How to Get Noticed
What to do when your career doesn’t fit in a box
Dear Insiders,
One of the most common career challenges we hear from multi-hyphenates is: Do I even stand a chance if my past job titles don’t match the listing?
The short answer—YES.
Will it work for EVERY SINGLE ROLE? No.
Sometimes, companies want a cookie-cutter candidate, or there may be more qualified applicants. If a company isn’t open to seeing beyond titles, it may not be the right fit for you anyway.
What you can control is your strategy.
Our mentor Cassi Young, for instance, has said THIS about when she is recruiting
I am looking for someone who stands out. It’s also about the right fit not only for the company but also for the applicant. My pet peeve? Someone who hasn’t done their research on the company they’re interviewing at.
Sander another mentor, adds:
It’s important to see that they have interest in what they are doing. Not the skill set they already have but what they can become.
BTW - did we mention our SPEED MENTORING series is back?
Part of your paid membership gives you access to ask us questions about your career. So here we go 👇
Question of the week:
I have had a varied/non-linear career path (studied film set design/moved into events/ moved into a digital creative agency) but my job titles have seldom matched everything that I do. It feels like I'm being auto-rejected because my exact past title wasn't "X". How do you overcome this?
Answer:
Focus
You can't apply to 4738 jobs at once. Find the ones you care about, tailor your profile accordingly, edit your LinkedIn with those keywords. All that good stuff.
You only need ONE job.
Whatever you’ve done so far hasn’t worked. And that’s ok! So let’s try somewhere different strategies.
Network, Network and Network
Many hires happen through referrals and direct conversations. How can you make that happen?
Ask people you know to introduce to others in the sector you want to be in.
Ask for coffees and conversations and prepare BANGING questions.
Have someone who you connect with? Ask them to criticize your CV and Cover Letter. Sometimes we do have to upskill or work on some experience to get to where we want to be
Attend industry-specific events.
(p.s more networking resources here, here and here)
Explain your Story
You can't expect people to know how you went from A to B and HOW you have transferable skills. Make it easy for them.