The Second – or Third – try may be the one That Lands the Job
If a job-seeker had not been a match for an employer when applying previously, the situation could now be different due to a change in the employer’s needs, the applicant’s experience and skills – or both. The needs and skill requirements of employers are continually changing in response to economic conditions and the state of their businesses.
Job-seekers should target employers from whom they previously received no response as well as those they have unsuccessfully interviewed with. In most cases, applicants probably did not receive any response because their experience and skills were not the most ideal match for what the employer was looking for at the time. However, applicants may have acquired new skills and experience in the interim.
Numerous job-seekers are successful the second or third time they apply with a potential employer. But, too few people contact the same employer again even if they received no reply the first time. They become discouraged too easily and move onto another potential opportunity without establishing whether they are now a better fit.
ClearRock offers the following advice to job-seekers on how to get employers to take another look at them:
- Find out what has changed with the employer that may now make you a better fit. For example, ascertain whether the company has entered into or acquired any new business lines that better correspond with your qualifications. Or, has anyone recently left – including someone who may have been hired for the job you originally applied for – whose duties and responsibilities you could readily assume?
- Evaluate how your experience and skills have changed since your last contact with the employer. Focus on how you have filled in any gaps that stood in the way of getting the job the first time. Provide examples that will help support your improved fit for the position. Include specific new experiences and skills gained and knowledge acquired through taking courses, completing certificates, or acquiring degrees – especially if they are relevant to the job you’re pursuing. Use specific examples that will help support your relevancy to the position.
- Include personal and professional development acquired since your last contact. Detail any coaching and training that you have received since you last applied and how this has improved your professional knowledge and skills.
- Utilize new social media connections who may be able to update you on what is going on at the employer and can potentially lead to an introduction or referral. Contacts made since the last time you applied may be able to help you determine what the hiring manager is looking for.
- Specify any freelancing and contract work or volunteering performed that has added to your knowledge and skills. Share the results of your freelancing, contract, and volunteer work, particularly if it is relevant to the job for which you are applying and has expanded your current skills or given you an opportunity to gain experience in a new area.
- Join or become more active in the same professional or volunteer group as the hiring manager at the targeted company. Trade association meetings and events and nonprofit functions provide ideal opportunities to keep in touch in a low-key way and get to know each other better.
