Differentiate yourself!

Resources of the Week

1. Over 400 jobs on the job board here!

2. Spotted this great post from Jean Kang of remote startups by repeat founders with fewer than 50 employees - in other words, a great chance to get in early with companies that have a decent chance of being really successful. 🙂 

3. Y’all my company posted quite a few roles this month - just added a few and many more to come - especially if you’re in tech sales!!

4. I wrote this summary of what is/isn’t important in your resume. This post was sponsored by my friends at Teal. 🙂 

Standing out from the crowd is surprisingly easy!

Yesterday, I made a post on LinkedIn, and shared a few tips to land an interview at my company. I encouraged folks to check for location requirements, and to take the application questions seriously as we focus more on those than the resume.

And guess what?

I quickly saw several applications come in that referenced my post as what led them to apply…none of them were from an aligned location, and half left the app questions completely blank.

There’s a role I’m working on at work that has nearly 300 applicants. The role cites very specific time zones, and in the application questions, asks candidates to confirm that they are located within the target time zone. 99% of applicants mark yes on that question. Out of those 300 apps, fewer than 10 are actually in the correct time zone.

What’s my point?

So many people are simply mass applying to any job that looks remotely relevant that those application counts are irrelevant. Simply following the instructions probably puts you in the top quartile of applicants.

A few other things you can do:

1. Demonstrate some sort of connection to the company/product. If you’re a user of the product, say so. If the mission of the company is personally relevant to you, talk about that somewhere in your application - not in some generic, AI-generated way, but in a way that’s authentic and shows that you really believe in what they’re doing. This is something hiring managers often comment on and I’ve seen them overlook some other gaps in a person’s profile when they feel like that person has an advantage in terms of really understanding the product they might be working with in the role.

2. Highlight use of tools/platforms at the company. Applying for a data analyst role at a company that uses Power BI? An HR role at a company that uses Workday? A sales role at a company that uses Hubspot? Noting those things on your resume can help you stand out - it’s one area where you might not need as much training/onboarding. So list those tools either in a skills section, or within your experiences.

3. Create an intro deck, portfolio, video, etc. This is another thing very few people do, but including something that gives the team a bit more insight into what you bring to the table can help you stand out and show that you go above and beyond. This does not have to be differentiated for every company, and can simply be a link on your resume that helps bring your work to life. There, you can highlight your management style, showcase some work, share recommendations or praise from peers, outline a few major initiatives you’ve led, or elaborate on your key strengths that will lead you to success in the role!

🙋Answering Your Questions🙋

Each week, I’ll answer one (or more!) of your questions in this section. You can submit your questions here.

This is really going to vary by company, position, even hiring manager.

Some of the things they may consider are the availability of talent with the experiences they want, and how well set up their team is to coach someone with less relevant experience. Some companies have strict policies around things like degrees or previous titles.

For companies that are OFCCP compliant, they MUST hire people who meet the stated minimum qualifications

Back when I worked in non-profits, I found that we were a lot more flexible, and that alignment with the mission mattered more than experience in many cases. In tech, I find that there is more of an emphasis on having done highly relevant work in similar companies so that might be something to consider when exploring what industries to target in your search.

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