Standing out in a competitive job market can seem tricky. That’s particularly true since most candidates a hiring manager meets will have similar technical capabilities and past work experience.
While it’s best to begin by building a strong personal brand, figuring out what to highlight seems challenging. After all, candidates need to identify a differentiator that shows the hiring manager they’re more than an everyday applicant. While focusing on your time as a professional is essential, it’s also wise to leverage your personal experiences to separate yourself from the competition. Here’s a look at the best ways to use your personal experiences to land a job.
Showcase Transferable Skills
Skill-building doesn’t just occur on the job or during training and formal education. Personal experiences can also give you capabilities that you can leverage while working to boost your performance.
The trick is to make sure you present those personal experiences in a way that’s relevant to hiring managers. You don’t want to dive too deep into the personal aspects of what occurred. Instead, approach it as you would when highlighting a workplace achievement. Focus on how using specific skills delivered a desired result, quantifying the details when appropriate. By doing so, you’re ensuring the hiring manager can see the value in what you’re sharing, making this aspect of your personal experience more relevant.
Demonstrate Problem-Solving Capabilities
Problem-solving is something many people do on a regular basis in their personal lives; they just may not realize that it’s occurring. As a result, you can use some of those personal experiences to showcase problem-solving capabilities.
Ideally, you want to select an example that feels applicable to the role you’re trying to land. For example, if setting up large meetings is a job requirement, using an example where you planned a family event with similar parameters may be an excellent fit. That would show that you understand the challenges that come with the responsibility and have experience navigating obstacles that arise.
Highlight Your Unique Perspective
Today, companies prioritize diversity as a means of bringing more unique perspectives into the workplace. However, diversity isn’t just limited to demographics; it can also include ways of thinking that aren’t broadly represented within the current workplace.
Many people have personal experiences that give them a unique perspective, such as overcoming specific struggles that aren’t encountered by the masses. What matters here is presenting that information in a way that’s relevant. Ideally, you want to outline how the experience taught you something that applies to the role, a company’s customer base, or a similar area that provides value. That allows you to leverage your personal experience in a new way while also creating an opportunity to separate yourself from more conventional candidates.
When you’re looking for a new job, partnering with a recruiter can dramatically simplify the process. Your recruiter will spend time learning about you, allowing them to find opportunities that align with your personal experiences and career goals. If you’re ready to connect with the leading staffing firm in Mississippi, TempStaff wants to hear from you. Contact us today.
