You know that preparation before an interview is one of the keys to being successful.
Preparation allows you to feel a sense of confidence, helps banish the interview jitters and gets you ready to explain why you should be the candidate of choice. But what else can you do to line yourself up for success?
Here are four ways to impress a hiring manager before your interview.
Google
This should come as no surprise to you, but future employers are going to google you. Start by googling yourself and see what comes up. Do the results that google displays support your professional and personal brand? Are there pictures or posts that aren’t suitable that you can remove?
LinkedIn
Prospective employers and hiring agents often do initial candidate research and recruitment on-line. This means that your LinkedIn profile needs to be up to date. Consider adding any projects you took the lead on and always remember that outcome focused language wins the day over a list of general duties.
Recommendation
People want to hire people they know. Failing that, they want to hire someone who is referred to them by a trusted source. If you know someone who works in the organization, ask if they will put in a good word for you. Even if they don’t work in the same department, the personal connection can make a difference. Use LinkedIn to discover shared connections to help with this process.
Industry Leader
One way to impress a hiring manager (and to help you get recruited) is to establish yourself as a thought leader. Start discussions in LinkedIn groups that connect to your industry, or tweet about relevant topics. Establish a blog that you post on a couple of times a month. Use it to discuss industry topics of interest, things you learned in a recent project or anything that shows you have a deep knowledge and passion for what you do.
There are a number of ways to impress a hiring manger before you even walk through the door. Always ask yourself if what you are doing is building your professional brand. After all, making the right first impression before the interview even begins pre-sells you to the hiring manager and gives you a leg up on the competition.
