Finding the Interview & Landing the Job of Your Dreams
Landing the interview, you want in a Pandemic. Yes, you read that right.
If you’re not doing what you love or your current job isn’t a step toward your ultimate career goal, then why are you in the role you are in? If there is one thing I learned during this pandemic it’s that, if it is no longer challenging you or making you happy, it’s time to quit. I was in the retail space for 8 years and thinking about breaking up, with the longest relationship I’ve ever had, was petrifying. But you know what was more frightening? Waking up every day and not being fulfilled with the job I had. Sure, it was an amazing role that paid well but I was no longer happy in it. I was just going through the motions and would DREAD working, even when it was from home.
Sheltering in place gave me the time to reflect on what I want and what I didn’t want. When I finally mustered up the courage to change careers it was scary, intimidating but overcoming those feelings, and actually starting the application process, was half the battle. I did everything we are taught to do to find a job but could not secure a role for the life of me. I would land interviews, make it to the final round but ultimately would not get a job offer. Now, I like to think of myself as having great business acumen and being pretty darn good at interviewing BUT… I could not figure out what the problem was. That was, until I met my career coach.
The program he developed showed me the small mistakes people make when applying for jobs and how to mitigate those mistakes.
Before I list them out, I will tell you that these are just minor tips that will help you get an interview but not necessarily land the job. I highly recommend you invest in your future and hire someone like I did, to guide you and explain the why behind everything, ESPECIALLY if you’re changing careers like me. I know times are tough right now, especially with Covid, and if hiring someone is not feasible, at least give my career coach, Guarav Valani a follow-on IG and LinkedIn. He provides daily gems on how to advance in your career and in life overall.
But I digress. To make the first steps on the right direction, find the exact role you want. Be intentional. I think that was my first big mistake. I was applying for a bunch of jobs that I knew I qualified for, but the problem was that my resume didn’t speak to the role whole-heartedly. Don’t rush this process. Take as much time as you need to really understand what you want to do and what will give you job satisfaction. If you don’t know, then message people on Linkedin who are in that role and ask or 15 minutes of their time because “their career path is something you admire and are striving for.” People love to talk about themselves and it will be flattering- I promise you 8 out of 10 people will take the call with you. PLUS, building professional relationships and networking is important. Once you define the exact type of roles you want, now you may Pass Go! and Collect $200.
Here are a few tips on getting seen by recruiters:
Impress the Recruiter Faster.
Your Linkedin should look exactly the same way it looks on your resume. Recruiters have goals to meet too, so a lot of times it’s easier to use LinkedIn to find candidates quickly, plus they get to put a face to the name.
Provide a Job Description that is Specific and Demonstrates Your Transferable Skills.
For example, “Oversaw store operations and sales.” There is nothing dazzling about that nor does it describe anything specific about your job responsibilities, management style, ect. A better bullet point would be, “Managed store operations and built a best-in-class team of 65 employees to support the Southwest region, partnering with staff on career development, performance management, and growth of the management team.” See the difference?
*Side note: After you list your bullet points of your transferable skills, you should then list a list of your top 3-5 accomplishments which support your skills. See my LinkedIn for reference.
Use the Job Descriptions as a Guide to Describe Your Previous Roles
For example, I come from a cosmetic background, but the tech job I wanted could give negative f*cks about my ability to beat a whole face in 30 minutes. You know what they do care about? The fact that I can adapt to any environment and build relationships quickly at both a customer and executive level. The takeaway here is, they don’t care what you used to do if it is not a transferable skill to the role you’re applying for.
*There are websiteS where you can input the job description and your resume to see how compatible your resume is to the job. This increases your chances of being seen by a recruiter.
Understand the Role You Want and the Key Words that Pop-up Across Similar Job Descriptions.
These words should be in your resume. For example, in retail we say “plan” but in tech they use the term “quota.”I hope this tidbit of information helps you, even if it’s just a little bit! Of course there are more things you can do, but I have highlighted the ones I feel will make the biggest impact. I apologize if I have come super direct throughout this excerpt but I am just so passionate about your ability to be courageous and go out there and get what you WANT AND DESERVE! I truly believe that this pandemic has had a lot of shitty moments, but we can also use this time to our advantage to define who and where we want to be. Change your story if you want to! Happiness is essential, and I want to see all my SingleGirlClub people WIN!
Cheers,
Chiara
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