1. Create a professional Pinterest board: Who said Pinterest is only for female foodies, future brides and fashionistas? Pinterest is a new and powerful way to display images and photos of brands, projects and companies that you’ve worked with. It’s also a great platform to profile your professional accomplishments such as, the logo you helped design for a new product package or the beautiful event you produced for more than 500 people. Wow prospective employers and demonstrate that you think outside the box with a beautifully arranged professional Pinterest board.
2. Create a personal website: Create an engaging yourname.com (i.e., personal website) that demonstrates your communications and digital skills, and overall professional experience. Your site should include: a profile that features your professional biography; an e-resume that incorporates social media links to help promote your personal brand; an e-portfolio that showcases your work samples and shares recommendations/references; and possibly a blog that highlights a hobby, interest, or professional skill. (FYI: Having a blog will give you a higher ranking, when prospective employers Google you, than those who don’t). Most importantly a personal website enables you to portray yourself as someone who “lives in color” and has a comprehensive and diverse personal and professional life. Register the domain for your personal website and/or use a site like Wix.com or Weebly.com. Create a one-page outline of the key pages/sections of your future site. Also take a minute to check out Figdig.com and carbonmade.com – two social networks that help people show off their creative skills.
3. Use the lingo: Research your industry’s top 10 buzz words and create an example of how to weave each into your cover letter or during an interview. Select three buzz word and practice using it in an interview answer.
4. Master a 1-minute pitch: Practice and perfect an amazing response for the question “Tell me about yourself?” by sharing a compelling story that emphasizes your relevant skills. Ensure your pitch includes three key parts: (1) intro: start prove you’re the best candidate for the job with an example of where you used and/or enhanced a key job-related skill; (2) middle: promote your personality by sharing your strongest point of differentiation i.e., that one thing that makes you uniquely you; (3) wrap up: end with a “gee-whiz” fact, such as how you got promoted from entry-level worker to a team supervisor in less than 10 months and demonstrating your confidence to hit the ground running in your new role.
Identify the three points and examples you’ll use for your 3-part elevator pitch that can be used both in an interview and one-on-one meeting in any setting. Rehearse each part by saying it out loud in front of a mirror or to a friend orfamily member.
5. Understand and practice the 7 core types of interview questions: Interviews may vary in length, format or even style, however, the content of almost all interviews is usually the same. Take time to prepare and practice your response to the following common interview questions. (1) The Intro: (See above “Tell me about yourself?”). (2)The starters and enders: What are your strengths and your weaknesses? List 3 positives traits and/or skills and one “positive” negative. When asked at the end of the interview, Do you have any questions for me? Always ask at least one question, such as “Can you describe the type of person who excels in your organization?” A question like this will give you great insight into how you might fit in at the organization, as well as points to highlight in your follow up thank-you note. (3) The classics: What were the responsibilities of your last position? and Why have you been unemployed for so long? or Why are you leaving your present job? Keep everything positive, upbeat and concise. (4) The scenarios: Can you give me an example of going above and beyond the call of duty at work? and Describe how you would handle a situation if you were required to finish multiple tasks by the end of the day, and there was no conceivable way to finish them? Again, avoid anything negative and give clear examples. (5) The diplomatic tests: What was your former supervisor’s biggest weakness? and Have you ever worked for someone who took credit for your work/accomplishment? Watch these “traps,” whatever the situation, try to portray it in the most positive light. (6) The self-evaluation: How would you describe your work style? and What additional training or exposure would your last supervisor suggest? These are code for “do you work well with others?” and “what are your professional weaknesses?” (7) The unexpected curveballs: Sell me this pen, and tell me 5 ways to use a pen other than writing? and Tell me why fuzz is on a tennis ball? These questions are less about the actual response and more about demonstrating your ability to think quickly on your feet and to propose any possible answer. Practice one of these questions every day for the next week. Then Google “100 top interview questions” to make a list of other questions you might want to rehearse before your next interview.
6. Practice some unconventional networking prep strategies: Try some nontraditional yet effective ways to prepare for meeting someone new is to Googling them or research the job description of a position you’d love to hold in their organization. Both will give you unique and memorable conversation starters that will be different from 80% of the other people. Before or your next networking event, follow the LinkedIn company page of the keynote and others speakers and search the personal page of someone who currently works for the organization.
7. Make a picture speak a thousand words: Take a few minutes to add some visual interest to your resume. Simply doing little things like using a bold color such as blue, green or purple for your name and headings, or adding logos of the companies you’ve worked for, can help you stand out from the competition.
Studies show that color has a positive effect on our recall and recognition. However, when it comes to including a picture of yourself the experts say save the photography for LinkedIn or email and to not include it in your resume. Think of two visual elements that you can add to your resume to make it “pop.”
Sometimes we need to mix things up in order to create new opportunities. This week think of at least three new things that you can try to help break through the clutter and get you steps closer to a job offer or new business opportunity.
logo of the companies that you have worked for. Adding logos is a simple and easy way to make your resume “pop” and differentiate it from the others in the pile.
Regardless of industry, you need to first identify and then communicate a consistent and distinct professional brand. Often, all you need is just a simple phrase or even a couple of words that can effectively communicate who you are and what you do (i.e., your brand). Let’s say you’ve worked for a few years in internal communications and you are making a segway into TV production – your brand may be a “master storyteller.” Or perhaps you work in IT or Project Management helping organize processes or correct other people’s problems, so your brand is an “organizer of chaos” or the “fixer.”