There are certain things that you should not do when applying for a job to grab the attention of the hiring manager.
This helps you stand out from the crowd and make an impact on them. This is something that they will remember you for, rather than another bland application, making you a more desirable candidate.
So we decided to curate a list of 5 things that can help you grab the hiring manager’s attention.
1. Don’t make grammatical or spelling in your resume
One of the worst things you can do is to make spelling or grammatical errors in your resume. This shows that you aren’t willing to put effort into making a solid first impression. It also makes you seem less intelligent as an applicant and immediately puts you at the bottom of the pile.
There are several ways that you can prevent this from happening. One way is to have at least two people proofread your resume for any typing errors or spelling mistakes before you send it off.
Another way is to type out all of the headings in a word processing program and use spellcheck to highlight if there is an error, allowing you to see them easier.
By doing these things, you can prevent any easy mistakes that will ruin your first impression before they even see it. Moreover, there are tools like Grammarly and The Editor for proofreading purposes, which you can use as well.
2. Don’t send a generic cover letter
Another thing that will make your resume stand out and help the hiring manager know who you are and why they should hire you is by writing a custom cover letter for each position that you apply.
A generic cover letter is not professional and shows that you don’t care about the position enough to write one for it specifically. There are several reasons why you should try to do this for each job application instead of just sending out a general cover letter.
The first reason is that companies receive hundreds or even thousands of applications for their job postings, making it extremely difficult to read through everyone.
Not everyone that applies for a job is going to be a great fit for the company. So this means that you need to make your application stand out from the crowd as much as possible if you want it to be read by anyone at all.
Sending a custom cover letter with your resume shows that you take the time to read and research about what each company does, why they are hiring, and what the job position entails.
This will show that you care about getting the job, not just trying to get a paycheck at any cost. If an applicant sends a custom cover letter for every single job application that they send in, then the hiring manager will know that you are serious about getting the job.
3. Don’t just copy and paste your cover letter
If you want to impress the hiring manager with your attention to detail and writing skills, then you don’t want to copy and paste your cover letter from one job application to another for an entirely different position.
Of course, you want to change some things depending on what the job entails and who it is hiring, but a job application is not a place for you to show off your writing skills or creativity. Save that for your cover letter.
This shows that you don’t care enough about the company or the open position to put in the effort to write an entirely new cover letter.
It also shows that you are lazy and don’t care enough about your job search to make a good first impression with them.
By doing this, you will show why they shouldn’t hire you and more of the reasons why they shouldn’t invest time in reading your resume.
4. Offer A Sample project
The best way to get a hiring manager’s attention is by offering them a sample of your work. This allows them to see what you can do for their company and why they should hire you.
Offering them this will not only grab their attention but also shows that you are interested in the job position and the industry that they work in.
This increases your chances of getting the job, instead of just being another applicant who didn’t care about it enough to put in the extra effort.
So, this is it when you are looking for a creative way to capture the hiring manager’s attention.
It’ll set you apart from all of the other applicants and show that you are a creative and hardworking person, which is exactly what they want.
5. Promote your social media presence
Reading further than the hiring managers will notice your social media presence. This means that you can’t just have a Facebook account, which is kept private and lists all of your interests in automated status updates.
Instead, you should constantly be blogging about things that relate to what you do professionally, or if it’s not related, then at least show that you are interested in it. This could be anything from cooking or blogging to various charities you support or even something interesting that you read online.
This shows the hiring manager that you have an interest in what they’re doing at their company and shows them your overall personality, which is essential when deciding if someone will make a good fit for the company.
LinkedIn is another social media network that you can promote yourself on. This is a great way to find new jobs and check up on what your competition is doing.
It’s also a great way to promote yourself and show hiring managers how you can become an asset to their company.
This shows the hiring manager that you are constantly looking for new challenges and opportunities which is crucial in any industry.
At the end of the day, if you want your resume to be read by anyone at all, then you have to do everything that you can to make sure that the hiring manager will take a second look at it.
Doing these things will go a long way in ensuring that your resume is read by the people who count and will land you an interview, which is where it counts. The rest of your job search just becomes easier after this.
Hiring managers will not be looking for that hidden depth because they are busy people and you only have a few seconds to impress them.
In conclusion
The main thing that hiring managers look for in applicants is attention to detail and creativity. This can be seen by offering them a sample project as opposed to just pasting your cover letter into the application.
Also, don’t send a generic cover letter or a resume that doesn’t have your personality on it. You should be going above and beyond what is expected of you if you want to get noticed.
Read Also: How to Improve Your Selection Process for Hiring?