{"id":34677,"date":"2014-06-24T09:21:37","date_gmt":"2014-06-24T14:21:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=34677"},"modified":"2014-06-24T10:43:44","modified_gmt":"2014-06-24T15:43:44","slug":"how-to-stand-out-be-who-you-are-not-who-you-think-the-employer-wants-you-to-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=34677","title":{"rendered":"Be Who YOU Are; Not Who You THINK the Employer Wants You to Be"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>by Ruth Lincoln, Head Editor, <a title=\"INALJ DC (Washington, DC)\" href=\"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?page_id=56468\" target=\"_blank\">INALJ Washington, DC<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?page_id=5679\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n<\/a>previously published 8\/6\/13<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">How to Stand Out: Be Who YOU Are; Not Who You THINK the Employer Wants You to Be<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/ruth.lincoln.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-58800\" src=\"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/ruth.lincoln-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"ruth.lincoln\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>Everyone wants to stand out in the job-application process, and we\u2019re often told personalization is the best course: <b><\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Tailor your resume and cover letter for each job. <b><\/b><\/li>\n<li>Make your cover letter about the employer, not you. <b><\/b><\/li>\n<li>Research the organization. <b><\/b><\/li>\n<li>Prepare ways you can improve the organization.<span style=\"letter-spacing: 0.05em; line-height: 1.6875;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Taken separately, these are all great tips for any position (library-related or otherwise). Do these, and you\u2019ll show you\u2019re not just applying for <i>any <\/i>job; you want THIS job. More generally, you want your application to stand out among the \u201cI\u2019m applying for [insert position] at [insert institution].\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But follow this rubric too closely, and you can lose the most important piece of your application: <b>YOU<\/b>. <b><\/b><\/p>\n<p>It might seem simple (<i>my name\u2019s on the application<\/i>), but your personality, enthusiasm, and confidence aren\u2019t reflected in listing your name, address, and phone number. They\u2019re embodied in your experiences and stories. They\u2019re what make you memorable and set you apart. <b><\/b><\/p>\n<p>I started thinking about this after attending the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/search?q=%23ala2013\">#ala2013<\/a> session, <a href=\"http:\/\/ala13.ala.org\/node\/10177\">\u201cEverything You Ever Wanted to Know About Finding Your First Librarian Job<\/a>\u201d. There were lots of great tips, but Library Dean Suzy Szasz Palmer, Dean of the Greenwood Library, Longwood University\u2019s advice really resonated with me:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/alaac13-advice.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-75336 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/alaac13-advice-300x210.jpg\" alt=\"alaac13 advice\" width=\"300\" height=\"210\" srcset=\"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/alaac13-advice-300x210.jpg 300w, https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/alaac13-advice.jpg 691w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/muellerspace\/status\/351460760645414914\">https:\/\/twitter.com\/muellerspace\/status\/351460760645414914<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Many job seekers are deterred if they don\u2019t meet all the ad\u2019s qualifications. The panelists all agreed their job descriptions reach for the moon. That is, they\u2019re not expecting an applicant who will meet all their required and preferred qualifications. They know <b>nobody is perfect<\/b>.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s easy to see through an applicant with disingenuous history and artificial enthusiasm. Your strongest cover letter isn\u2019t the one in which you stretch to meet all the qualifications &#8212; it\u2019s the one that shows your genuine <b>enthusiasm, confidence, and honesty.<\/b><span style=\"letter-spacing: 0.05em; line-height: 1.6875;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>So how do you stand out among a stack of imperfect people?<\/p>\n<p><b>Show Enthusiasm <\/b><\/p>\n<p>In your cover letter, show what drove you to apply. What about this job excites you?<\/p>\n<p>I like to copy\/paste the job description, read slowly, and highlight the responsibilities that really resonate with me. Take those highlighted passages and consider what experiences and stories you have that embody that role. Yes, think about why you\u2019re qualified, but pay special consideration for what you hope to learn from that responsibility.<\/p>\n<p>Consider what duties you\u2019re excited to learn more about and what prior courses or work experiences might prepare you for it. Of course, 2-3 years experience in a role is nice, but a willingness to learn is a huge asset to any employer.<\/p>\n<p>You might not have a passion for every job responsibility &#8212; and that\u2019s OK. Focus on the most exciting ones, and your passion will resonate.<\/p>\n<p><b>Bring Confidence<\/b><\/p>\n<p>This is not the time to be humble (another wise piece of panelist advice). Brag about your experiences and accomplishments. They took hard work, and you should be proud!<\/p>\n<p>Think about what positions or projects really connect with the job description. What memories stand out? If a moment doesn\u2019t spring to mind, consider at what point in the project did you feel proudest? Who was there? What\u2019s one story that you\u2019ll always remember?<\/p>\n<p><b>Always, Always Be Honest<\/b><\/p>\n<p>There are a lot of uncontrollable variables that go into any job search, but this is one simple area where you have complete control.<\/p>\n<p>Be who you are. Tell the truth. Show your personality, enthusiasm, and confidence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Ruth Lincoln, Head Editor, INALJ Washington, DC previously published 8\/6\/13 &nbsp; How to Stand Out: Be Who YOU Are; Not Who You THINK the Employer Wants You to Be Everyone wants to stand out in the job-application process, and we\u2019re often told personalization is the best course: Tailor your resume and cover letter for&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-p\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=34677\">Read more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":58800,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[145],"tags":[4535,69,4523,3592,4754,5069,5040,3637,4720,5068],"class_list":["post-34677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-ala13","tag-article","tag-be-yourself","tag-blog","tag-confidence","tag-enthusiasm","tag-honesty","tag-inalj-washington-dc","tag-ruth-lincoln","tag-stand-out"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/ruth.lincoln.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1WoMK-91j","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=34677"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34677\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/58800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=34677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=34677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}