This time of year offers special opportunities for job seekers. Holiday networking events, for example, can be great chances to meet professionals you might not encounter otherwise. Additionally, some employers are still eager to fill positions before budgets reset or headcount is finalized in the new year, making it a prime time to stand out with a strategic approach.
Here are five ways you can stand out from the competition this holiday season and find a job before the end of the year.
1. Showcase The Right Skills On Your Resume
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When updating your resume, focus on aligning your experience with the specific demands of the industry. Go beyond just listing responsibilities; dig into job descriptions to identify the core skills that consistently appear for your target roles. By tailoring your resume with these keywords, you not only capture the attention of hiring managers but also boost your chances of passing applicant tracking systems (ATS), which are often programmed to scan for these key terms. It's all about keywords!
During the holiday season, hiring managers are often managing tight timelines and high demands, making it crucial for candidates to demonstrate that they’re ready to hit the ground running. Highlighting industry-relevant skills shows you're not only familiar with the landscape but also equipped to make an immediate impact. Be sure to include examples of how you've leveraged these core strengths in previous roles to support team goals or tackle challenges (aka quantify your work experience). The holidays are hectic, so share with the potential employer how you'll be a positive addition to the team by leveraging your strengths and emphasizing your value as a business-of-one.
2. Dress The Part
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Don't underestimate the power of a great first impression. Dress for the interview in professional attire. Even if the job description mentions a casual dress code, such as jeans and a sweatshirt, it’s essential to show respect for the employer by dressing in a way that demonstrates your commitment to making a positive impression. Wearing attire that reflects your professionalism shows you care about how you're perceived and the impression you leave on others.
Not sure what to wear? We recommend dressing conservatively in clothing one level above what the current employees at the company are wearing. You want to look professional, but not like you don't fit in with the workplace culture.
3. Show Your Connection To The Company
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Employers like to hire candidates who have a passion for what they do. Why? Because when people are passionate about their work, that enthusiasm often translates into a higher level of commitment, creativity, and productivity. This intrinsic motivation can lead to consistently strong performance and a positive impact on the team and company as a whole.
In your disruptive cover letter (and during your job interview), demonstrate how and why you admire the company. Highlight what you love most about their products and services. Give examples of how you have personally used them in your own life with success. The more you can show them you understand and respect the business, the more likely you'll impress the hiring manager and move forward in the interview process.
4. Demonstrate Your Value
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It's important to remember that you're a business-of-one, and you're trying to sell the service you provide as a business-of-one to employers (the customers who will be paying you for the service).
To find a job during the holidays, you must adequately demonstrate your value as a business-of-one and highlight your strengths and the specific benefits you bring as a potential employee throughout the hiring process. How do you do this? Well, make sure to quantify your work experience on your resume. Use numbers to showcase your accomplishments. Clearly state how you'll make or save the company money with your employment. Do this, and you'll easily become one of the top candidates for the position.
5. Express Gratitude
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The holidays are busy for everyone. When you're applying for jobs during the holiday season, keep gratitude in mind. This positive mindset not only helps you stay resilient but also shines through in your applications and interviews, leaving a memorable impression on potential employers.
After every job interview, always send a thank-you note. It's just the polite thing to do, and you'll score more points with the hiring manager. Even if you get rejected, or never hear back about a position, make sure you send an email thanking the employer for the opportunity and wish them the best of luck with finding the right job candidate.
Don't be bitter. Be gracious. You never know what will happen in the future. You might want to apply for another job at the company down the line. So, don't let your frustration get the best of you. Remember: If you get rejected, they didn't say, "No, not ever." They just said, "No, not today."
A successful holiday job search depends on a solid strategy. Follow the guidelines above and land a job this holiday season!
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Ever considered being a sales consultant? This interview from JustJobs.com will take you through the ups and downs you can expect in the position, what it takes to land the job, what you can expect to earn and more. This sales expert suggests how to be well prepared and informed whenever one needs to deal with a new type of job interview.
I work as a sales associate for a national communication provider. I have worked for the company for the past three years, during a time of frequent change due to increased industry competition and technological changes.
While working in sales is a financially rewarding position, it is also quite stressful and the stress is probably the most common reason people leave the position. All sales consultants are responsible for achieving a monthly quota, which contributes to the overall office's sales quota.
This sales position involves selling residential customers products such as land-line service, cell phone service, internet service, satellite TV service and equipment - preferably in a package deal! I get paid a competitive base salary, commission and product bonuses.
My position is covered by a union agreement and I get excellent benefits, including a full retirement plan and comprehensive medical coverage for my entire family, which the company pays for.
I also get unlimited prepaid tuition to any school or program I enroll in, as long as I continue to advance academically.
I found this job online. I regularly searched the internet for jobs while working for another telecom company. I often searched the internet for better opportunities.
I even drove my car looking for large businesses that have corporate offices nearby, wrote down the company names found and searched them online to see if they were hiring.
Ultimately, after searching many job board websites, it was on Monster.com that I found my current job. It took about six weeks of searching before finding this job.
In addition to searching for jobs on the internet, I also researched potential employers online.
Thanks to all the information online, I was able to look up average salaries, check employers websites for the benefits they offered and read reviews from past employees.
This allowed me to compare jobs and make a decision on which company I preferred to work for, before accepting a job offer.
I also found tips and suggestions online that helped me through the application process, such as sample resumes, possible interview questions and the application process timeline.
My initial interview with my company was a 90 minute phone interview. I was mailed information about the S.T.A.R. interview method and felt pretty nervous, as this was going to be a behavioral interview.
Whether I had had one in the past, I didn't know. No previous employer mailed me information on the structure of the interview, the expectations and how to word my answers. I felt a little intimidated by such a 'formal' interview.
I further searched the internet for additional information about behavioral interviews and came up with some questions that I thought they might ask me. I wrote down answers to these questions and had these in front of me during the interview.
This was also my first phone interview. This interview went surprisingly well. By being informed about the structure of a behavioral interview, I was able to easily answer the questions.
My interviewer told me it was okay to ask for some time to think before answering, so I did when I needed to. I used the time to jot down some main points and then incorporated them into my answer.
Needless to say, I was relieved when I passed this round and went on to a live-person interview.
Recently my company was bought by another telecom company. I am thinking about moving on again.
A lot has changed since the last time I initiated a full-blown job search. One of the major changes is that the economy is currently struggling and the unemployment rate is high.
But I have a lot of resources available to me now that I didn't have before, which I hope will be useful in my job search. I use Facebook to stay in contact with co-workers or colleagues around the world.
Many people have come and gone from my company, often moving on to start their own businesses or taking higher positions with other companies. I made sure to stay in touch through Facebook. I also maintain a profile on several job board sites, such as Monster.com and a few international job search sites.
I currently do not have my profiles set to display publicly, but when I begin my job search, I will make them searchable to recruiters. I have also invested substantially in my education while working for my present employer.
When I began, I had several years of college, but no completed degree. I now have two bachelor degrees and a masters degree. I have updated my resume to incorporate my education, and the overall format of my resume has changed.
My university has an active Career Center that offers several resources that I may find useful. Right now I am particularly interested in attending some of the job search workshops they offer, going through a mock interview at their office and attending an upcoming job fair.
I also plan to email my resume to the Career Center and implement any suggestions they have for me.
Because of my advanced degree, I will be competing for higher positions this time around. I feel that I need to upgrade my job search skills and will use resources that I have available to help me with the job search process, rather than relying solely on my own efforts as I did previously.
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