How to Set Yourself Apart in the Job Market (Hint: AI isn’t the answer)
How to Set Yourself Apart in the Job Market (Hint: AI isn’t the answer)

How to Set Yourself Apart in the Job Market (Hint: AI isn’t the answer)

With the abundance of AI tools to help with the job search it is getting harder than ever to stand out in job applications.

TL;DR:

  • Spray and pray doesn’t work in today’s competitive job market
  • Take the time to research the company and figure out how you can stand out for the role you’re applying to

When I graduated college, my job search strategy was: spray and pray. I’d apply to as many jobs as possible and just hope for the best. I was under the impression that having some experience under my belt and a decent GPA was enough to stand out and land my first full time job. It ended up working for me then, but the world has changed a lot in these last 5 years.

AI tools have made every part of the application process much easier, from creating resumes, to writing cover letters, to sending cold emails, to actually searching for job postings. Some people use combinations of these tools to apply the spray and pray method at massive scale. They can apply to thousands of jobs per day, and sure they may get a hit here or there. But here’s the problem: people can tell when you’re using AI generated content and haven’t even bothered to tweak it at all. When you send AI generated cover letters that are generic, you’re actually doing more harm than good for yourself.

In this article, we won’t be covering how to use AI tools to apply to thousands of jobs daily, there are plenty of articles out there covering that topic. We’re going to dive into how to ACTUALLY stand out and get noticed in the sea of endless noise that is job applications.

Quality Over Quantity

The first mindset shift that you must make when applying to jobs in this market is that applying to a high number of jobs will automatically lead to results. Sure, volume plays a role in how many responses you get (you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take), but when every job is getting hundreds of applications on the first day with job boards like Linkedin and Indeed, you have to spend the extra time to figure out how you can stand out. Instead of applying to 100 jobs daily, find 10 jobs that really excite you and think through how you can stand out for those.

Ways to Stand Out

How you can stand out will be different based on the actual role you’re applying to, but the principle is that you have to prove to the hiring manager that they’re making the right decision by hiring you. If you have experience doing the same exact job functions as the role you’re applying for, make sure you make that clear and you use some of the language that was used in the job description as well.

If you’re applying to a role that may be more of a stretch, maybe you haven’t done the exact work in the job description, then you have to convince the hiring manager to take a chance on you. In our interview with Richard White, he got a job that he wasn’t qualified for by sending a cold email to the founders of Kiko with some things they could do to improve the design of the product.

When you put in effort into your applications and try to stand out, you’ll notice your response rate also starts to go up. You may not get an interview you apply to, but you’ll start to see that your application is actually getting read more.

The key here is to actually do research about the company and come up with how you - given your unique skillset - can provide value to the company that no one else can.

Use Your Network

If you have connections at the company, reach out to them and see if they can find out who the hiring manager is and set up a quick intro for you. Note: we’re not asking for them to put a referral in through the company system. While this may help, its much more effective to actually get in front of the person making the hiring decision and make a good impression on them.

Important Note

It’s important to remember that sometimes you may do everything right, but still may not get a response or may not be chosen for the role. It could be that the company already hired someone for the role, it may not have been a culture fit, or that they found someone that is a that has more experience or is willing to work for less than you. There can be a number of reasons, but part of this journey is a numbers game. Very rarely do people end working at the first job they applied to.

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