You graduated high school or college; you may have taken some other type of training or even have plenty of experience in your field, but you still don’t get offered the job. In article, you will learn the number one secret you more than likely didn't learn from any place else. As a matter of fact, the most qualified job applicants don’t get jobs because they lack this most important skill. I know the job market is on the rocks and the economy is not in the best condition, but if you can master the most important skill, you will get called for job that the most qualified and skilled candidate could not get. 

First Things First

Before I reveal the most important skill you need to have to successfully get the job you desire you need to know which job or career you are going after. If you went to college, you should know what type of job you want. But if you graduated high school, never had a job, or if you were a stay at home mom, you might not be absolutely sure of the type of job you want. You also most likely don’t have experience. It is important you don’t go after something that you don’t qualify for. Doing so wastes your time as well as the employers’ time and you don’t want to be known for doing that.

The best thing you can do if you are in this situation is to volunteer. Find a company that you are interested in and asked them if they need extra help. This is the best way to get experience and it will look good on your resume or application. You will get to know others who are like minded individuals and you will broaden your experience and better your chances of getting hired in the company you volunteer for or at a company you are really interested in working at. Many people don’t like to work for free, but you know what, you have to do what you got to do. The better prepared you are for the working world, the better your odds of getting a job you desire. 

The Absolute Most Important Skill You Need To Get the Job You Desire

If you absolutely want the job you desire, the career you spent years in school for, and the career in which you have years of experience, forget about all the basic things you were told about how to search for a job for a moment. Why do I say that you may ask; I will tell you why, see most people will tell you you've got to know someone at the company, you have to make sure your resume doesn't have mistakes, arrive on time for the interview, and wear the right clothes. All of this is important. But the number one skill you need to focus on mastering is the skill of marketing yourself. You absolutely have to know how to self market yourself to the company and job position for which you want to be hired.

The competition to getting any job is very fierce. More and more highly qualified job applicants are applying to the same jobs you are applying to. And with the economy and job marketing not being in the best condition, people are going to get themselves educated at a college or university and some will receive some type of intense training in an effort to take a giant step towards getting employment.

But here is the problem, being highly qualified is overrated and it is not enough to get you the job of your dreams. Also get this: many highly qualified candidates are not getting jobs and they are wondering why. What does a company do if they have applicants that all have all the skills, knowledge, and the education the company is looking for? The answer, they pick the person who was the best self marketer, the person that gave them the best demonstration, and the one who was the most personal. So if you don’t put in the effort and educate yourself on how to self market, it will take you years to find the job in your field or the career you deserve and desire.

Look at it this way; a company has a life saving product that is really needed in this world. It was well designed using the latest technology and a vast amount of time and money was put into creating it. If it is not marketed properly, know one will know it exist and the important folks who are in a great position to get the product out in the open may not understand how it works and it ends up being useless because it will not generate sells. The same goes for any other, product good or bad. Sometimes not so good products get much more attention than an absolute good one because of the way it was marketed. You don’t want this to be you. I don’t care how good of a resume you have, the amount of years you went to college, the experience you have under your belt, or how much you know, it is a must that you master this skill and master it now.

There is a company that is looking for you. It is your job to help them find you. They want all of your skills and talent; they want what you have to offer, and a piece of your brain. It is your duty to get up and go find them and represent yourself well. They are not going to find you.

You Market Yourself Everyday Without Realizing It

Did you know everyday you go out into the public you are marketing yourself? When you go to your local store, car dealership, furniture warehouse, real estate agency, loan companies, banks, any and every place you go, people are looking at you and judging you. Even when you get a call from the company you’re hoping will hire you, they will judge you based off the way you sound on the phone. You are also going to get judged on the way you look, dress, act, talk, and even walk. The way you market yourself will either help you get what you want in life or prevent you from getting anything at all.

Teachers, instructors, parents, counselors, job training classes, and many others put the most emphasis on education, training, and internships. But even if you do this, what good is it if you send off the wrong message of who you are? How are these skills going to really help you if you can’t market yourself?

