Securing the Job: 5 Ways to Make Yourself More Desirable to Employers

The professional world is incredibly competitive; securing your dream job is harder than ever before. The competition is fierce. There are a lot of other candidates who are just as qualified as you. Making yourself stand out or be more desirable to candidates can feel like a challenge, but it doesn’t have to be. It is all about demonstrating your value to potential employers. Keep reading to find out more.

Be Proactive and Always Show Initiative

To portray yourself as employable, you need to be proactive. This means that you need to get yourself out there; most of the time, the employers are not going to come to you. So you need to start putting yourself out there more. When it comes to applying for jobs, you need to use your initiative; this means tailoring your resume and Cover letter to the job—following up and showing interest. If you find that you are lacking the relevant skills, experience or qualifications needed for you to secure the job that you want, then use your initiative to go out and secure them. This might mean doing an unpaid internship or work experience to develop your skills and gain the experience necessary. It might also mean looking up some online short courses to gain the qualifications that you need. However, if you are going to take a course, you should ensure it is from a reputable university, for example, Northwestern University offers a range of online short courses in collaboration with GetSmarter,, which is sure to make your resume stand out.

Utilize Social Media

Depending on the type of role that you are looking for, social media can be a great tool to use. You can use your social media accounts to create a digital portfolio of your work. Some people have also created blogs or vlogs where they share their expertise and their experience. This is a great way to curate a reputation that potential employers can use to assess you. You can use your accounts to generate interest around you as an individual, and in some cases, this might help to attract employers to you instead of the other way around. There are social media platforms that are designed with professionalism in mind, like LinkedIn. Make sure that your presence on these sites paint you in the best light. If you have a social media account that is dedicated to your personal life, then you might want to make them private. Employers today do tend to look at the social media accounts of their recruits, and if you have posted anything unsavoury or incendiary, it may cost you the job.

Work on Your Resume

You are vetted before you can even make it to an interview. Your resume and cover letter might be the first impression that recruiters get of you. If your resume is boring, unimpressive or riddled with spelling and grammatical errors, it is highly unlikely that you will progress to the next stage of the recruitment process. Luckily, there are a lot of templates online that you can use, or you can find templates on Microsoft Word too. Choose one that captures attention without being too outlandish. Once you have your resume design, you must keep it up to date. Remember to add in any relevant skills or experience as you go. It is also highly advisable that you try your best to tailor your resume to the job that you are applying for, or at the very least, you should work on a personalized cover letter. When it comes to creating your cover letter, you want to answer the questions posed in the advert and demonstrate that you have the qualities that they are seeking.

Nail the Interview

If you have taken on board the above advice, then it is likely that you will find yourself progressing through the recruitment process. The interview is often the last barrier to receiving an offer. To put it simply, you need to do well in the interview, and it can feel like a challenge at times. However, there are a few simple steps that you can adopt that will make you much more likely to nail your interview. Firstly, you need to do your homework. Before any interview, you need to check out the company, look them up and read through their website for their personal accounts of the business. You should also look them up on review sites to get an unbiased account of the company from ex and current employees. You can use this knowledge in the interview to show that you are invested in the business.

Next, you need to take the time to rehearse some answers to common questions. You need to come across as confident, stuttering or tripping over your words doesn’t give this impression. You can find common interview questions online, along with suggested answers that you can personalise. Next, come up with a few talking points and practise your responses. The trick is to practice it enough so that it seems natural during the interview as though you haven’t rehearsed anything at all. The same can be said for preparing a few pieces of small talk. This allows you to make a connection with the interviewer on a more personal level.

At the end of the interview, you are often asked if you have any questions about the role or the company. Asking a few questions not only displays your interest, it also helps you to work out whether the job will be a good fit for you. The questions that you ask will obviously depend on the role, how much information you have already been given and what you want to know. That being said, there are a few questions that are good to have in your interview repertoire:

• How much of a time commitment can I expect?
• What is the chance for progression and growth within the business?
• What does a typical day in this role look like?
• Do you encourage a healthy work/life balance?

Be Confident in Yourself

Confidence and success often go hand-in-hand. You need to have a healthy belief in yourself and your own abilities. This goes for interviews but also when it comes to applying for jobs too. Getting a job is all about selling yourself and convincing an employer that they need you, that you are the best person for the job. However, it is important to point out that there is a difference between confidence and arrogance, and you need to err on the right side; otherwise, you can put employers off. The best way to demonstrate confidence without coming across as cocky is to focus on the achievements that you have made in the past and how your experience in accomplishing those achievements could then benefit the company that you are applying for.

To Sum Up

The job market today is incredibly competitive. You need to ensure that you stand out from the other candidates. The above advice can help you to do so. Remember that it is all about putting your best foot forward and showing the employers that you are the right person for the job. Demonstrate your skills, knowledge and experience and how you could use them to their advantage.