6 Tips For Making a Remarkable Application

You’ve perfected your resume, labored over your cover letter, and spent weeks applying for jobs in companies that you know you’d be a great fit for. You’re feeling optimistic, eagerly refreshing your inbox waiting for the responses to roll in and… crickets.

Getting ignored by employers is the most frustrating part about job hunting. It’s a huge time-suck and can make you feel deflated and small. After all, you’re a great match for those positions, totally qualified, experienced, and passionate about what you can bring to the table.

How can you ensure that your application won’t be overlooked?

Here are several tried and true ways to stand out and be remembered amongst a sea of qualified candidates.

Tell your story. In your cover letter, tell a story that will connect you to the brand. Show them that you understand the company and explain the ways that you fit into their tribe. Share brief stories of moments where you rose to the occasion and overcame something in your career. These anecdotes can serve as a powerful statement of who you are and what you’re capable of. Keep in mind that less is more, and going straight to the point will help the companies easily identify why they should check your resume.

Create a video. Showing your face in a short introductory video is a sure way to help you stand out. A video message is a nice personal touch and shows that you have gone above and beyond for this job opportunity. Your passion and drive to land this role can shine through much brighter through video than through a resume. This will also help the employer to understand you better. They’ll be able to more easily picture what you’re like and the way you’d fit into their team.

Don’t be vague. Be as specific as possible when explaining your career accomplishments and experience. Use numbers or stats where you can to be as descriptive as possible to show how your qualifications and experience are in alignment with the role you’re applying for. Don’t leave it up to the company to draw correlations between your experience and how it could be useful for them. Spell it out.

Be Visual. This one seems obvious, but a lot of people underestimate the power of ‘branding’ yourself with your resume. Make your resume pop with color and use company logos. Get creative with your aesthetic.

Focus on the company. Show you care by elaborating on what you admire about the company and why you chose to apply with them. Make it clear that you understand what they need and that you’d be honored by the opportunity to work for them.

Follow Directions. This is the most simple tip but it could be the thing that makes or breaks your application. Make sure you’ve read all of the directions and fine print on the job posting. If they want you to submit your file in a certain format, make sure it’s in that format. Not following directions and submitting your application incorrectly might be the quickest way to ensure you won’t be granted an interview much less the job.