Let’s Chat…Becoming Top Talent!
Welcome back, everyone! As we spoke about last week, many industries are doing pretty well right now and actually still hiring. While it might feel like a difficult time to seek out a new position, if you’re engaging in an interview process or at all interested in a career pivot, make sure to read the below and work on becoming the top talent and best candidate you can be!
Becoming Top Talent…
- Updated and Relevant Resume: A tale as old as time… yes you absolutely need a resume in order to apply to a position (and we are sure you knew that!). However, as times change and platforms to create resumes before ever more accessible, now is a great time to create a few different versions to best cater to differing positions. If you are applying to new and more creative, digitally-focused, or “modern” roles, a pop of color or unconventional layout may make the most sense! Having a variety on hand to choose from when you click apply is the best way to “customize” your application and showcase your dedication to roles.
- Extra tip: Be conscious of fonts, coloration, page frames, or profile pictures as it relates to the industry or role you’re looking at! Different companies and jobs call for different tones and levels of formality.
- Customized Cover Letter: Similar to our advice above, it’s a fantastic idea to accumulate a variety of cover letters detailing different strengths, unique “tidbits” about you, and custom formats that will appeal to recruiters, roles, responsibilities, or experiences. Make sure to acknowledge specific attributes of positions and reasonings as to why you’re pursuing a role in the letter to avoid sounding impersonal. And use our generic test: if you take out the name of the company on your cover letter, will it still be relevant to that job? That organization? That role? If the answer is no and your letter can be recycled to any application, it’s time to improve and refresh.
- Complimentary LinkedIn Profile: As much as it may feel redundant, we HIGHLY encourage you to keep your LinkedIn profile page up to date at all times! We use LinkedIn Recruiter on a daily basis as we seek an endless quantity of candidates for a wide range of roles. While your resume may speak to your experience, keeping yourself current online, especially on LinkedIn, is equally crucial to succeeding in portraying your “best professional self.” LinkedIn is also a fantastic platform to allow you to expand on professional attributes that didn’t fit into your resume.
- Portfolio or Creative Attributes: If you’re applying to a creative role or come from a background where having a portfolio is common to your field, make sure to submit these materials when you apply to positions or create links that make them accessible on resources like a resume! You want to always make sure your hiring manager or recruiter has a full picture of who you are and what you bring to the table… so lay it all on the line!
- Clean Social Platforms: Finally, make sure your social platforms are professionally appropriate and private where you see fit! In today’s environment, it should be expected that your socials contribute to how you are perceived as a candidate, so make sure that they do just that. If you feel more comfortable setting your social profiles to private, we also encourage you to do so.
Searching for a new position? Check out our open jobs list!