No matter what industry you work in, it’s fair to say that you’ll face a good amount of competition whenever you apply for a new position.
With so many qualified applicants sending in their resumes, it’s not enough to merely “make a good impression” on your prospective employer. Rather, your goal is to make your interviewer feel like it would be an absolute mistake not to hire you.
And it’s not just about “wowing” them, either. In order to make your prospective employer truly understand your value to their organization, you need to show them exactly why you are the best person for the job in question.
With that said, here are three ways to make a company desperate to retain you.
3 Ways To Make Yourself Irresistible to an Employer
1. Align Your Abilities with the Position’s Requirements
When sending in a resume or interviewing for a specific position, it can be tempting to focus on discussing your skills and abilities, as well as your past accomplishments.
That’s all well and good, to a certain extent. The problem, though, is that every other applicant probably has relatively similar skills and abilities, and also most likely has their fair share of experiences, as well.
So, while you definitely want to paint yourself in a positive light, you want to be sure to tie your skills, abilities, and professional history to the ways in which they will allow you to succeed at the position at hand.
You can do so by addressing the following questions in your resume and interview:
- How will your skills and abilities be an asset to the company?
- How would you apply your skills and abilities while working in this position?
- What do you hope to accomplish in this position?
Rather than coming off as if you’re “tooting your own horn,” this will allow you to showcase the value you’ll bring to the table for the specific position at hand.
2. Align Your Passions with the Company’s Mission
Similarly to what we discussed in the previous section, you probably have at least some level of passion and interest in the position at hand, as well as in the industry in which you hope to be working.
Again, so will every other applicant. Unfortunately, your undying passion won’t be enough to make you stand out above the crowd.
That is, unless you allow your prospective employers to see how your passion aligns with the overall mission of their company.
However, rather than tying your passions and your professional goals to those of the company in question, it’s better to work backward. That is, before you even apply for a position, dig deep into what the company is “all about,” and work to figure out where you’d fit into the picture.
Again, your passion only matters to your interviewer in terms of how it will lead you to provide value to the company. There’s a huge difference between saying “I’m passionate about x, y, and z, and so is your organization” and “I see your company is aiming to achieve x, y, and z, and here’s how I can help you achieve these goals.”
3. Don’t Appear Desperate, Be Yourself
You’ve heard of “playing hard to get,” right?
As is usually the case in the dating world, if you come on too strong during the interview and hiring processes, it’s probably going to raise some red flags in the eyes of your employer. Basically, it’s going to seem like you absolutely need the job, and that no other employer is even giving you a shot.
So, while it may be tempting to follow up a few days after a job interview to see if your potential employer has made a decision yet, you absolutely need to resist the temptation to do so. If they’re going to hire you, they haven’t forgotten about you; if they have forgotten about you, they weren’t going to hire you anyway.
Now, this doesn’t mean you can’t reach back out altogether; but you don’t want to do so for the specific purpose of “checking in” on the hiring process. Rather, if you’d told your interviewer you were going to send them supplemental documentation (such as certifications, additional letters of recommendation, etc.), you definitely want to do so as soon as possible. Again, though, don’t use this follow-up message as an excuse to rush their decision; doing so will only work against you.
Simply put: the more desperate you appear to your interviewer, the less desperate they’ll be to bring you aboard.
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