Transform yourself into the best candidate for the job!

I was looking around to see what different people and organizations are saying about what is important regarding finding and landing a job. A common theme seemed to pop up everywhere; and it’s a theme that we can’t stop talking about here at CSC. Any guesses?

Personalization, personalization, personalization.

Besides the obvious problems with misspelling a company’s name (or including the wrong company’s name!), a hiring manager can tell when you haven’t tailored your cover letter and/or resume to fit their wants and needs.

So how do you make yourself look like the very best person for the job?

Take the time to research each company individually. Read the job description carefully, and identify the skills or requirements they are looking for.

Once you know what they’re looking for, think about the experiences you have that show how you acquired each of those skills. It won’t do you much good to go into detail about your incredible painting skills when they are clearly asking for someone with public speaking skills. Now, this doesn’t mean you should make up a story about “that time you spoke to an auditorium full of hundreds of people,” when it was really only a few friends. It does mean that you should brainstorm examples that show your speaking abilities, i.e. class presentations or giving reports to your club.

If the company doesn’t have a job description (or even if they do…), find out any and all information you can about them. Read their mission statement, their impact on the community, etc. Even if you don’t use this information for your resume or cover letter, it will certainly benefit you in an interview. Or, it may even show you that this isn’t a company you want to apply to.

The point is: know what you’re applying for, understand what they are looking for, and use your creativity (truthfully) to show why you’re the best candidate for the job!

Good luck!
-Allison