Your Recruitment Toolkit: Presenting Yourself to Employers in 7 Steps

By Yvette Mckenzie

If you are currently job seeking, there are many tips you can employ to make yourself stand out to potential employers. Presenting yourself in the very best light is essential to getting and keeping the job you aspire to. If that industry happens to be the social media industry, then this is even more important.

Both the international and local social media job markets can be every competitive, so honing essential skills in self-presentation can help you to stand out against other candidates. Here are 7 essential tips to enhance the way you present yourself to potential employers. Be honest with yourself and assess: which of these do you need to work on?

1. Your resume and written documents

Everyone who is job seeking should have a current digital resume. The length, style and format of this document will depend on the industry and the platform you are marketing yourself on. For many jobs, a single page should be enough, often with a tagline at the bottom of the document letting the reader know that more information can be provided if they need it.

LinkedIn is also a good resource for your resume. LinkedIn is still one of the most well-known free social platforms (with paid options available for more features). On it, you can have a longer version of your resume, ready to be viewed by potential employers. Ask friends within your industry to help you with formatting, as sometimes looking at what your peers are doing can be a great way to get started as a newbie.

2. Filming a video resume

Some social platforms and recruiters might give you the option of filming a video resume. This is a cutting-edge way to present the ‘real’ you to people who may be able to give you a job. An online video resume is a great way for employers to see how you speak, your personal energy and your mood and vibe.

There are the things you should think about when aiming to film a video resume. Leave yourself enough time on the day of filming to take several cuts, pay attention to little details such as the color of your clothes and the lighting. Keep you spiel short and aim to have a really strong start or opening statement to catch potential employers’ attention.

3. Your elevator pitch

A good thing to have prepared is your “elevator pitch”. This is a concept that’s familiar to most professionals in the social space. Basically – imagine that you find yourself in an elevator with someone who is able to give you a job – your dream job. You have exactly 60 seconds to pitch yourself, your ideas and your personality to them, in order to get the role.

What would you say about yourself? You can’t go into lengthy explanations or show them your resume or portfolio. This is where you hone down your 5 top skills into a concise format – focusing on your most relevant qualifications first. Think about how you present yourself on social media and also make sure you have set the relevant privacy settings for your accounts.

4. Your look

Although this is not a fashion parade, it is true that “clothes maketh the man.” At the very minimum, you want your clothes and personal presentation to display a neutral persona. Think about it – if your clothes, hair, jewellery or grooming is unconventional, this could be taking the focus from your skills and personal qualities.

If you were an employer, what would you look for in an employee? There is no harm in looking ‘cool’ and ‘fashionable’ so long as your whole outfit is appropriate, and displays a respectful image. Let your personality shine through, but don’t let it be a distraction. Whether in person, or in your public images – have a good, hard look at how you might be perceived and amend accordingly.

5. Your experience

You have done so much in your life, but have you taken the time to think about how this could look on a resume? Think carefully about how your experience should appear on your resume. Don’t downplay your achievements, talk them up. Make the most of what you’ve done, particularly when aiming for a job within social media.

Think of everything you are currently doing in the social space, including community work, page administration, volunteer work, membership of community groups and relevant digital hobbies. How can this information be highlighted on your resume?

6. Contacts and networking

Who you know can be as essential as what you know. Consider who in your extended network might be able to help you in your social job search. There is one thing that is common to most people – we all love giving advice. Asking to meet with someone you might be able to network with can be an essential career-progression tool.

If located within the same area, consider asking to buy them a coffee or to come to their next work presentation. If remote, offer to meet up via Skype of Google Hangouts. Often this can be a great way to learn more about the area of business you are hoping to get into. At the very least, you should be able to ask questions and get advice on an informal scale.

7. Keeping momentum

An easy trap to fall into is to lose momentum with your job seeking. Often all it takes is one or two knock backs to shatter your confidence to make you feel that there is little hope for career progression. Keep trying and don’t stop working, even if it means continuing to send out applications and researching roles, new platforms and industries.

Good things come to those who wait but you won’t get anywhere if you don’t try. Even if things seem difficult, keep on trying to reach your goals. Job seeking is not always easy – often it can take weeks or months to find a suitable position. However, if you’ve been getting nowhere on a certain track for more than six months – be aware that it might be time to take a different approach.

Yvette McKenzie is a writer for Secta Security. She works for a leading online educator and has a background in broadcast media, with a passion for digital marketing, SEO, promotions, journalism and content strategy.

 

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