| So, you've just graduated from a community college 1 or 2 year program surrounding Internet technologies, eCommerce, and web development. On your resume, you put that you're familiar with HTML, JavaScript, Cascading Style Sheets, DHTML, C++, Perl, and Visual Basic, plus you've gotten experience with design programs such as Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator, and you've probably produced a couple of web sites using WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editors like Microsoft Front Page or Adobe GoLive or another program of those sorts.
It's a start, but remember, you're looking to STAND OUT amongst the others who will be applying for the same positions you are, and you're looking to prove that you're going to be of value to the company who hires you.
Thus, come my first suggestions about how to prove that very thing to your prospective employer, when you're applying through their online Careers section, or sending them your resume through email:
- Put up a portfolio site.
Simply put, there are thousands upon thousands of HTML-wannabee's who don't have a portfolio. Web development is not a hands-on-training job as much as a job at the local corner store, so put a little bit more effort in, and demonstrate your skills. Even if your skills aren't great right now, putting up a portfolio and keeping it updated shows prospective clients and employers that you're interested enough in your job that you don't mind spending hobby/non-paid time doing it. Considering that a person in an Internet job is expected to keep up to their fast-paced industry in order to keep pace with their job, knowing that a person doesn't require monetary pay for every bit of development they do is a good thing for employers to see.
- Take time to read your prospective employer's site
Just like those Wannabee's without portfolios or demo's of their talents, there are a lot of people who send out their resume to every Internet company they can find the address to, completely not paying any attention to the suggestions the individual firms make with regards to how to gain employment. I suppose it's effective for some people, but frankly I'd have questions about the employers who hired based on that practice.
Make sure to invest energy and time into the job-hunting process. If you take the time to read through the potential employer's site, not only do you begin to learn what they do, but you begin to learn whether or not this company is working in the right niche of the market to help you grow and keep you interested. And when you send in your resume, you can tailor your cover letter/email for that firm.
- Let them know how you'll excel with them
What does your future look like? Where do you see yourself going? How does this company mesh with your plans, and how will you and the company mutually benefit each other in the next 6 months? Year? 5 Years? Take this time to dream, and express this to your prospective employer. Once you've expressed this to the first prospective employer, you can re-tailor the original letter for each successive prospective employer, so it won't take a lot of time each time.
Make sure to point out that your visions are not set in stone, however, and that you'd sincerely appreciate an opportunity to learn more about your ProspEmployer's firm and its direction in the industry in order to see how well you mesh with the firm, overall.
- Remember that you're being chosen for the company's needs FIRST.
The person looking at your resume has seen hundreds, if not thousands of other resumes, cover letters, and email that look remarkably like yours. Most people talk about their goals and their dreams, and their past, and their future, with no real consideration for what the hiring manager is actually LOOKING for. You want to know enough about the position and the firm so you can tailor the discussion of your experiences and goals in a way that would be most relevent for the person you're interviewing with.
Also, remember - the hiring manager is a person, too, and most people like to have their egos stroked a bit, even though they might not admit how effective that tactic can be. Make the hiring manager feel important (by demonstrating interest when they talk about the firm or the job or their part in the place), make the firm seem like a great place to be (environment is important at work, so point out/ask about a couple of specific things you noticed regarding how the firm treats the environment aspect) and the job sounds like a worthy challenge (peer into the future of that position, but carefully), and do this without going over the top, and you'll bump your rank amongst those thousands in no time.
Even though you're interested in your own personal growth, being more interested in the company's success makes you look like a team player who isn't afraid to let go of their own pride/image/needs and give a little, without necessarily expecting a return (since you can't force someone to hire you, you can only do your best and hope).
- Consider your own personal values
The firm's goals and image are larger than your goals and image, and don't try to fool yourself otherwise. If the firm you're looking at working for has too many goals or projected images that do not match with your life, don't ignore that red flag and take the job simply because you need the money. Look elsewhere. Employers in intellectual industries such as Web Development don't appreciate folks taking jobs they know they have no intention of keeping, and you WILL NOT be happy at a place whose values and goals don't match your own.
If you find that your personal values match what your ProspEmployer is trying to project, mention that. Point out exact reasons why you think you'd fit in with this firm, because the more you do, the more the hiring manager knows you care about your job and your future.
- Apply for a job you're willing to stick with for a full year or more
If you're applying for a job that's beneath your experience level in hopes that you will get a "foot in the door" and advance quickly, think again.
This is a tactic that runs hot and cold - people either hate it, or they love it, and their love/hate has nothing to do with how good the company is to work at. For this very reason, it's a dangerous tactic when job-hunting.
- Be patient, and keep in touch
The simple process of keeping in touch lifts you out of the pile of unknown beings seeking jobs, to a different level where your name is actually familiar. Some places, it may take 6-18months of keeping in touch to gain employment, and if you use the ego-stroking as above and invite hiring managers out for coffee (your treat) once in a while to talk about the status of upcoming opportunities, you'd be amazed at how burned-in to their mind you get.
People buy from people they trust. Hiring managers would like to know they can trust a potential employee before they start, but it's a slow thing to build. I believe this trust-building exercise is an entry into the elusive "hidden job market" we all hear about.
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