Sending in a well-designed resume and a well-written cover letter is the most important thing you can do to stand out among all the candidates applying to a position. It isn’t all you need to do, however. Hiring managers and interviewers tend to notice it when candidates neglect to demonstrate several subtle behavioural cues that tell them when candidates are truly engaged. If you’re planning a job search, it can help to keep the following ideas in mind and make sure that you follow through.
Make sure to research your interviewer
When you’re ready to interview with a company, you’re likely to research it to learn how it got its start, what its strengths and weaknesses are and so on. There is one area of research that many job seekers forget, however: the interviewer. Whoever you’ve been in correspondence with at a company, the person is likely to be a part of your interview. They will be impressed when they see you demonstrate familiarity with their LinkedIn profile. If you betray ignorance of who they are and what they have achieved professionally, they are likely to be disappointed in you.
Don’t neglect to communicate enthusiasm
When an employer has a choice, they will go with a candidate who visibly demonstrates enthusiasm for the company and the position. They study the body language that every candidate displays, and their tone of voice to judge how excited they are about life in general, and about the job in particular. If you slump in your chair during the interview, speak in a flat, emotionless tone, and don’t seem enthusiastic when the interviewer asks you questions about what gets you out of bed in the morning each day, it can hurt your chances.
Be sure to demonstrate responsiveness
Hiring managers tend to look for signs to judge if a candidate is likely to be responsive in the workplace – quick to answer emails, fast to respond to situations that come up, and, in general, a professional presence to be around. If a hiring manager requests a few documents during the hiring process, and the candidate takes a couple of days to come back with them, hiring managers usually take such lethargy to mean that they aren’t very responsive. An ability to respond to needs within minutes of becoming aware of them, rather than over a period of hours or days, is what employers look for, and you need to show proof of such responsiveness whenever you are able through the hiring process.
Show them that you’re proactive
Recruiters typically juggle multiple candidates at any given time. It can be hard for any candidate to stay on top of a recruiter’s mind if they don’t take steps to be proactive. It’s important to remember that time kills all deals. Writing a quick email to confirm that you’ve sent in documents requested, or writing to thank the recruiter for information they sent you, can help positively reinforce your name in their mind, and help your name stand out. It’s important to be proactive with your communications.
Show them that you’re likeable
Getting hired is mostly about being able to demonstrate that you are qualified, professional, and responsible. Your colleagues and managers will spend a great deal of time around you over each workday, however, and need you to be likeable as well. Giving the hiring manager a look into how friendly and helpful you can be, can give your effort to get hired a boost. It’s important to look for little ways in which you can prove to the hiring manager that you possess these qualities.
Ask questions that show that you’re interested in the job
When you prepare for an interview, it’s important to think of questions of your own to ask the interviewer. It tends to reflect poorly on job candidates to have no questions of their own, other than perhaps ones about pay, the workload, or the schools in the area. You need to show evidence of being interested enough in the company and the job to have done your research. Questions of your own about how best you can contribute to the company, what kind of qualities your manager looks for, and so on, show the interviewer how interested you are in what you bring to the job. Such questions make you stand out.
Many of these ideas may seem like common sense, but recruiters do routinely come across job seekers who forget these details. Keeping them in mind can help make your job search far more productive.