Every candidate has this one question in mind.
How to impress a hiring manager?
And why not! The most important thing to land you a job is impressing hiring managers. Every hiring manager is different and everyone has a different parameter to judge their candidates, but there are still certain things that almost all the hiring managers expect. Hence, you need to raise your bar and should learn ‘what to do’ and ‘what not to do’ to bag that job interview.
Do’s for impressing the hiring manager
1. Do create a professional and impactful resume where your skills and experience shine:
Managers ideally prefer a one to two-page resume that highlights a maximum of 10 years of professional experience. As they don’t read resumes they scan resumes with a limited time, especially the skills and experience needed for the job.
In fact, your resume has only 10 seconds to impress the hiring manager. You have 10 seconds to sell yourself to your prospective employer.
Bulleted points impress the hiring manager, as it takes very little time for them to read about you, which increases your chances.
2. Do write a well-to-do cover letter:
Sending only a resume will not impress the hiring manager in this competitive world, you will have to walk the extra mile and create a killer cover letter.
Why do you want this job? What makes you a perfect fit for this job? Write a customized cover letter covering all these kinds of questions. It can take time, but your efforts will impress the hiring manager.
Focus on your skills and abilities that fit the job position you will apply for. Do not exceed more than 3 to 4 paragraphs, use bullet points, and use keywords to highlight your skills and experience relevant to the position.
3. Do your homework:
The hiring manager not only gets impressed by your answers but your questions too. Insightful questions that show you are interested in the job can lead you to the next step.
Prepare yourself with a couple of questions after researching about the company. This will show that you are a good researcher and you are interested in the company.
Think and prepare yourself with some common interview questions, like; “Tell me about yourself” or “Walk me through your resume” have a rehearsed answer that highlights your skills and experience.
Don’t babble about anything not related to the job, like your personal stuff. Showcase your professional career and skills in a way that fits you to the position.
Don’ts for impressing the hiring manager:
1. Don’t use functional resumes or CV if you want to highlight your work history:
A functional resume focuses only on your skills and expertise, not your career history or work experience.
Candidates or job seekers who have no career history to show or have no work experience use this resume format. Even the candidates whose work experience is not related to the current profile or have gaps in their work history use it.
While these have become popular in recent years, but the hiring managers are not much in its favor, they think that candidates who want to hide something use this kind of resume.
Hiring managers prefer the old traditional chronological resume, which portrays a person’s skills, interests, experience, and expertise in everything.
2. Don’t avoid proofreading:
Hiring managers take no time to scan your resume mistakes, in fact, they are sitting there to point out mistakes and to pick up the best of all.
Not making a perfect error-free resume despite knowing that the resume is the first parameter to get you the job may result in them thinking that either you are not serious about the job or are prone to make errors. Hence proofreading documents always assure you the best results.
Trusting another person for proofreading always gives you a correct result. You can skip one of your errors by mistake but not a professional, like; cvDragon.
3. Don’t forget impressing hiring managers with your gestures:
Remember everything is a part of your interview process, so be professional and enthusiastic throughout the time you are in the office.
Even if you are asked to wait, be patient and wait with a positive attitude, don’t lose your cool.
In every situation, your manager is watching you, how you are handling the situations and how you will handle the situations in the future with your team.
Send a handwritten thank you letter, though it is rare nowadays but is still effective. You can also send an email but make sure it is professional and good.
It shows your interest and discipline in your work. Thus, impressing a hiring manager is great with gestures.
Conclusion:
Bottom line is that impressing a hiring manager is also an integral part of your job hunt process. You do not have to do anything grand to impress the employer, just following the above-mentioned tips and playing smart will help you land your dream job.
So prepare yourself for all the upcoming interviews with a perfect professional ‘resume’ and a bunch of tips to impress your potential employer.
