How To Stand Out During The Application Process

"How do I stand out during the application process?"

This is the #1 question that I get asked from students and recent grads. Here are 3 things that have helped me stand out time and time again:

? Establish a strong personal brand

You don't need to be a content creator or influencer to have a personal brand. Your personal brand is how you choose to show up in spaces you're in and the stories you have to share. Professionally, my personal brand is centered around my thought leadership on Gen Z in the workplace, how to market to Gen Z, early career recruiting, and navigating entrepreneurship as young, Black woman.

Everyone has a story to share or niche interests that they're passionate about, think about what yours are and how you can incorporate that into your professional interests.

? Highlighting my passion projects at the top of my resume

Over the years, one of the first experiences listed on my resume was fan fiction work on Wattpad, my college and lifestyle blog, and now, it's my early career resources blog, The Ninth Semester. Being a content creator is an important part of my identity and one of the first things I want hiring teams to know when they see my resume. I list those projects right above my other work experience

Your passion projects are conversation starters for your resume. Every interview I've been on, I've been asked about my passion projects and that gives me a chance to showcase how PASSIONATE I am about the content I make and a chance to talk about skills I've learned a long the way that usually relate to roles I've applied for (marketing, public relations, graphic design, early career recruiting, etc)

?? Example passion projects to include on your resume:

- your blog/your podcast

- your youtube channel

- your business

- freelance work

- design projects

? Your network is your networth

Sometimes it's not about what you know, but who you know. When you grow your network, you're able to meet with people who are able to speak your name into rooms you haven't yet and facilitate conversations that can help connect you to others in your industry.

When it comes to networking, be as genuine as possible. Try to avoid coming off transactional in your outreach and genuinely get to know someone. People are willing to help connect you to other people but they need to get to know you.

Tips for networking digitally:

- avoid sending your resume unless they ask for it

- attend virtual networking events (or in-person ones!)

Want more #earlycareer content like this on your TL? Be sure to follow Jade Walters here and on Tik Tok/IG (@theninthsemester)

#networking #personalbranding #jobapplication #genz #jobapplicationtips