How To Stand Out As A Candidate For Any Job

• Volunteering

Volunteering is regarded as a great asset and a positive aspect in your CV. It is upto the candidate to show the importance of volunteering and how they present it to their prospective recruiters but most websites have some write ups on presenting this experience in a positive light during the preparation of your CV or during an interview process.

• Code Academy or MOOCs

Computers are omnipresent now and are used in the workplace everywhere around the world. You can’t escape this machine and as a candidate applying for jobs it’s best to make this machine your friend and acquire as much skills as possible. Again there are a lot of resources online but one of the most popular which teaches coding for free is Codecademy. You can also go online on various MOOCs (Massive Open Online Course) websites to learn coding and computer related courses for free. Because lets be honest writing Basic Computer skills or Internet browsing on your CV does not make you stand out from other candidates. That is expected out of everyone who is applying for a job. You have to provide additional value to the prospective employer by offering something that is unique to you and what other candidates cannot offer.

• Freelancing

If you are a fresher looking for a job and/or about to change the field of work, you might not be preferred as an employee over the more experienced candidates. This is where freelancing can come handy because it’s a catch 22 situation with work and experience. You can’t get work because you have no experience but if you don’t get work, how will you get the experience? There are a lot of websites providing opportunities for freelancing like Freelancer, Elance and more where you can bid for projects and get experience for any kind of work you are capable of performing. Its a great way to get experience and learn things so you are better equipped when you start an actual job where you might or might not get an opportunity to learn things.

• Transferrable skills

We live in a world where because of internet and more technologies, the world is a global workplace. You can work anywhere as long as you are connected to internet and have some tools. Also, there is an increasing trend of shifting industries or sectors and there are a lot of young people who have studied and got degrees in one field and work in another. This might be due to various factors but mostly may be because of better opportunities and realizing you enjoy doing certain things. An employer may be apprehensive to hire you if you do not have academic qualifications or relevant work experience for a job advertised simply because they might feel you won’t fit in. It is your responsibility as an employee that you convince them you have acquired certain skill sets in your last job which can be transferred to your new job and thus you should be considered for the position as well. This is a good example of how you can identify and present your transferrable skills in your CV or in a job interview.

• Research about the company and job

Nothing beats preparation for a job interview. The best thing would be to know the company, the job requirements and the expectations from the prospective employee. The interview would be much easier and you would come across genuinely interested with your preparation. This is almost expected but often not paid much attention to. Its the basics which candidates sometimes fail to follow properly.

• Do something amazing

There are a lot of examples of being proactive for a job. When you do your research about the job and the company and you are sometimes even aware who would be the exact person taking your interview you can Google this particular person as well. Here are some of the examples where people got hired because they did something very creative and amazing and surprised the selectors.

So while there are no sure shot methods of getting selected for a job, these few points would definitely help you in creating a positive 1st impression. Nobody wants someone who is like the rest of all and has nothing special to offer. As a candidate you need a job but you also need to give the employers a reason why they should pick you over the rest of the others. In an increasingly competitive world and critical economic conditions around the world, these few little things can go a long way in making sure you have a great start to a rewarding career. The next time you are appearing for an interview or applying for a job, try these techniques and let us know it all went.

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