What Does It Take To Get More Job Interviews?
By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
Marty Gilbert of North Shore Executive Network tagged me on LinkedIn pertaining to how to get more interviews. He wrote, “I’m often asked… What does it take to get JOB INTERVIEWS?
Here are a few quick suggestions to get the conversation rolling… 👇
1. Make sure your resume and LinkedIn profile are loaded with keywords and keyphrases that contain the most important requirements of jobs that you are pursuing.
2. Leverage your 1st degree LinkedIn connections to get your introductions into companies or key influencers. If you can create an advocate on your behalf inside a company, your chances of getting an interview go up by at least 50%.
3. Market yourself to target companies that DON’T have advertised jobs. This is where you take those 100 to 1 odds down to 1 to 1… and getting an exploratory conversation can lead to project work or a full-time opportunity.
4. Always include an email cover letter with every job application. It makes you stand out and enables you to tell your story in a way that a resume and LinkedIn profile can’t. And here’s encouraging news… I’ve developed a way for you to WRITE HIGHLY CUSTOMIZED COVER LETTERS IN LESS THAN 15 MINUTES. So, there’s no excuse for not writing them. Check out the NSENGinc website for more details on my May 31st webinar on “RESUMES TELL BUT COVER LETTERS SELL”.”
How to Get More Interviews: Be Different
I added, “Knowing that you work with more experienced people, a person will get more interviews if they are seen as the expert in their field. They are the person who speaks at conferences, has written a book or articles on a subject, is tagged on LinkedIn, has been interviewed for a podcast or a YouTube video.
Being seen as an expert doesn’t mean they are the sole authority on a subject. They are someone who is known as an authoritative resource. In other words, self-promotion is a big part of what you should be doing as part of a person’s career management so they can “cut the line and get to the front” of how someone thinks of them.
It is a variation of social proof, a concept pioneered by Facebook in their ads that tells you about people who you know who have liked a particular product or service.
It is always better to be seen as someone who occupies mindshare on a topic than one of many who can do a job.”
I later added, “I also want to add one more way. Like in a nightclub, there is a front door (where the bouncer is), a backdoor where someone you know gets you in (your network). There is also a door in the alley that you bang on feverishly until someone opens it and you barge in. It is the one where you don’t have permission. The story of how Steven Spielberg got his first paid Director’s gig is like that. He hopped off a Universal tour bus and walked into an editing room to work on his movie Amblin.
He returned for a few days to the lot and walked in the front door dressed in one of his father’s suits and carrying a briefcase. After about two weeks, he was discovered and explained what he was doing. He told him what he was doing, and showed the movie. The movie was referred to the head of Universal and after some procrastination on the latter’s part was watched Spielberg was signed to a movie deal. As adults, we become compliant and docile. Spielberg was a teenager or early 20’s and had already been rejected by USCs film school twice. Sometimes, you have to break down the door.”
How to Get More Interviews: Submit a Video with Your Resume
ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
People hire Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter to provide No BS Career Advice globally because he makes many things in peoples’ career easier. Those things
can involve job search, hiring more effectively, managing and leading better, career transition, as well as advice about resolving workplace issues.
Schedule a discovery call at my website, www.TheBigGameHunter.us
He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with over 2600 episodes.
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