As you pound the virtual and actual pavement for a new job, here are six strategies to ace your job search and crush your career this year.
Identify your “it factor”
According to Christiana Smith Shi, co-author of “Career Forward: Strategies from Women Who’ve Made It” (Scribner), you should think about your professional brand the same way a consumer company strategizes and markets its brand. Consider the top strengths mentioned during your last performance review, your proudest accomplishments and what you’re most passionate about.
“Identifying your ‘it factor’ or ‘special sauce’ is an important step in establishing and managing that positioning for yourself,” said Smith Shi, a former president of Nike’s consumer direct division. “It could be the followership you’ve built in previous roles.
A good metric: How many people coming up behind you have you helped get promoted? Leadership may be a true, demonstrated differentiator. It could be your problem-solving skills. Think about situations where you helped a team get ‘out of a box’ by applying analytics and logic. Those things are most likely the building blocks of your professional brand.”
Get several cups of Joe
Reach out to your network for informational interviews within industries or companies you’re interested in pursuing and ask what they love about working there and what’s challenging.
Maggie Mistal, life purpose career and executive coach and host of the “Making a Living with Maggie Mistal” podcast, recommends soul-searching and researching and then tapping into your network. Scheduling informational interviews will help you gain valuable insights about an organization’s culture and values so you can “look before you leap.”
“There’s a great concept of ‘50 coffees strategy’ — you are 50 coffee conversations away from achieving any goal,” said Mistal. “The more interviews, the better quality job opportunities they are able to identify and match themselves with. They know what to call what they want, where it exists, who’s doing it and how to position themselves for it. My clients impress interviewers because they are so deliberate and specific about why they’re a fit for that job at that company.”
Discover your interview style
To crush your next job interview, Anna Papalia, author of “Interviewology: the New Science of Interviewing” (Harper Business), recommends identifying your interview style. Are you a charmer, challenger, examiner or harmonizer?
“You’ve heard of the five love languages, now we have the four interview styles,” said Papalia, a former talent director who’s participated in over 10,000 job interviews. “Knowing what you prioritize ahead of a job interview helps you make a better impression and you will better understand your interviewer. Charmers want to be liked, challengers want to be heard, examiners want to get it right and harmonizers want to adapt. Charmers, for example, like to share stories and they prefer unstructured conversations, whereas challengers look at an interview like a cross-examination and they aren’t afraid to ask tough questions.”
Upload a video
Jaclyn Slattery, employment trends expert and branch director at talent solutions firm Robert Half in Midtown and Wall Street, has seen candidates stand out by sending a one-minute unscripted video explaining why they’re interested in the role and how their skills match the requirements. Slattery suggests adding it as an attachment to online applications or emailing it to the hiring manager. You can also send it via LinkedIn message.
“Speaking candidly will allow your personality to shine,” said Slattery. “If you have a connection or commonality with the hiring manager, you could point that out. I went to Penn State for undergrad, so if I was applying to a position and the hiring manager went to Penn State as well, I would close with ‘We Are!’”
Add your personality type
Including your personality type results in your résumé such as Enneagram or Myers-Briggs Type Indicator can be an asset, says William Vanderbloemen, author of “Be the Unicorn: 12 Data-Driven Habits that Separate the Best Leaders from the Rest” (HarperCollins Leadership).
“Candidates should definitely list their personality test results on the résumé, preferably just below their education,” said Vanderbloemen. “The real magic happens when you can show what those results mean and how it makes you a fit for the job.”
By studying your results, you “will separate yourself from the crowd,” he said.
Embrace AI skills
Margaret Lilani, vice president of talent solutions at Upwork, said there was a significant increase in demand for AI skills on their platform — AI was the fastest-growing category last year.
“If you have any skills related to generative AI, highlight that on your résumé and emphasize it in your interview. Businesses are constantly seeking professionals with expertise in AI and that could be the key to landing a job,” said Lilani.
