Distinguishing ourselves from the pack

Over a career that spans decades I’ve seen so many changes that are related to recruiting, screening, and interviewing. One thing that hasn’t changed over time? The challenge of matching up a qualified applicant with a position and actually getting to the point of scheduling an interview.

As a manager I’ve sifted through plenty of resumes. Some that came with cover letters, some that didn't. Some resumes that tell a story and others that make you wonder what ad they were responding to when they sent you their resume. I've even seen a situation where the portal was withholding resumes (some glitch in the system so the resumes weren't even being seen). But, I get it. As job search candidates we all look at the job description and talk ourselves into believing we can do any job.

I was weeded out recently as a candidate for a role that I felt I was a pretty good fit for. Upon further reflection I’ve come to the conclusion that I was capable (of course, haha), and it could have been a good career move. On the other hand, the hiring manager felt he had a couple of other candidates that were a better fit (how many times have we all heard that?). But that brings me to the topic of today's piece.

How Do We Distinguish Ourselves?

From that previous story I’m assuming that I just didn’t do enough to distinguish myself. Being a solid contributor, an experienced, knowledgeable and reliable employee is what? - Boring! At the interview stage that’s just not enough. The interviewer wants to believe that there's a unicorn in waiting, and that unicorn is ready to walk through their door.

What can we do as candidates to distinguish ourselves? In the old days (pre-Covid) when so many of us worked in offices you could get creative using snail mail or setting up informational meetings. Our interviews were in-person and we pursued positions that were geographically commutable. Now the script has been flipped, and in a recent networking session there was some excellent advice being dispensed by career coach GREG JOHNSON グレッグ　ジョンソン about the lighting, your positioning in the camera frame, your distance from the camera, your microphone, etc. Things we don't think much about, but do have some influence on the situation.

So what are the things I try to do to distinguish myself during a job search? Here are 6 that I could come up with. Mostly some common knowledge stuff, but they are things I've done. You might have a few of your own.

Contacting my network – Sounds kind of obvious, yet because candidates are sometimes reticent to describe their situation, and they may not be so quick to reach out. I look at every job search as an opportunity to reconnect with my network of contacts. You’ll be surprised at how receptive people are, and you may be fortunate to find a few that are willing to help (in a meaningful way).

Writing and posting on LinkedIn – this is one that takes a little oomph to get going on, but once you find your voice you may also find that it’s an intoxicating activity that provides more for you to talk about with prospective employers. I first tried it five years ago in a prior job search and managed to produce original content (one post per week for 52 straight weeks). This increases my exposure on LinkedIn (or so I’m told) and it helps me to be viewed as an expert in something (or multiple somethings). Most importantly, since I’m in marketing it’s a relevant activity. The subjects of my posts are varied, and if you were to scroll through the posts you would see me cover topics that range from teamwork among a family of ducks to sending out Christmas cards to career search issues to the birth of email marketing blasts. If writing isn't your thing then find an article that you think is worth sharing and add a couple of comments to introduce it.

Touching base with recruiters to learn of other openings - job search, by its very nature is selfish (and I'm not sure that's wrong), but when you can elevate your discussions with recruiters to talk about other positions they may be seeking to fill AND you can offer names of people they can contact then you increase your stature (and their willingness to talk with you).

Scheduling meetings with other job seekers – this is an interesting strategy since meeting others has never been easier (virtual networking meetings provide the contacts, Google/Zoom video conferencing makes it easy to schedule). The benefit here is two-fold. 1. You get to sharpen your story by sharing it with strangers, and; 2. The people you’re speaking to may be able to identify people/companies that would be interested in speaking with you.

Having some "Success Stories" in your back pocket - this was something I used 20 years ago. It's taken various forms over time, but the gist is using the tried and true PARs method (Problem, Action, Results), or some variation to describe situations where your involvement helped to influence a situation to a positive outcome - or to a lesson learned.

Develop Affinity points so you can be conversational – In my family I have a son who’s a hiker, a daughter that’s a free diver, and I’m a cyclist. Each of us has our passion, and if the situation is right I’ll talk about it in discussions as I look for ways to connect with the people I hope to be working with (or for). Companies and managers may not want to admit it, but the reality is if they’ve narrowed down their search to 2-3 candidates that they believe are capable of doing the job then it’s going to come down to determining which candidate they "feel" will be the best fit.?

Happy searching to everyone. I guess we're all going to have plenty of company given all of the downsizing, rightsizing or whatever you want to call it. So get a head start by finding ways to distinguish yourself.

Have a great weekend, and go Pats! (oops, they're not in it this year!)

Dave

About Dave Shultis

I am a senior level marketing and product management professional with experience in the life science/med device arena with particular knowledge of biomaterials (bone graft substitutes). My focus is on a return to a marketing leadership role where coaching and mentoring a team or working with a cross-functional team is a component of the position. This could be in the form of a role as a marketing director, a group product director or in an individual role in a senior product management capacity.

When not in pursuit of my next opportunity I can be found biking in and around New Jersey (I'm on Strava) or trying to get my 15k steps in per day (I'm on Fitbit).