Offer to work for FREE or cheap, if needed to secure a job
Free may be the only currency that will get you to pass the employment door.
It’s the only way to reduce any barriers to hiring you at no risk to your employer.
The key here is to remove any doubts or risks that the employer may have about you and your capability.
This “try first, buy later” strategy may be the best strategy to adopt in an environment where there are more job seekers than job vacancies.
Ask for a “job audition”
In some industries, it is common for the employer as part of the applicant vetting process to ask you to work on or complete a project, or in some other way demonstrate what they can do and how they do it.
This certainly helps the company to determine whether you will be a good fit for the company culture and work well with their new teammates, as well as to more objectively measure your skill-set. It can even be a way to be fairer to job applicants who don’t interview well, or whose resumes are less credentialed.
If the project will take you no more than two hours, that’s a fair request.
If it is work on an actual company project that may be used by them, then you should be paid.
However, if you’re asked to do real work for the company (for free) you might be able to counter-propose a plan where you show them a prior project you did that was similar to what you’re being asked to do.
Proactively, offer to do a “job audition” instead of waiting for an invitation.
These audition projects can be without pay, or with only minimal compensation. You may need to invest considerable amounts of time. Negotiate an hourly compensation rate instead or asking the company to treat the audition as freelance work.
You may become suspicious, apprehensive, or even downright unhappy about being asked to engage in job auditions.
If you’re excited about the job, it can be hard to say no.
Job auditions are two ways: the company can test you out and you can learn about the company.
Do great work and be recognised for it
If you are willing to take on an audition project, don’t go halfway. This is an opportunity to demonstrate what you can really do.
If you’re not enthusiastic enough to do your best work, then the job audition is not for you and neither is the job or the company.
Always quantify your impact or value
As a lot of resumes look very similar, simply listing skills and qualifications that they often share with thousands of other people.
Tangible results will separate a mediocre candidate from a great one.
Instead of writing “Identifying potential clients, networking and building relationships,” write “Identifying and networking with prospects in order to generate over 30 new high-value client leads this year, and five signups that have led to over $250K in sales revenue.”
What’s more, you may want to strategically bold those numbers and key accomplishments. Bold and front-load your notable accomplishment stories especially in the above-the-fold section of your resume.
Job hunting strategies are getting more sophisticated
Pre-2000, degrees and education were scarce because jobs were in abundance.
The best way for hiring managers to find people was to require resumes that listed all key information about the candidate.
Resumes worked well then, but not be so effective now.
With many more job seekers applying for jobs using resumes and cover letters, and eagerly waiting f0r replies will no longer be effective.
Online job application systems will disadvantage job seekers.
Hope and pray passive job hunting strategy will not work
If you have not noticed, everyone and their grandma have bachelors’ degrees, have volunteered somewhere, and did summer internships.
Their resumes mostly said the same nonsense like being “proactive, passionate, hardworking, and organised”.
The reality is that it’s becoming more common for employers to require applicants with university degrees to perform most jobs as a pre-requisite for applying for a job.
Over-qualification has become a major problem for job seekers.
While we may disagree with this approach, we need to navigate past this requirement of head knowledge if you do not have a university degree by showing how you can give or create value for your employer.
You may need to work harder to convince the hiring manager that you are the one for the job despite not having a university degree.
In fact, you have learned the necessary skills and acquired the necessary experience and knowledge to perform the job effectively, much better than university graduates who are applying for the same job.
The old-school one-size-fits-all approach does not work anymore
Instead, you should try to sidestep the entire application process altogether including the submission of online job applications.
It may require you to network and talk to the hiring manager directly – perhaps over lunch or coffee – well before the closing date of the job application.
During your catch-up with the hiring manager, get to know him. Ask him questions about the business and the organisational culture. Let him get to know you. Don’t speak about the job opening at all.