It’s an exciting time to be seeking a new career opportunity in Australia. The country is reopening after COVID-19 restrictions and employers are embarking on hiring blitzes.
However, businesses are beginning to realise they no longer hold all the power – the pandemic has triggered a movement that’s been dubbed ‘The Great Resignation’, with women redefining their ambitions and resetting the terms of their careers.
Recent research by Microsoft has revealed more than 40% of the global workforce are considering leaving their employers this year. That means it’s a great time to be finding or switching jobs and ensuring it’s one that ticks all the boxes.
Here are five key strategies that will give you the edge in securing job interviews, then nailing them.
Have a career map
The most important factor when it comes to standing out from the crowd is knowing what you want. Mapping your career progression strategy will help you feel more confident and more in control of your destiny. It will also give you a practical vision of how to develop your skills and reach the heights you dream about.
As our founder Shivani notes: “If we want to grow, we actually have to think hard about where we want to be in our career in the next year, five years, ten years and beyond.”
Think about the skills you’ll need to build and improve to reach those career heights, then put them down on paper.
“Typically, people just want to progress in their career because it means more money, but considering that you’ll be at your job for more than eight hours per day, five days a week for 260 days of the year - that’s around 10,500 hours per year – you might want to think about job satisfaction and whether your work will be meaningful in the long run,” Shivani adds.
If you don’t know exactly where you see yourself going, start with the meaning that you want to get from your job, research the roles and industries that supply that meaning, then reverse engineer to figure out what skills you need to acquire and duties you’ll be required to perform. And lastly, work out what experience you’ll need in order to do those duties at a high level.
To learn more about mapping out your career progression, check out this amazing article we have written to help you get to the next level.
Optimise your LinkedIn profile
Your LinkedIn profile page is the foundation for your personal branding. And it starts with your profile picture. Your photo is how people are introduced to you and it governs their first impressions. Make sure it’s recent and that your face takes up around 60% of the frame, as long-distance shots don’t stand out; wear clothing that reflects your professional aspirations; and smile with your eyes, not just your mouth.
LinkedIn advises using the headline field to explain why you do what you do and what makes you tick. If you know someone who’s great at social selling, take a look at their profile for inspiration.
Make sure you have a LinkedIn summary that tells your story – don’t just use it to list your skills or the job titles you’ve had.
And make an effort to be active on LinkedIn, rather than lurking there. Share relevant content that aligns with your point of view and values, and comment on other people’s content. This will raise your profile on the network and lead to more valuable connections. However, always make sure that when you comment you’re saying things that you’re happy for people to associate with you. Use relevant hashtags to your industry when posting, and make sure you ask for reviews from your peers.
Following other aspiring professionals on LinkedIn also helps introduce a range of interesting content into your feed, which you can then share with others when you think it will add value to your brand.
Want to take your linkedIn to the next level? We have many more strategies you can implement for best results. The Remarkable Woman offers a course in optimising your LinkedIn profile as part of our signature membership program. Click here to become a member.
Tap into the power of networking
Networking has become a little more difficult since the move to working from home, as it lacks corridor conversations, chance encounters and small talk over coffee.
However, keeping an eye on your LinkedIn feed and making insightful comments on articles that have been shared on your LinkedIn feed, and even messaging other professionals for a chat, is a great way to stay connected.
“Make sure to engage with people who are giving the most value on these channels,” Shivani suggests. “Tell them how helpful they have been and leave a kind word. In this way, they’ll be more eager to help you in the future when you have a specific pain point that you’re trying to overcome.”
If networking is still hard and you prefer a more human connection than LinkedIn can offer you, we host monthly online events which include networking opportunities. We invite reputable speakers and also allow attendees to network and interact. Make time to attend relevant ones and always have a few questions up your sleeve to ask if there are panel discussions.
If you are in a place where you can attend in person events, set yourself a monthly target and make sure you attend it. Showing up is 80% of the battle won!
Joining committees and groups in your industry is another great way to build connections with colleagues who may be more senior than you in other contexts.
Nail your resume & cover letter
The key to making a great impression when applying for any role, is to ensure your resume and cover letter are tailored specifically to the job. And yes, you absolutely MUST submit a cover letter.
Keep your cover letter concise – one page is perfect – and show that you’ve researched the company and possess skills that dovetail with the criteria for the role you’re applying to fill. By linking your cover letter to the aspects of the position that fit your unique skills and expertise, you’ll create an impression that employers won’t be able to ignore.
Tweak your resume to reflect roles too, so it highlights the work experience you’ve had that’s most relevant for the position and ensure to use similar keywords to the job description.
Having a summary of your skills and strengths at the top of your resume is another great way to get noticed. And don’t simply make the resume a bland recap of your career, it should also convey what you have accomplished along the way.
Finally, it goes without saying that it’s crucial to check your grammar and spelling.
The Remarkable Woman also offers a course on how to master your resume as part of our Signature Membership if you’d like any support on that we can take you through it step by step.
Brush up on your video skills
COVID-19 has accelerated the use of video and virtual interviews in the recruitment process, so it’s important to get comfortable with the medium. Experts predict that within five years, 45 to 60 second videos will accompany every job application.
Even TikTok is jumping on the audiovisual trend. It launched a pilot program in July called TikTok Resumes, designed to advance the platform as a new channel for recruitment and job discovery. It teamed up with companies including Target and Shopify and invited job seekers to apply for entry-level to experienced positions via TikTok uploads.
As Shivani notes: “Get familiar with what expertise and mastery look like. Go to seminars, tournaments and watch these performers on social media. Admire them and look closely at what they're doing, along with what they're saying. Usually, when a person reaches a high level of mastery, they get joy and fulfillment by helping others to also reach higher levels. They’ll typically have blogs, YouTube channels or podcasts — get across as many of these channels as you can and just be a sponge.”
Nailing your job interview
Whether your job interview is conducted virtually or in person, Shivani advises that it’s important to be conscious of your body language – keep your shoulders back, smile and maintain eye contact.
“Every time you slump in your chair, fold your arms and walk with your back hunched over, you take on a ‘lower power pose’,” she explains.
“This means that you are telling others (and yourself) that you ‘shouldn’t’ be confident and that you are less competent than everyone else. The thing is, that this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy because we humans will always strive in the direction of our beliefs, even if those beliefs are negative and harmful.
“So, change your posture and you’ll inject some powerful and positive signals into your brain (and other’s brains, too). Once your brain sees that you are assuming a power pose, it will help you to strive forward in the direction of that belief.”
Need video training on how to nail interviews? Click here.
Feeling nervous? Remember that most people feel a little anxious at the thought of having a job interview, but being prepared takes away much of the fear of the unknown.
Identify your unique "selling points" and the reasons you want the job; prepare for common interview questions (particularly the old classic “Tell us a bit about yourself”); and go to the interview with some intelligent questions for the interviewer that demonstrate your knowledge of the company as well as your enthusiasm for the role.
Feel like you need a little more coaching? With a Remarkable Woman Signature Membership, you’ll be able to access courses for professional and personal growth, one-on-one mentoring, and more - everything you need to build your confidence to go after that new role.
When you sign up you’ll have the opportunity to:
>> Grow with 1:1 Mentoring
>> Upskill via Online Courses
>> Excel with ‘How to’ Career Videos
>> Be enlighten via Personal Surveys
>> Be enriched with Money Calculators
Join our Signature Membership now and become the best version of yourself.
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