By: Kevin Kennedy
Posted: August 4, 2009
Topics: Career
Tags: job interview, job search, resession

The Wall Street Journal article, Only the Employed Need Apply, says that unemployment is a 9.4% (I think it is closer to 20% based on the number that I have been reading) and it is a buyers market for employers that are hiring and employers are only looking to higher those who are currently working.  There is a perception that if you are still employed in today’s economic climate, you are “strong performer” or on the “A team” or have significant value. Employers would rather fill openings with candidates who are working elsewhere.A lot of what the article says is true, however, I know, through our organization and through all of the networking and connecting that I do, there are a lot of very talented people out there that are not currently working through no fault of their own. They ARE top performers. They ARE the “A Team” and were either down-sized,  or their divisions were eliminated or their employer went out of business.I have worked with loads of people prepping them for their next interview and have had great success and my advice to them is always - If you want to land the job that you are looking for and are currently unemployed, you had better have a very compelling story as to why you are unemployed and looking for a job.

Here are 5 tips to getting hired in a recession

1. If you are looking for a job you have to be 100% buttoned up. From your resume, to speaking about your work experience, to highlighting your accomplishment, to showcasing your personality and your fit into their team, everything has to be well thought out and practiced.
2. Your resume has to be spot on perfect.  Tell a very compelling story about your work history, your experience and skills and it has to standout from all of the other candidate’s resumes
3. Your interview technique has to be practiced and practiced again and again…rehearsed so well that you can make all of your responses seem spontaneous.
4. You have to have your trigger words down so you have a number of responses at the ready for any question that the interviewer might throw at you. Trigger words like teamwork, leadership, stress should trigger anecdotes that you can share or experiences that you can point to.

Your anecdotes need to tell a story about you. Highlight something about your experience, be relevant to the opportunity and you have to be able to tie them into how you will impact the bottom line for your potential employer’s company. Just remember, the person hiring or recruiting wants YOU to be the successful candidate…the recruiting and the hiring process is expensive in both time and money…they can stop looking for candidates if you are the right fit.