How to Impress During Your Job Search
When you see a vacancy you want to apply for, your goal should be to impress the recruiter. After all, they won’t hire candidates who make no impression on them. However, don’t impress by showing off! Remember that what you deem impressive will not necessarily dazzle a recruiter.
Hiring a professional resume writer is an easy way to get a top-notch resume, but if you’re interested in giving it a try yourself, here are some ways to impress your potential employer.
1. Be plain
Wait a minute—this isn’t impressive! Exactly. Being plain on your resume is a good thing. It’ll impress that you avoided the temptation to show off and presented yourself in a restrained, professional manner.
Let’s start with your email address. If you still use one from your adolescence, it’s time to ditch it, at least for professional purposes. Your friends may find I<3strawberries@aol.com cute, but will a potential employer agree? Most likely not—unless you’re applying for a modeling job, “cute” is not what employers want. Use a plain email address with your first and last name. If that’s taken, you can include your middle name or job title—just play around with it a bit. Also, keep up with the times by using email services such as Gmail or Outlook (or a professional custom domain, if you have one).
The design of your resume should be plain, too. You don’t make your resume stand out for the right reasons by using crazy fonts in different sizes. That would be a terrible design idea even if you wanted a creative, artistic resume. Just stick to the basics. Times New Roman, 12 pt. is a great, basic, easy-to-read font. Your design isn’t doing the talking for you—your qualifications and expertise are, so your font should make them as easy to read as possible. If you need help with being plain, contact our resume experts. Remember: Plain is impressive!
2. Be boring
How is being boring impressive? Well, when you think of “boring” as “professional,” it suddenly makes a lot of sense. If a hiring manager calls you and you don’t answer, they might leave you a voicemail. However, they will probably decide against it if they hear “Hi, this is Bobby, I’m either out partying or screening your call. Leave me a message…or don’t, whatever.” Your best bet is to go with something boring, such as “Hi, you’ve reached Bobby. I can’t answer right now, but if you leave me a message, I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”
3. Be professional
This may seem like a no-brainer, but being professional is not just for the interview. Whenever you interact with a future employer, you should dress and act professionally to make the right impression.
During the interview, be professional in your answers. Don’t get too personal or share too many unnecessary details. If you can’t keep your personal problems out of the interview, the recruiter will assume you won’t be able to keep them out of your work, either. Aim for a professional conversation.
4. Be knowledgeable
Hiring managers expect job applicants to be knowledgeable about their company. If you don’t try to get to know them, why should they get to know you? Do your research. Get on the corporate website and find out as much as you can about the company. Not only will this show you’re truly interested in the job and are ready to go the extra mile, but it may also reveal important things about the organization. Your research may even help you realize this isn’t the right company for you after all. If you believe it is, show the recruiter your interest and be ready to ask a few questions about their company.
Personality plays a huge role in landing a job, but you have to know how and when to display yours. Being plain, boring, professional, and educated are great ways to impress your future employer and let your personality shine through. Consult our professional resume writers if you need help creating a plain, boring, and professional resume that showcases your qualifications in all the right ways.
