Ever been in a situation where you have applied for a job where your Resume was up to scratch and you had not only all the essential criteria covered, but also all the desired criteria…..and you didn’t get the job? This has happened to me. Sometimes we can spend so much time obsessing over our qualifications and experience that we forget that sometimes, hiring managers are coming from a completely different perspective. While these things are important, they are really looking for someone that understands their company and some of the challenges facing it, and they have strategies that can help tackle them. Essentially, they are looking for people to help solve their problems.

So how do you get any job you want? Raghav Haran, author of the blog landanyjobyouwant.com, advises to start the process by deciding on 3-5 jobs that you would be happy doing. The recommendation is that while you might not have all the specified prerequisites, you are not far behind. This might mean than you have 5 years’ experience when they are looking for 7-8 years’ experience, for example. It’s also important that you can do the job. The next step, says Haran, is to get an understanding of what the role entails, and what tasks you are likely to be completing each day. This is something you should be able to get from the job description but if it’s lacking, you can consult with the Recruiter. Once you have an understanding of what you will be doing each day, it’s recommended that you complete a pre-interview project per job.

So what is this exactly? Well, it really depends on the role. If you are applying for a Sales role, you might develop a pitch or propose business partnerships. Other examples include developing a presentation on some key areas in the business that you feel you could add value to.

Once you have completed your project, you need to send it in to the company in a format that they can use, along with a cover letter. Haran suggests your cover letter should discuss how your project can resolve issues for the company, and link that to your job application, alongside your relevant skills and experience.

Sometimes you need to take an ‘out of the box’ approach to land the job you want. If you have any questions regarding the recruitment process, speak to the recruitment team at Flexi Personnel.