You Are More Than Your Previous Job Experience

We all know that you need more than relevant experience to succeed in the job search. We all know individuals, for example, that have outstanding hard skills yet don’t have the personality to win over their interviewer. And we all probably know people that have landed a job because of their five-mile-long personality, but start the position without a clue as to what they need to do to succeed.

As these latter folks know, previous experience is only part of the equation when it comes to landing a job. In fact, a recent blog post by Careerealism succinctly categorized the keys to job search success into three main categories. Check this out:

• Personality.
  No matter how impressive your resume is, your interviewer is still going to be wondering if you’d be a pleasant person to work with. Beyond that, some positions even require a certain kind of personality (i.e. extraverted or introverted) in order to complete the job successfully.
  
  
• Aptitude.
  It may be difficult for employers, especially those looking to fill entry-level positions with new graduates, to find someone with the exact set of skills and previous experience ideal for a given position. Because of this, employers pay special attention to the way you behave in new and unfamiliar situations. Are you capable of learning quickly and rising to challenges? As a job seeker, be sure to bring up specific examples that demonstrate your aptitude.
  
  
• Experience.
  Notice how this “key to career success” is the last one that I am mentioning. Yes, there are positions that demand a certain level of experience and/or education. But I’ve been offered several positions that I had zero prior experience for, solely because I was able to demonstrate to my interviewer that I’m a hard-working person with strengths and skills that would make me an ideal employee. Job posts often list several experience requirements that an ideal candidate will have. Take this list with a grain of salt. While you don’t want to be completely in left field with regards to this list, it is not necessary that your experience is cookie-cutter identical to the prescribed list.

A video resume is a great way to help you overcome a lack of experience. From it, employers will be able to see your personality and get a feel for who you are as a person. Also, since not every job seeker creates a video resume, you’ll already be well on your way to demonstrating your hard work ethic and aptitude.

Visit www.jobma.com today to create a free job seeker profile and start shooting your video resume today!