Making yourself more marketable

What can you do to make yourself more marketable to prospective employers? Here are a few tips to consider:

  • Take a little time off to get your head together. A week or two, maybe longer. Then, tackle it head-on. It is a numbers game. The more contacts you make, the better chance you have of finding a job.
  • Get involved in networking groups. Talk to friends, family and all the people you know. Tell them your story, plant lots of seeds. Eventually, one of those seeds will sprout. Draw your geographic circle wider and expand the search territory. Are you willing to relocate? If your family is not willing to move, are you willing to work somewhere during the week and come home on the weekends?
  • An old favourite of ours: compose or update your resume. This is fundamental because it’s the first opportunity to impress a company or hiring manager. Weed out the typos and mistakes in punctuation. For such an important document which is like your professional name card, it should be well thought out and thoroughly proofread. It’s money well spent to work with a professional resume service.
  • Express your email address and mobile number prominently in your resume. Today, front and centre, prospective employers need the ability to contact you electronically.
  • Include a well-constructed chronological list of companies and positions. Your career experience and education are the most critical elements.
  • Tailor the resume according to the audience. Have a good professional layout to set yourself apart from the rest of the pack because you’re competing against a lot of different people.
  • When getting ready for an interview, practice, practice, practice. The more you practice, the more confident you’ll be and the more prepared you’ll be to look the interviewer in the eye.
  • At the interview, listen and be thoughtful and responsive when answering questions. Pausing to think about an answer is not a bad thing.
  • After the interview, send a handwritten Thank You note. This is somewhat more powerful than just an emailed Thank You message.
  • Lastly, keep a positive attitude because being on a job search is a full-time commitment.
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