A map with marked places to drink coffee, park without paying or buy an aspirin. It is what he left, along with her resume, a girl at the Weekend communication agency, which has recently changed the location of its offices in Murcia. Her gesture has earned her a job interview, as the founder of the company, Cristina Jover, has told her on her social networks. This is just one example of the creativity and originality with which more and more candidates try to stand out in the selection processes.
Behind this simple map is one of the keys that can lead a person to get a job: proactivity. “This case of the communication agency is particular and I don’t think it can be extrapolated to other sectors where design and creativity don’t have so much weight. But it does show that having initiative is always very good, regardless of what your profile is. You have to be proactive and be capable of presenting itself in a different way”, assures Manuel Cano, manager in Spain of Reverse, a search and selection company.
The same opinion is shared by Alberto Gutiérrez, head of the division contact center at Nexian, a human resources company. “It is not only to sign up for a job offer with a click. The person who calls by phone, stops by the office or contacts through social networks to say that they are applying for the position shows an extra interest that can be the difference between being selected or not”.
A proactivity that Gutiérrez advises to have also when it comes to establish contacts through social networks. “Something that I recommend is to use LinkedIn a lot to follow the companies that interest you and the people who work in them, in order to have a more direct contact. Be up to date with what they publish because, in addition to job portals, there are companies that use their profiles to share their job offers”.
However, the use of social networks can be “a double-edged sword”, in the words of Daniel Pérez, chief technology officer at Michael Page, a recruitment consultancy. “Someone you see move, comment and insist too much takes away value. Because what you perceive in that profile is some desperation. You have to know very well how to take advantage of the network of contacts and the contact you make. It cannot be massive. We have professionals who apply to all offers indiscriminately. What that makes me understand is that he does not have much criteria, nor is it very clear what he wants to dedicate himself to and where his added value lies, ”expands Pérez.
Proactivity is also important when preparing the CV, which must be adjusted to each offer, highlighting the skills that the candidate has to apply for that specific position. And don’t just send the same one every time. “It is very useful to know information about each project, to the extent that the candidate has information either about the advertisement or about having spoken with the employer, to adapt the resume to the vacancy,” says Cano. With regard to the preparation of the curriculum, Gutiérrez emphasizes that it is “fundamental” to dedicate time to search the keywords in the job advertisement and use the same when reflecting professional experience in writing, so that it comes out among the highlights when companies use search engines or algorithms in a first screening.
And once the process has arrived at the personal interview phase, Cano advises not to take them as “if you were in front of a court” that is examining the candidate. “The person who applies for the position has to also ask questions, be inquisitive, curious. This will make a better impression than just replying. For this, you have to prepare yourself by searching for the best and most information possible”, he adds.
In this sense, Pérez assures that “the attitude in the interview is what makes someone take the cat to the water, is what makes the finalist candidate stand out. Those who are normally accepted by companies do so because they have the technical profile or specialized experience they need, but, above all, what makes the difference today is still attitude. We have samples of this every day.”
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