By Nicole Shepard-Freeman
This is the third article in a five-week series. For the next three weeks, guest columnist Nicole Sherard-Freeman, Executive Director of Detroit at Work and Workforce Development for the City, will share the inside track on how to get ready and stay ready for jobs and careers in Detroit. This week, she shares a few tips on ways to stand out from the crowd when you interview for FCA and other opportunities in the City.
5 Ways to Stand Out from the Crowd in Your Job Interview
For the past couple of weeks, my column has been about how to be sure you’re taking full advantage of the production operator, skilled trades, and professional jobs FCA is bringing to Detroit. This week, I’m sharing a few ways to stand out in your next job interview…but not just at FCA. Detroit at Work is the staffing partner for many employers across the City. Here’s what we’ve learned in our work with employers, and five things you need to know to stand out from the crowd.
- Be sure you have a well-written resume. Your resume doesn’t need to be fancy. You don’t need a picture, colors, or fancy fonts. In fact, those things can sometimes make your resume stand out from the crowd in a negative way with employers. The most important thing is what your resume says about your experience. Start your resume with a Background Summary, or Career Objectives to help the employer know what you’re looking for and what you’re good at. Most recruiters only look at your resume for a minute or so before deciding whether to call you…and many employers now use recruiting technology to look for a skills match before a human ever lays eyes on your resume. Try to keep your resume to one page, be sure there are no spelling or grammatical errors, and make sure your resume highlights the many skills you bring to the table. Need help? Come in to your neighborhood Detroit at Work Career Center and let a Career Advisor help you build a resume that showcases who you are.
- Get comfortable talking about your skills. Develop an ‘elevator speech’ to describe what you’re good at. In 60 – 90 seconds (about the time you would have to tell someone something on an elevator ride), be able to crisply and clearly talk about your skills, and what you want to do next. Be specific. Saying ‘you like to help people’, or ‘you want to want to help people’ describes about 95% of the general population. Statements like that are easy to come up what, but they don’t leave a lasting impression. 9 out of 10 people I talk to about a job or career tell me ‘I like people’. Those job-seekers don’t make it to the top of the pile. Need help talking about yourself? Welcome to the crowd! Most of us have trouble coming up with an elevator pitch. Come on in to your neighborhood Detroit at Work Career Center and let us help.
- Remember, an interview is a sales job…and you’re the product. Despite what the federal government reports as a tight labor market, employers still have a choice about who they hire. It’s your responsibility to present yourself in a way that helps the employer see that you’ll make the company better by being there. You’ll stand out from the crowd if you know something about the company, the job, and the skills that are most important to the employer. Preparing for your interview doesn’t need to be a research project (unless you’re applying for a senior level role), but you definitely need to spend 30 minutes understanding the basics before you walk in. I spent the first 7 years of my career as a corporate recruiter, and was always stunned by how little time candidates spent preparing for the basics. Want to stand out from the crowd? Know your stuff.
- Sweat all the small stuff. You’ve probably heard ‘don’t sweat the small stuff’ a hundred times in your life. Well, a job interview is the one time in life you SHOULD sweat the small stuff. All of it. If you want to stand out from the crowd, then being even 1 minute late for your interview is unacceptable. Be 15 – 20 minutes EARLY. (Remember the grandmothers, uncles and pastors in your life who told you, ‘to be on time is to be late; and to be early is to be on time.’? Well, it’s still true.) Dress the part. If you’re going for an FCA production job interview, a nice pair of jeans or slacks, and a shirt without print or logos is just fine. You can even wear nice—but not flashy—gym shoes to your FCA interview because of the physical test during the interview, but don’t try that anywhere else unless you know for sure that it’s allowed. Take a pen and pad of paper and take a few notes. Have 2 – 3 questions ready to ask the interviewer about the job, company, and what’s most important in the company’s hiring decision. In your first interview, do not ask questions about pay, vacation time, sick time, or anything that could leave the impression that you’re not a hard worker. Of course pay is important, but do your research somewhere else before you get in the room. If the pay isn’t right for your life circumstances, you shouldn’t apply for the job in the first place.
- Follow up after the interview. Get the recruiter or interviewers business card or contact information before you leave, then follow up with an email or a note. Remind the interviewer of why you’re the right person for the job. Keep it short and simple.
Remember that making it to the interview is an important milestone in your job search, and not every interview will lead to a job. Give yourself a minute to be disappointed, but don’t let your disappointment turn into discouragement. Find the positive people in your life who can help you look at it as a chance to learn, and consider it a practice round for the next time. Keep at it, and let’s make 2020 your year!
Detroit at Work now has 8 career centers across the City. Go to www.DetroitAtWork.com for more information about resume building and interview skills workshops at a location near you. Come back next week for the 4th installment of this 5-part series on how Detroit at Work can help you find and get ready for your next opportunity.