Land More Interviews with Social Proof

It’s never been harder to stand out and land interviews. The ability to apply with a single click allows some jobseekers to spam their resume to hundreds of employers. In 2015, Glassdoor estimated 250 applications for the average job opening.

Hiring managers wade through countless nearly identical resumes, looking for standout applicants. To their chagrin, jobseekers pack their resumes with “action verbs,” lengthy work history descriptions, and claims of excellence.

And why should the hiring manager believe what Joe Schmoe claims about his skills? Because Joe said so.

The best jobseekers lose interviews to those who are better at “tooting their own horn.” Self-boasting is beating merit.

Take an example: Candace, as college Senior, completed business internships during her Sophomore and Junior years. Her managers at both companies described her as "the best intern they'd ever had." Now Candace is trying to get an interview with her three dream employers. Does being the best intern ever help her get that 1st interview?

Nope. How would those three dream employers know she was the best intern ever? Her resume looks exactly the same as everyone else's: A few bullet points about her internship, such as what she did, what she learned, and skills she used. Her internship experience on her resume will look identical to that of the average intern, and the worst intern. Candace has to hope to get the 1st interview, then pass 2-3 more, before those employers even consider contacting her references.

Recruiters simply can't contact everyone's references. Reference checks require a lot of time, phone tag, and frustration. That's why they wait until the end of the hiring process before maybe contacting references.

They'd love to have high-quality references; that’s why internal references drive so much hiring. They just can’t spend hours trying to contact references.

As a pro-active jobseeker, this is a problem you can solve and be rewarded for.

By applying with upfront, validated testimonials from quality sources, you can stand out immediately as the most credible candidate. SafeHire makes it easy to gather & apply anywhere with video/written testimonials from educators, internships, and past employers. Just link your SafeHire URL in your resume’s contact info section. While you're at it, use your profile to make a targeted 30-second video pitch for each of your top employer choices.

The best way to stand out and land quality interviews is by problem-solving for hiring managers. Why leave it up to chance for hiring managers to find out your past superiors thought you were exceptional?