PPB June 2021

• “Can you think of anything that I could do to make myself more attractive to hiring managers?” Career Website Applications Applying for relevant positions within the promotional products industry via career websites is an important use of your time. Try to identify every promotional product industry company within the geographic range that you’re looking to work in. A free tool to help identify companies with career websites by geographic area is available at promoplacement.com/ promogigs-career-hub. Visit every company website to check for career opportunities that are a fit for your background and career goals. Direct Outreach Even in our digital world where most jobs are posted and applied for online, it’s important to create a human connection. When you’ve found a position you wish to apply for, contact the hiring manager to let him or her know to expect your application, and that you’d like to discuss the opportunity further. It’s easy to find emails and phone numbers on company websites or by calling the company’s main number. LinkedIn When it comes to your career, LinkedIn is by far the most important social media platform. Being active on LinkedIn is critical because the promotional products industry is very well represented there, and it’s the platform on which industry professionals are most comfortable chatting with new and old connections. It’s also heavily used by human resources and hiring managers to identify candidates for open positions. Below are five simple best practices to ensure that your LinkedIn profile can be found and viewed positively by hiring managers. 1 Make it clear that you are seeking a new position. 2 Highlight your skills, experience and the quantifiable results of your work. 3 Include a professional and appealing profile picture. 4 Pepper your profile with keywords that describe your work expertise and career aspirations. 5 Make sure the resume you send to the hiring manager and your LinkedIn profile are in sync. The Hiring Process You’ve done what you can to catch the eye of hiring managers. Now, it’s time to impress them with what you can bring to their company. Your Resume During the job search, your resume can be your ticket to a new job or your ticket back to the end of the line. Like most things in the business world, it’s a good idea to stick with proven best practices. Below are several time-tested rules of resume writing that will help you land a first interview. • Keep the format simple and clean • Include all pertinent contact information (cell phone number, personal email address, home address and any professional social media links) • State your career or job objective clearly • Summarize your experience in four to five sentences and tell the reader what they can expect from you • Focus on your accomplishments, not your duties • Customize your resume for each job and each company you apply for • Own your accomplishments and sell yourself to the reader as the best candidate The Interview Most people dread the job interview. Even the thought of an interview is enough to throw some into a tailspin of anxiety. What do you wear? What do you bring? How do you answer the tough questions? Due to the pandemic, you face the added challenge of getting your personality to shine through the computer screen, as most interviews are still taking place via video conference. Here are some things you can do to prepare yourself for the interview. Embrace The Changes The pandemic has changed a lot of things about how companies bring on new people. For example, the first few interviews are certain to be via video conference. In most cases, there will be an in-person interview before the hiring decision is made, but some companies are moving away from in-person interviews altogether. Another by-product of the pandemic is that promotional product companies are now much The task of getting a new job is two-fold. First, you need to catch the eye of the hiring manager. Second, you must impress him or her with your resume, interview and references. | JUNE 2021 | 15 INNOVATE