So what should you
focus on to make yourself marketable?
- Relevance
- Differentiators
- It’s not about you – It’s about them.
1. Relevance: I recognized fairly early that my 11 year stint
at Symantec was more of a hindrance than a help as it monopolized my industry
experience. Most of the roles I was applying for were in the Finance, Digital
Media and Telco industries, which I had no background with. You can combat that
by highlighting the parts of your career that are relevant and doing your
industry and company research before the interview.
Make use of the cover letter and
make sure it highlights in point form the specific skills they are looking for
in the advertisement. Most recruiters do a 5 second scan looking for keywords –
so make sure you tailor it for each role. Keep it short and to the point.
2. Differentiators: What makes you different from the other
candidates that are applying for this role? Make sure you’re clear on that and
get that across in an interview. What I noticed was that there were quite a few
candidates floating out there with agile experience, but mostly as part of a
team or as a scrum-master. There were very few that had taken a large
organization through that agile journey and transformation and could draw on
that experience for their future employer. So make sure you take time to identify
what sets you apart from the field.
3. It’s not about you: At the end of the day, the role is open because
they have a need to fill / a problem to solve. Find out what that is.
Use
Questions like:
a.
Can you tell me why this role hasn’t been filled
internally?
b.
What are the main challenges I’d face when I
start this role? (it’s always nice to get them picturing you already in the job J
)
c.
What are you trying to solve with this position?
d.
What keeps you up at night? (If you're meeting the
hiring manager, you can be fairly sure they are having problems they need help
with)
As they respond to the questions, make it a discussion and
tie it back to how you’ve solved such problems using examples from previous
roles.
Usually, the Job description as advertised is basically a
checklist that needs to be met before an interview will be granted. What’s really
going to get you the job is how well you can sell yourself as the answer to the
hiring managers problems.
Good luck.
