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Are you in job search mode?
Maybe you recently lost your job or are expecting a downsizing. Maybe you're looking for new opportunities that fit your professional or personal goals.
Does anyone enjoy the job search regardless of the circumstances?
A successful job search requires you to market yourself. Because of your job, you already know the model: create compelling content that attracts a target audience of new employers.
But it's not as easy as it seems. They must summarize years of knowledge, skills and experience. You then need to present your carefully crafted profiles to recruiters and continue to position your expertise in the market. Only then can you stand out from the other candidates competing for the position you want.
In a livestream, “Ask the #CMWorld Community,” Work It Daily’s JT O’Donnell and Together Digital’s Amy Vaughan shared what recruiters want and the disruptive ways to get on their radar.
Update your job search tools
First, take another look at your resume and LinkedIn profile. Make sure they are current, consistent, and specifically targeted to the roles you are looking for.
If it's been a while since your last job search, you may need to relearn the rules of a productive job search.
Application tracking systems are now used by 97.4% of Fortune 500 companies and many small and medium-sized businesses. The software can create more accurate candidate profiles and compare them with the applicants' professional background information.
To meet this technical review, optimize your resume with keywords used in the job posting to improve your application's chances of advancing to the next stage.
Pay attention to formatting and information trends to beat the digital gatekeepers. Your resume should be easy to skim, results-oriented, and tailored to the job.
In a related discussion on CMI's Slack channel, Susan Varty of Headstart Copywriting shared a resume template for the current era.
As shown in the image below, it divides information into clear sections:
- Around: Introduce yourself, mention the position you are seeking, and describe your qualifications in a relevant way.
- Career highlights: Create active statements that summarize the accomplishments you're most proud of so recruiters can skim through the text and understand who you are and what you have to offer.
- Work experience: Instead of listing your roles, describe how your work has helped previous employers achieve their business goals.
Click here to download
According to JT, your LinkedIn profile should match your resume. “Recruiters pay attention to the resume and LinkedIn career history section. The information displayed there should be identical. Otherwise, they might be confused about which version is correct,” she explains.
Stand out with a disruptive approach to your job search
Amy says recruiters spend just a few seconds reviewing the resume and cover letters that arrive on their desk or inbox.
With that in mind, JT says, showing your personal motivation to do the work for this employer can give you an advantage. This requires a groundbreaking job search that conveys a relevant connection between your passions and career intentions to the employers who could benefit from it.
This conscious and storified approach should work well for content marketers since you're already practicing it. It also bypasses the gatekeeping systems by giving you a more reliable connection with potential employers.
JT summarizes the disruptive job search process:
- Find the work you care about most: Think carefully about what type of work you want to do, not just where you want to do it. What makes you glow? What is the specific reason people come to you? Your answer is the focus of your candidate story.
- Make a list of company goals: Don't apply for every job that matches your skills and interests. Find 10 to 20 who would really benefit from your unique perspectives and specific focus.
- Be clear about why you want to work for each company: Saying you hear them say they're a great place to work and have great benefits isn't enough to demonstrate that you understand the company and its goals. What do you think is different and special?
- Make a personal connection: Think about what you can bring to the position in the company. Be specific and demonstrate your knowledge of what they do, who their customers are, and how you can contribute to the business outcomes they want to achieve.
- Formulate the details in a cover letter: Create a cover letter that expresses your unique understanding of the company and the unique value you can bring. “If you can put this story in the hands of someone in an organization, you’ll be amazed at what can happen,” says JT.
(Network)work your story into a job
However, you don't have to wait for a job posting to catch the attention of potential employers. “People need to get to know you and see continuity in what you say and do,” says Amy.
To make this networking and marketing more productive, make the most of your LinkedIn activities. In March 2024, LinkedIn eliminated “Creator Mode” and opened up the ability for everyone on the platform to use its features.
- Write an About Section: Keep your story brief and highlight what you would discuss in a cover letter to attract the right kind of attention.
- Create and share relevant content: Think about your areas of expertise and talk about them regularly in your LinkedIn feed. Creating new content (or republishing your content on other platforms) on these topics demonstrates your expertise.
You can also curate and add comments to news, articles, videos, and other relevant stories from third parties. It shows that you are familiar with what is happening in the area and can add something valuable to the conversation.
Make sure you post regularly – JT recommends at least once a day – to build an audience of followers.
- Integrate personal passions into your work personality: Engaging an audience with your thought leadership content can help you rank higher in LinkedIn searches and attract the attention of more recruiters. However, since almost any applicant can position themselves as an expert, Amy suggests taking an additional step to stand out from the crowd: cultivating a personality brand.
If you're a regular CMI reader, you probably know the reasons for building a personal brand (and if not, I'd highly recommend you read Ann Gynn's definitive post on the subject). However, a personality brand is a little different.
As Amy explains, job seekers often find it difficult to connect their passions outside of work with the work they want to be known for. However, combining these interests into stories can make a person more memorable to recruiters and others who can help with the job search.
Amy explains what this looks like for her brand: “I talk a lot about down-to-earthness, nature and compassionate leadership. For me, these things are all connected because I prefer very down-to-earth leadership and a calm approach to difficult work situations. Or maybe you’re an endurance athlete and can relate to how your love of endurance sports meshes with your strong work ethic.”
This personality branded content can make your networking feel more organic. “If you reach out to people in your network just to get a job, they will track it down,” says Amy. But if they know you because you've shared a relatable story or something valuable, they may be more willing to connect with you and help you in your search.
Use your content marketing strengths to prove your value to employers
Finding a job is never easy. However, with a more precise approach to your job search, stories that showcase your unique expertise, and opportunities to build a personal connection, your employment status will soon change. Losing a job never feels good. But with a more precise approach to your job search, stories that showcase your unique expertise, and opportunities to build a personal connection, your unemployment status won't last long.
Need more guidance to improve your content marketing skills? Enroll in CMI University and get 12 months of on-demand access to a comprehensive curriculum designed to help you do your work more effectively.
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Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute
Create your very own Auto Publish News/Blog Site and Earn Passive Income in Just 4 Easy Steps
