role itself.
✔️ Read the job description all the way through. Sometimes job seekers will only read the Qualifications section, which often is just a slice of the whole picture. A job posting may also describe what the company’s priorities are, what the candidate would do on a daily basis, and “desired skills” (or “nice to haves”) that could give you an edge over your competitors.
✔️ Include a cover letter that explains why you are interested in the role and why you’re excited about the company. Hiring managers want to hire someone who’s genuinely interested in working for them — not someone who’s applying to every position that appears in their job alerts.
(I realize cover letters are a controversial topic; some hiring managers and recruiters admit they don’t read them or like them. But for those who do, a cover letter can be a huge differentiator.)
With these eye-catching application tips, you may just stop a hiring manager in their tracks!
If you’d like more job search strategies, schedule your free introductory career conversation here: https://lnkd.in/eYZApMpx
