5 ways to stand out against other job candidates

Whatever the level of role you’re hoping to secure, from entry to top managerial, the best jobs will always be the ones that are most hotly contested. To stand out, you must be prepared to fight for a position you really want and that means having a strategy that separates you from other candidates.

If everyone in the chasing pack has similar qualifications and experience, what will give you the edge?

It helps to view the process as a competition. The likelihood is, there’s only one job and only one person will end up being hired – if a number of people match up in every other quantifiable area, you can only win by outperforming the others.

That’s where Vidu’s innovative pre-interview video application process can give you an all-important advantage in showcasing the strengths which set you apart. So, with Vidu offering you the opportunity to shine, which areas should you focus on to give yourself the best chance of success?

Here are 5 ways to separate yourself from other job candidates…

Do your homework
The main reason why people fail at interviews, or even pre-interview introductions, is because they’re unprepared. Find out as much as you can about the company and job you’re applying for – you can always draw up a cheat sheet of useful information. Employers don’t want to think their job is just one of many you’d happily accept – it’s important to them, so let them know it’s important to you too.

Stay on track
If you’re nervous, it’s easy to stray off topic and start waffling – don’t! Make sure you stay on track and avoid over-sharing, especially about your personal life. Practice beforehand so you understand your own body language when you’re under stress. That way it’ll be easier to hit the ideal spot of calm confidence, which lies somewhere between uninterested and/or rigid with fear and hyperactive.

Make it about your strengths
Try to assess who will be your main competition for a role, and what their qualities are likely to be. That way you’ll have a clearer picture of who and what you’re up against. If a job requires a few different areas of expertise, pin down which of those is your strongest and emphasise the importance of that over the others when you present – convince them that’s the one they need most.

Look to the future
Your past positions and qualifications can speak for themselves, the challenge is tying them in with your future goals and then aligning those to the role you’re trying to land. Look ahead and talk more about your plans and aspirations, and how they’d benefit a new employer and align with their own company culture. Potential can be as valuable as experience.

Let your personality come through
This is the one where Vidu can really make you stand out because you’ll have the chance to present yourself face-to-face as the real you. Interviews can naturally be quite a nervous situation, so recording a pre-interview video can help alleviate some of those later nerves. Make some notes, take a deep breath, and relax into introducing yourself and why you know you are the right candidate for the role.

Need more tips on recording your pre-interview, introductory video? Check them out here.