The Top 5 Ways To Get Your Foot in the Door

Getting your foot in the door may sound easier than it is, but in today’s society, utilising the tools available correctly can help land you in that dream career and company you’ve been working for years to get.

There are many ways to build professional relationships and make your way within your chosen career path, but here are the 5 most effective ways to fast track that job search of yours.

As a recent graduate or someone on a new career path, having some form of work experience presents dedication and commitment to prospective employers. Many hiring managers will look for some form of previous history in the workforce during the hiring process to show that you have a solid background of knowledge in the field, and is an effective way to showcase your talents or passion for company culture.

Volunteering is another great way to demonstrate to potential employers that not only you are capable for the open position, but that you are hard working and have a great personality to match. Often having previous volunteer work can set you apart from other job seekers, and is a convenient way to create networking contacts. Gaining a little volunteer experience in an area of your choice can also help you determine if the career path is right for you.

Whether the work experience is paid or unpaid, or matches your dream career or not, being able to put your existing knowledge into practise and learn new skills along the way demonstrates commitment and passion when starting in a new industry or company.

Considered to be one of the best ways to get your foot in the door, requesting and scheduling an informational interview is a smarter strategy than simply waiting for a particular company to have an open position. They also enable you to build a professional relationship with whomever you choose to speak to; it is highly important that you do some research to find the right type of person to provide the information you want.

Maybe it is someone in your field or a friend of a co-worker, either way, sending a LinkedIn message or friendly email to ask for a meeting in person is a great start to learning more about an industry or particular company. It is not a job interview, it is a way you can gain insightful information about a particular career path, job title, and an opportunity to seek career advice.

Informational interviews are excellent to figure out company culture and internal structures; this can help determine if there are certain roles that match your job skills and whether or not you would actually like to work at the particular company.

It goes without saying that networking is one of the best ways to make your way in today’s job market. If you haven’t had the opportunity to make connections yet, there are many ways in which you can build the professional relationships needed to make your way in your current or new industry.

Consider volunteer work and attending upcoming events, even requesting informational interviews and taking any new opportunities for work experience where you can. Your network can be anyone, colleagues, friends, previous employers and current co-workers, an up to date LinkedIn account is a great place to stay connected with them and to build more professional relationships.

Tap into your networking contacts when the time for a job search arrives, let your existing network know that you’re interested in a new career path and see if anyone can offer a new opportunity or career advice.

Both social media and LinkedIn are powerful online tools that are effective ways of reaching potential employers that also demonstrate your passion and commitment for an industry. It is common for organisations of all sizes to be active on social media such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or maybe even a blog, all to keep up with their customer base and business partners.

Leaving friendly comments on posts, liking or sharing, is a smarter strategy to develop name recognition within the company. Interacting through LinkedIn messages or other means can help start or keep professional relationships evergreen and active and may help when the job search arrives.. There are many success stories of job seekers finding some form of work purely from interacting online with individuals and companies due to a long-term active interest from simple little things you can do too.

Whilst interacting online is a strategic method to getting your foot in the door, sometimes companies need more than comments to see your passion. Showing your potential value and insight up front is a fantastic way to let your prospective employer know your capabilities and interest into the career field.

Make a good impression by demonstrating what you can offer to a team, as it can be the point of difference compared to someone else’s business card. Perhaps you could link them to an article you wrote and share insight on how you would apply this strategy within a company; there are a large variety of options you do depending on the career path you’ve chosen.

It is important to remember that job positions don’t get handed to you, you have to put in the effort and have the passion to make your way in the job market.

Everyone seems to have the same qualifications and interest in the same job search as you at first, but if you can succeed in at least one of these top ways to get your foot in the door, you’ve already got a head start in the hiring process.