In the past few years, the industry has seen a significant change in the level of competition. If you’re in the market for a job right now, you probably know that job searching is a full time job because of that competition. It’s not just you. Companies are rivaling harder against one another either on price, quality, service or a combination thereof.
In order to beat out their competition, companies are setting their hiring standards higher than ever. Simply stated, companies are slowly pushing out their existing non-performers and interviewing and hiring more productive and efficient employees. They have become more selective with hiring.
Scrutinizing potential employee backgrounds, checking references, and even sometimes visiting Facebook to see what type of person the individual is: this is all a reality now. Companies are looking for the “best of the best” and aren’t accepting mediocrity.
As a job seeker, how do you prove that you are the “best of the best”?
3 TIPS to stay afloat in this fierce market:
1. Resume – focus on performance:
Your resume is the gate to get you in the door: make it more than great. Just explaining your talents isn’t enough. Resumes need to focus on performance based accomplishments. Highlight how you increased sales during the past 6 months or how you raised efficiency by 15%. Did you receive any awards or recognitions? Add those in! There are many qualified apartment, healthcare, and admistrative support professionals in the marketplace; the accomplishments differentiate them.
2. Add value to your resume with your letter of reference:
When sending your resume to a hiring authority (with all those performance based accomplishments, of course), be sure to include a letter of reference to authenticate the resume. Before walking out the door of your current job, make sure you ask for that reference letter. Don’t wait for the letter to float from out of nowhere and happily land on your desk. Ask for it! Ask your boss to specifically state the quantified accomplishments, not just that you were a wonderful person. There’s always a chance they won’t give it to you, but you owe it to yourself to ask!
3. Get clear expectations of the job from the beginning:
You may be extremely talented with reciting your ABCs backwards while riding a unicycle, but that might not be what the hiring manager is looking for (I know, shocking). Early in the interview, find out exactly what the hiring manager is looking for. Don’t assume that you already know. Candidates need to take it upon themselves to find out what’s important with the hiring authority and what his or her expectations are. Ask, “What specifically are you looking for? What expectations would you have of me in this position?” You may need to ask multiple times, but once you know, it’s that much easier to ensure you’re highlighting your talents that are needed in the job.
About Hire Priority
Hire Priority is a privately held staffing and recruiting company that specializes in the placement of apartment, healthcare and administrative professionals. We provide local and national searches from our offices in Houston and Austin. Visit us today at www.hirepriority.com and see how we can help you!
