{"id":15608,"date":"2021-10-13T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-13T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aquent.com\/?p=15608"},"modified":"2021-10-13T04:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-10-13T09:00:00","slug":"how-to-stand-out-from-the-job-seeker-crowd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aquent.com\/en-au\/blog\/how-to-stand-out-from-the-job-seeker-crowd","title":{"rendered":"How To Stand Out From The Job Seeker Crowd"},"content":{"rendered":"

Everyone knows by now that Australia is in a candidate-driven, <\/span>talent-short market<\/span> due to the borders being closed and international talent moving back home. <\/span>I was one of the lucky ones<\/span><\/a> who managed to hang around long enough to get back on my feet, following a COVID redundancy three months after making the move to Melbourne from sunny Manchester in the UK. <\/span><\/p>\n

This means that there are heaps of <\/span>job opportunities<\/span><\/a> on the market, but that doesn't mean you should get complacent. <\/span><\/p>\n

It's crucial that prospective job seekers focus on their <\/span>personal brand<\/span> and network in order to stand out from the crowds and secure that dream job or make the right next step in your career. <\/span><\/p>\n

Here's how you can achieve this:<\/span><\/p>\n

Your CV\/Folio\/LinkedIn Profile<\/h2>\n

A concise and up-to-date CV\/Folio & LinkedIn profile should be doing the legwork during your job search. This is your shop window for hiring managers or recruiters. Check out my colleague <\/span>Ryan Watts<\/span><\/a>' blog post and video on how to <\/span>spruce up your LinkedIn profile<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Here are a few of my CV recommendations:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Outcomes<\/h4>\n

This should be your focus when re-writing your CV<\/a>. Outcomes such as cash savings, increased revenue, % YoY improvements, % efficiencies etc., jump off the page and instantly show hiring managers what value you can add to their business. Back this up with any budgets and teams you've managed.<\/p>\n

Key Achievements<\/h4>\n

Hiring managers are incredibly busy and may not spend too long reviewing your CV if they've got a long list to go through or are in back-to-back meetings. A bullet-pointed list of your key achievements with the deliverables (% $) is a hook that will keep them reading.<\/p>\n

Transferable Skills<\/h4>\n

Showing your key, transferrable strengths<\/a>, which could be soft-skills such as communication or problem-solving, alongside tech stacks if you're a marketer (GMP, AEC etc.) and methodologies (Agile, Scrum, SAFe, LeSS) implies you can hit the ground running in any environment.<\/p>\n

Format<\/h4>\n

The rule of thumb is to aim for 2-3 pages, weighted towards the last five years of experience on a sliding scale. A long, wordy CV can give off the impression of poor communication skills, and I have seen hiring managers reject a candidate on this basis.<\/p>\n

Folio<\/h4>\n

A well-thought-out folio or website will make you stand out if you're in the creative space. This should have 3-4 key projects showing your creative process; try to keep to task, action, and results format. Here's a great article<\/a> that takes a deeper dive.<\/p>\n

Be proactive!<\/b><\/h2>\n

Being proactive in building your network is key to finding those jobs that aren't on Seek\/LinkedIn, which every man and his dog has applied for. I've always recommended building a relationship with 2-3 <\/span>specialist recruiters<\/span><\/a>, who you trust. Recruiters can get a well-deserved bad wrap, but a <\/span>good recruiter<\/span><\/a> is worth their weight in gold. Here are a few reasons why:<\/span><\/p>\n