Competition in the business world is more intense than ever, so companies have to be incredibly selective when choosing new hires. If you’re ready to take the next step in your career, you’ll need to put in a lot of extra effort to get noticed by leading employers.
If you weren’t previously aware of the recruiting facts below, pay close attention and use them to create a winning job search strategy that helps you climb to the top.
Hiring Managers Prefer Recommended Candidates
Managers invest a lot of time, money, and effort into the hiring process, so they obviously want to choose the candidate most likely to succeed. While no new hire is ever guaranteed to be a win, extra weight is given to those who are recommended by someone they know and trust — a member of their personal network, employee, or recruiter. In fact, 78% of recruiters find their top quality candidates through a referral, according to the 2015 Jobvite Recruiter Nation Survey.
Don’t Apply for Jobs Way Out of Your League
Dreaming big is great, but you also need to be realistic about the jobs you apply to. If you’re clearly not qualified for a position, move on and keep searching. Completing the application is pointless, as the hiring manager will be less-than-impressed when they’ve read your resume and realized you wasted their time because you don’t even meet all the minimum requirements.
Recruiters Really Do Check Candidates’ Social Media Pages
Most job seekers have an account on at least one social network, but many still don’t take proper precautions to keep personal content under wraps. Only 4% of recruiters don’t use social media in the recruiting process, according to the Jobvite survey, so if your publically available content isn’t work appropriate and you’re not getting many interview calls, there’s your answer. If you’re sharing any content not related to work, enable strict privacy settings.
Customized Resumes Are Expected, Not Suggested
Writing a really great resume is hard work, so the thought of tailoring yours to fit each opportunity you apply to may seem daunting, but it’s not an option. Hiring managers receive dozens — sometimes even hundreds — of resumes for each open position, so you really have to sell yourself. If you submit a generic resume, they’ll just assume you don’t want the job very badly and will move forward with another candidate who took the time to customize their resume.
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