"Standing Out" Can Land You a Job, Seriously!

 

Just read an interesting article about "workforce trends" and how it can help your job searching success. It also discussed how standing out is the most important thing you can do for your career.

 

In my opinion, this can clearly be useful to older people (obviously). There is no longer this stigma associated with older job seekers. Many more people are working past retirement age these days. In fact, being older implies more experience. The jobs that I have been looking at lately are for highly skilled people. It does not matter what field you are in, companies will always want the most skilled workers working for them.

 

Next, I believe the last trend is perfect for those who are bilingual and/or good with languages. More and more frequently, companies want to hire people who are fluent in Spanish and English. I've even seen jobs advertised for people who can speak French, German, Farsi, Japanese, Chinese, and Arabic...the list is endless.

 

I think it is forever useful to know some Spanish, especially in the United States. However, knowing more than one language makes you a more marketable candidate regardless; above all within the retail community, since your very purpose is to deal with customers and give the best customer service possible. Think how much you will stand out being a candidate that can communicate with many different people.

This brings us to the most important point: standing out. Do read the article but in a nutshell, it was mostly giving advice on how to stand out from all the rest. The article gave advice on how to stand out at your current job, in the job search process (think resumes, interviews and networking) and even when asking for a promotion.

 

It is something we hear over and over again. The economy is not the best right now. There are many job seekers out there but not as many jobs. So you have to be sure to stand out in every step of the process.

You have to tailor your resumes and cover letters to fit each job you apply for. You have to give remarkable interviews and you have to make people remember you when you are networking. Be it face-to-face or online, it doesn't matter these days.

 

In addition, once you make it past these stages and do get that job you have to continue to stand out. This may mean volunteering to take on extra work or being proactive with asking questions and suggesting new ways to do things.

Whatever it is, find what you have to offer a company and make yourself shine.

 

 

By: Samantha Taylor

 

Samantha is a Boston, Massachusetts native. Her studies have taken her from Ohio to England, where she lived for two years. Currently, Samantha lives in Andalucía, Spain, with her husband. She is a writer for Nexxt and contributes to one of its many blogs: retailgigsblog.com. She also works as an English teacher and personal trainer in her spare time. Check out her blog at: rcpforhealth.blogspot.com.