8 Keys to Communicating Effectively During the Job Search

8 Keys to Communicating Effectively During the Job Search8 Keys to Communicating Effectively During the Job SearchWhatever your field or experience level might be, your ability to get hired and then to succeed is dependent on excellent communications skills. Its rare to see an advertisement for a job that doesnt include this among the various other requirements. However difficult it may be to evaluate any of your other skills, employers can easily tell how well you communicate by the way you write your cover letter andrsum, and how you converse during phone or in-person interviews. Spelling orgrammatical errors are often the kiss of death for otherwise well-qualified candidates. But the requirement for strong communications skills goes well beyond this minimal standard. Communications can take many different forms oral, written and nonverbal. You convey facts, concepts, impressions and ideas. Is your mind cluttered or well ordered? Does your body language convey interest or boredo m, self-confidence or anxiety? What does the way you dress and groom yourself say about how you see yourself? Employers read much into all these nonverbal cues you give off, knowingly or not. Hiring authorities key in on these critical areas1. Well-ordered reasoning. Does the prose of your cover letter read well? When you answer questions in an interview, do you meander or get to the pointdirectly? Do you present facts in a coherent way that is easy to follow?2. Strong action verbs and vocabulary usage. Does yourrsumread like a job description, with statements beginning withResponsible for or do you actually say what you did? Effective communicators begin every bullet point with strong verbs like built, managed, conveyed, analyzed, delivered, produced, maximized/minimized, etc. Do you use the saatkorn words or phrases repeatedly, or do you find new ways to communicate what youre trying to get across?3. Wasting time. One way to waste yours and other peoples time is to consume it by writing and saying the obvious. Dont bother saying what doesnt need to be said. Dont clutter your written documents or speech with things that everyone already knows and which dont add something to an understanding of your qualifications. Examples Objective statements or offers to provide references. If an employer is reading yourrsum, he or she alreadyunderstands that your objective it acquiring the job. Likewise, it is obvious that if an employer wants your references, you will provide them when requested. Getting rid of unnecessary words leaves more space on arsum and time in an interview to convey the things about yourself that will do the most to advance your cause.4. Interest in the position and company. You can demonstrate this by writing in your cover letter that you have been following the company on LinkedIn, or set up a Google Alert to get all the latest news about it. Then, you can remark on something youve learned about the companys work or mission that appeals to yo u. When you do your homework about the company before your interview and show what youve learned by the questions you ask, you communicate much about yourself and the way you go about things.5. Passion. Of course you have to be qualified in terms of education, experience, degrees and licensing. But, chances are that many of your competitors will share much of these in common. More than simply being able to do the job, employers are eager to find candidates who show a passion for the work by their tone of voice and general attitude. When you show that you relish the challenges of a particular job opportunity, you can set yourself apart from and above your competition.6. Pride in results. Yourrsumbullet points should provide examples of the challenges you faced and the results of youractions. And when you speak of these things in your interviewand employers see that your work is meaningful to you and thatyou relish getting strong and positive results, they will gravitate toward you. F rom an employers standpoint, a productive worker is important, but one who is engaged and prideful of his or her contributions is invaluable.7. Follow up. Your actions say much about you and your work style. If, for example, you state in your cover letter that you will call to make contact on a given date, and you fail to do so, you have already proven your unreliability. The same is true if you are asked to provide information of any kind and you tarry or fail to do so. Instead, take the initiative to promptly respond to a phone or in-person interview with a thank-you note, provide references or other documentation. Thereby you demonstrate respect and thoughtfulness, both of which are noted and valued. 8. Listen carefully. At the heart of all effective communication is actively listening to your audience to understand what they want and need to hear. Only this way can you be certain to articulate the right content in an appropriate fashion. That can mean taking the time to decons truct a job advertisement to see what the job is really all about before composing your cover letter. Or, it can mean pausing for a second before responding to an interview question to make sure that the information you are about to provide is on point to the query that has been posed. It takes much more than claiming to be an effective communicator to convince an employer that you are one.You will demonstrate that youre an effective communicatorwhen you carefully assess your situation, logically think out what you want to say and then do so clearly and succinctly. You will make the best possible case for yourself, and thereby convince an employer that you represent the ideal answer to their needs. Happy huntingArnie Fertig, MPA, is passionate about helping hisJobhuntercoachclients advance their careers by transforming frantic Ill apply to anything searches into focused hunts for great fit opportunities. He brings to each client the extensive knowledge he gained when working in HR staffing and managing his boutique recruiting firm.