You know what, let's be real for a second. While we may not have the ability to read minds and know exactly what employers are looking for when recruiting for their company, there are definitely a few things that can make you stand out. And honestly, who knows what employers are really looking for anyways? It's like trying to predict the weather. 🌥️
So, may as well give some other things a go, right!?
The first thing to remember is that more often than not, people don’t have much of this. Sifting through hundreds if not thousands of CVs doesn’t help. We are fans of direct outreach, but if they need to make a decision quickly and you’re at the top of their inbox, you could have just bought them more of it.
They want to see that you’re genuinely keen and will stick your hand up to ask for help or get involved. By being proactive during the job application process, you’re giving them evidence they need that you can do this. Even just showing enthusiasm to come to work goes a long way!
They want to see you’re super hungry to learn the ropes and will take on any challenge they throw at you. This means also having a willingness to fail! If you’ve made extra strides to upskill independently, that will be a big thumbs up.
They want to know you’ve taken some time to do independent research and that you want to learn more from them about their industry. After all, they’re passionate about it, so they want you to be too! Check out our posts in the Resources and Training section for more help on this.
Things like collaboration, listening, and willingness to build relationships are qualities that a lot of employers love! And they can’t be replaced by AI. These 100% can be developed without relevant experience, so lean into these as much as you can. Getting as much contact with people as you can - whether that’s through networking, attending events, or taking on a part-time job - will help to boost these skills too.
You don’t need to be a master communicator for every job (we are all still learning!), but chances are, unless you’re planning to work independently forever, you will need to chat to people - either via written or verbal means. Employers want to know you’ll have enough confidence to ask questions initially while your communication skills get stronger with practice.
E.g. writing emails, working with a team, using standard software (e.g. Microsoft Office or Google Workspace) - so if you don’t feel confident, it’s worth getting familiar with these tools.
They want to feel the love! They want to know that you’re genuinely keen on their company and the job you’d be doing. So making the effort to personalise your applications and share your enthusiasm will go a long way.
Ok we can’t predict everything, but remember with only a CV to assess someone’s compatibility for the job, they’re going to be looking for tiny things to help with their decision making process. Scrutinise the job description to see if there’s anything you can really amplify in your CV to show relevancy or some kind of nugget that they can connect with. For example, if they specialise in sport, they’re probably going to be interested in candidates who love sport, so big up all of the clubs you’ve played for, the types of sports you love, the time you volunteered as a sports coach etc. etc.!