I Read 2,216 Resumes. Here's How You Stand Out 🚀 (4)
and really enjoy reading. I write poems for fun and have just started getting into screenwriting.
I am based in and have a certificate of horror education, A level, and a GCC in English,literature, and language. I'm very interested. Something as a company would really love the opportunity to demonstrate my skills in detail and creative. Thank you."
Okay. So bunch of spelling and grammar issues there. This is really obvious stuff. If you are applying for a job-
Honestly, Don't you two read?
... please take the time to look over your application, and just make sure it doesn't have any basic errors in it. This person has got like at least four typos in this.
Those could easily be sorted by just writing it in Google docs and seeing where is it flagging up typos.
Using something free, like Grammarly, not sponsoring our channel yet, but Grammarly, if you're watching this, do please reach out.
It's so easy these days to use apps and tools and stuff.
Honestly, even if English is not your first language, Grammarly will just do it for you, Google Docs, AutoCorrect. All these things will just do it for you. Do that.
And remember that your cover letter is really your first impression. It you want to put your best foot forward.
However, whatever this person's experiences, this is such a red flag in an application to see such a blatant typos.
And this person probably spent 20 minutes, half an hour doing the whole application, doing the trial task.
And it's a real shame because it's just gotten rid of.
Again, in the position of a hiring manager, or head of HR, or any recruiter looking at dozens, if not hundreds of applications, if you see typos, you just chuck it in the bin, because it's just not worth it. It shows a lack of attention to detail, which is not the thing that you want in that person that you're trying to hire.
So we've already talked about how Ryan, the videographer created a video and sent it in. You don't need to be a videographer and editor to be able to send in a video application.
This is actually a tip that a bunch of people I know who have gotten interesting jobs have done. They just recorded a loom, or a video on their phone and they have uploaded it to YouTube as an unlisted video and said, "Hey, John, really excited to apply for a job at company X. I've made a quick video to accompany my application, hope you like it."
And it's very chill, and he watched the video and like, oh wow, this person is showing their personality.
This is a real person. I get their vibe. They seem enthusiastic. They took in the time to actually make a video. No one does that.
We have had thousands of applications for roles in my team. And I think three people in total, one of which was a videographer and the other two are random looms have thought to send in a video.
If you're going to work for a company that specialises in video, you could just send a video. It's not that hard. You don't need to be a fancy video editor, or even better still, you could say, "Hey, I don't have any experience in video editing, but I took your Skillshare class, which you've recommended a bunch of times in videos. It was pretty good. In a weekend, I learned the basics of video editing. And so I've put this video together for you."
Honestly, if someone emailed us with that kind of application, I'd be like, this person, gold stars all around. They have taken the time to even learn how to edit videos.
They've taken the time to send in a video.
And again, when you're a hiring manager looking at dozens of applications, they all sort of start to blend into one, and you start just looking at little things here and there.
But if someone sends you a video, you're probably going to watch the video. Because you're like, oh great. I'll grab a cup of tea or coffee or something. I'll watch the video.
And then that person then becomes an actual person. It doesn't become another, okay, candidate number 126, candidate number 484. It becomes a real person that you see.
And you're far more likely to then offer them another chance to prove themselves through a trial task, or through the next stage of the interview process if you have seen a video initially.
So whatever job you're applying for, whether it's with me, whether it's anyone else, or whatever your next job is, honestly, even if it's something super traditional like law, sending a video is an absolutely underrated thing that you can do. It's very easy to do.
Just go on loom, go on video, figure it out. If you're the sort of person who's applying for a job and you actually deserve to get that job, you should be able to figure out how to make a video, and use that to accompany your application. It really will stand up.
All right, so the final tip is a little bit of a secret, and if you get this right, then you probably will never have to look for a job ever again. And that tip is actually to whatever you're doing, just do the thing really well.
Charlie Munger were Warren Buffett's business partner has a great phrase when he worked as a lawyer. He said, "The best source of legal work is the work that is already on your desk."
Whatever job you're in, whatever you're doing. If you do a good job at it, then loads of good things will happen.
A, it'll be obvious to everyone that you work with that this is an A. Player. This is a fantastic person to work with.
And even if you leave the company, your next employer, who's going to ring up your previous company and ask for references, if someone rang me up and ask for references for, for example, I don't know, I'm going to say Johnny, because we don't have Johnny on our team, and Johnny was genuinely really good, but then left for whatever reason, I'd be like, "Oh my God, Johnny is absolutely sick. He's one of the best people we've ever had, I would hire him in a heartbeat."
And if I can tell another employer that, that is basically going to guarantee Johnny the job.
But if Johnny was a bit shit, if he wasn't very good at his job, if he was a bit half assed about the whole thing, if I felt like, he just is not really performing.
Now, if someone rings me up and says, "Hey, Johnny says, he worked for you. How do you feel about giving him a reference? Or what did you think he was like?" I wouldn't be like, Johnny awful. I'd be like, "Yeah. I mean, I think he did his role reasonably well."
And reading between the lines, the person on the other end of the phone knows that if you ring someone up for a reference, and they're not absolutely glowing and lavishing praise at someone, that's basically code for this person was not very good.
So whatever you are doing, try and do it really, really, really, really well.
For anyone in my team who happens to be watching this video, if you're doing an amazing job at your thing, and then you move on to the next thing, me as the employer, I will be absolutely fricking delighted to give you an incredible reference.
And that will basically guarantee your job wherever you're going next.
Because a reference from an employer is worth so much to a company that has a proper hiring process.
And the other reason why you actually want to perform really well, especially if it's a thing that you can actually get portfolio and stuff out of, is that through performing really well at your job, you will just naturally connect with other people who are really, really good.
Other A players, whether it's in your industry or in your company or in outside of the industry.
And A players can recognise other A players.
This is a thing that all the hiring books say.
And generally, if you find another A player, you'll probably find that they are also plenty looking for someone for their company, or looking for someone to hire for their thing.
And it's like in a way, it creates this virtuous cycle where if you are good at the thing that you're doing, everyone is going to want to hire you. Everyone is going to want to work for you, and you'll never need to find another job ever again.
So that was 16 tips on how to apply for your next job, how to land your next job application.
If you enjoyed this video, and you want to start building up that experience, then check out this one, which is seven side hustle ideas, you can start right now this year.
And honestly having side hustles and building up side hustles, especially if you're applying for a job like this, or in any kind of creative industry, or even if you're not, even if it's super, super traditional showing that you have done interesting things outside of your job, built things up on the side in your own time, taken the initiative will be a massive plus for basically every employer in the world.
So check out that video over there.
Thank youso much for watching. Do hit the subscribe button if you haven't already, and I'll see you in the next video. Bye-bye.
