What’s Your Superpower? Find Your Competitive Advantage and Get Hired!
In today’s highly competitive job market, standing out is more important than ever. A single open position can attract a flood of applicants, all blending together on a hiring manager’s desk. So, how do you make yourself stand out from the crowd? By learning how to use your competitive advantage effectively, you can become the hiring manager’s top pick – even over candidates with more experience or qualifications. Here’s how:
Pick Your Strengths & Highlight Them
What’s your competitive advantage? Maybe you’re not sure yet, and that’s okay. You might even be new to the job search process. Think of your strengths as the skills that have helped you succeed the most.
Perhaps you’re a persistent person. You see projects through to the end, even when others lose interest. Or maybe your strength is being detail-oriented. You always notice the little things that others overlook.
If You Have Experience in the Industry:
If you have apartment industry experience, then your competitive advantage will be your experience and the parts of the job you are best at. Make sure to highlight these in your resume and interview, along with any special awards or recognition you have received. This doesn’t mean you have to toot your own horn; but when asked to discuss your experience, focus on where you have excelled.
If You Don’t Have Experience in the Industry:
If you don’t have apartment job experience – do not fear! You still have skills that are relevant. Perhaps you have worked in a sales job or another people-oriented position; and these will have equipped you with communication skills that apply to an apartment job. If you don’t have a set of professional skills to go on, perhaps you want to sell your competitive advantage as your hard work, determination, or passion to succeed.
Keep in mind: most job seekers will say that they are hardworking and motivated. Your competitive advantage will come when you can show in your resume or interview why you embody the strengths you claim to have. For example, it is not enough to just say that you are motivated. But if you can tell a story of a time when you had to accomplish something very difficult and didn’t give up then you will stand out as motivated.
Your competitive advantage is unique to you.
You know your strengths and weaknesses better than anyone, so when you think about what to highlight in your job application be sincere in what you are best at. Hiring managers can see through a candidate who lists a strength that they don’t show proof of. It will also be difficult to stand out if you try to emphasize too many strengths: they will just come out jumbled and you won’t be memorable.
Use Your Superpower…
If you haven’t done it already, take a moment to figure out what your competitive advantage is – the trait that would be your superpower if you had to pick. Highlight your unique strengths during the job search process and you will both stand out and convince a hiring manager that you are the one for the job.
Get started today by submitting your resume for a job placement: Apply now.