4 Easy Ways You Can Stand Out in A Difficult Job Market

31 Mar 4 Easy Ways You Can Stand Out in A Difficult Job Market

The job search can be intimidating in a regular job market, and when the volume is pumped up, it can be outright overwhelming. But there’s good news, no matter what’s happening with hiring freezes or layoffs, there are ways you can unleash a competitive edge over some or many of your peers who are mass applying to as many positions as they can as quickly as possible.

Mass applying with generic resumes and cover letters, or worse, sans cover letters, is precisely the phoning it in that won’t help you get noticed in a sea of applicants. Think about Where’s Waldo. We could never spot him without his unique identifiers, and he stands out in a crowd. And you can too in your job search.

In this blog, we cover a few no-nonsense ways to give your application some extra edge:

1. Don’t phone in your cover letter. 

I know it’s time-consuming, but depending on the role, some organizations won’t even consider candidates who apply sans a cover letter. So, don’t be that person. Instead, explaining how your experience directly correlates to the job posting’s goals and day-to-day duties in the letter is essential. It doesn’t hurt to tie in the company’s mission statement and use a flashy template instead of a blank word doc. Make your application pop. Recruiters can spot a boiler template letter from a mile away.

2. Break out your resume versions by industry.

If you have experience in multiple industries, make sure you have different resumes tailored to your strengths and expertise in each sector you are applying to so the hiring managers and recruiters can see how your background correlates. If you’re using a blanket resume, you can easily get passed over for applicants with more apparent industry-specific experience.

3. Have an online site or portfolio handy.

Are you leaving the personal website field blank? If so, you aren’t alone, but creating a site doesn’t have to be time-consuming and can help show you your dedication and experience at a glance to bolster your credibility. GoDaddy, WordPress, Squarespace, and other platforms make building a professional-looking site easy. And it’s an excellent follow-up in a thank you email if there isn’t that field in the initial job application. Plus, you can add it to the featured items for the chef’s kiss your LinkedIn profile is secretly longing for already.

Meanwhile, make sure your LinkedIn is up-to-date and ready for prime time.

4. Don’t be shy.

You can quickly scan the company page on LinkedIn to see if you have any 1^st-hand connections there who can give you an employee referral to boost your application higher. Don’t message recruiters you aren’t already connected with, but do message ones who are first connections or ask for an intro from a mutual 1^st connection.

A recruiter can help you get noticed in a big way.

Please think of us as a marketing agency for talent like you. Staffing Strong represents a growing roster of employers with new full-time and contract hire roles. Let’s talk! Submit your resume today.

Meet the Author

Evelyn Vega is the Founder and President at Staffing Strong and the Past President of the Phoenix American Marketing Association. Since 1999, she’s made her career about supporting her clients in building meaningful careers and partnering with businesses in finding quality hires. In her free time, Evelyn sits on various advisory boards and enjoys practicing on her drum set!