“How do I stand out during the application process?”
This is the #1 question that I get from students and recent grads. Here are 3 things that have helped me stand out time and time again:
⭐ Establish a strong personal brand
You don’t need to be a content creator or influencer to have a personal brand. Your personal brand is how you choose to show up in the spaces you’re in and the stories you have to share. Professionally, my personal brand is centered around my thought leadership on Gen Z in the workplace, how to market to Gen Z, early career recruiting, and navigating entrepreneurship as a young, Black woman.
Everyone has a story to share or niche interests that they’re passionate about, think about what yours are and how you can incorporate that into your professional interests.
⭐ Highlighting my passion projects at the top of my resume
Over the years, one of the first experiences listed on my resume was fan fiction work on Wattpad, my college and lifestyle blog, and now, it’s my early career resources blog, The Ninth Semester. Being a content creator is an important part of my identity and one of the first things I want hiring teams to know when they see my resume. I list those projects right above my other work experience.
Your passion projects are conversation starters for your resume. Every interview I’ve been on, I’ve been asked about my passion projects, and that gives me a chance to showcase how PASSIONATE I am about the content I make and a chance to talk about skills I’ve learned along the way that usually relate to roles I’ve applied for (marketing, public relations, graphic design, early career recruiting, etc)
📓 Example passion projects to include on your resume:
– your blog/your podcast
– your YouTube channel
– your business
– freelance work
– design projects
⭐ Your network is your networth
Sometimes it’s not about what you know, but who you know. When you grow your network, you’re able to meet with people who can speak your name in rooms you haven’t entered yet and facilitate conversations that can help connect you to others in your industry.
When it comes to networking, be as genuine as possible. Avoid coming off transactional in your outreach and genuinely get to know someone. You can’t just expect someone to give you a referral when they don’t know you. People are willing to help connect you to other people but they need to get to know you.
Tips for networking digitally:
– avoid sending your resume unless they ask for it
– attend virtual networking events (or in-person ones!)
-connect with peers/colleagues; you don’t always need to network vertically (those in higher levels than you), you can also network horizontally
What are some things you do to stand out in the application process?