Education doesn't end once you leave college. In fact it never ends. Once you think you are done learning, you will be done with life. For as long as you live, you will continue to learn, and there is always something that you can learn. Nobody in this world will ever know everything and if you come across someone that claim they learnt it all, stir away from them because you don’t want to become that kind of person and there is nothing they can offer you. 

Steps to Getting the Job

First and foremost you need to have high expectations that you will find a job and believe in yourself. If you don’t believe in yourself, don’t expect the company to believe in your either. If you don’t have any kind of expectation and your thoughts are constantly negative, then negativity will follow. You need to eliminate that out of your life. If it is any one around you who is negative, get away from them; they can’t help you period. You may even need to stop reading all the negative press on the unemployment rates, how people are getting laid off, and all the rest of the negative stuff that you hear. The reason the media puts out negative press is to keep people visiting their websites, watching the news, and buying the newspapers and magazines. It may not even be as bad as the news make it seem to be.

The next thing you need to do is to focus on marketing yourself. How do you see yourself? What kind of skills do you have? What can you offer the company for which you want to get hired to? How do others see you, this can be family, friends, neighbors, or colleagues from previous employment.

What about your resume? Is it too long? Is it too short? You don’t want it to be too long because that shows the employers you may not know what you’re talking about, or they can pick up that you’re not a good self marketer. It should be short and sweet but have the most important details that will help you to sell yourself to the company. Your resume should be 1-2 pages max. Anything longer than that could be a bad thing. It depends on the employer or the interviewer.

Do your research. You should be doing research on every company you are applying for or you have an interest in. When you do your homework, you will position yourself in a better place because you will be able to both answer and ask important questions. You may even be able to convince the employer of something important they need to do to improve their company. You should get a note book for each company and write down the most important things about the company. Then write down what you can offer the company.

You should consider blogging about your experience and skills. Share with the world what you know. Many people are doing this now. Also employers are searching the internet for information on all of their candidates. If they search you on the net, your blog could show up in the search results. The same holds true if you have a LinkedIn account or some other social networking platform.

Network with people who work at the company you crave to work at. You know, most job openings are not even listed in the newspaper, on the internet, or in the most common place people look for employment. In this case it’s best to contact the company directly or get in contact with people who work in your field. When you contact a company and ask if they are hiring, don’t take no as a final answer and say thanks and that’s it. Ask them when they think they will start hiring again, and ask them when you should call them if they are hiring in the near future. You need to show interest even if they say no they are not hiring at the moment. Who knows, the company could be hiring a month from now and tell you no because you only asked them if they were hiring now. And if you show interest, they may want you to come in and fill out an application and want your resume.

Keep in mind that the most qualified job applicants will not educate themselves on how to self market or sell themselves to the company. Please remember that. This will give you the one up on your competition. Companies are aware that people are going to go to college and do all the typical things folks do to get jobs and most are also aware these same people will lack the skill of marketing themselves.

Stay active and take care of yourself. Try not to be down because you’re unemployed or not working the job you desire. Instead take good care of your appearance and your health. Bathe daily and keep nice clothes on hand in case you get called for an interview.

Make a video of yourself. Practice in front of a camera. Pretend you are making a commercial of you marketing yourself for the job you want. Make the video no longer than 3 minutes. Look at the video. Is there anything you could have done better? If you don’t like it then redo it. This way you can see yourself the way others see you. You may even decide you want to make a video and put it on YouTube or your blog. I’ll leave that decision up to you.

Create Your Own Unique Mission Statement For Your Resume. What is your purpose for getting a job? I’m not talking about because you need money; no employer wants to hear that. Plus it doesn't need to be the obvious or what most people say. How can you make a difference in the work place? What are your values? How can you stand out from other applicants that have better qualifications than yourself? See you have to know how to market yourself in every way not just in the skills department. Employers want to know more about you than just your skills. They want to see that the applicant can do more than just market them self for what the company is looking for. They want to see some personality and someone who is not trying to be the one who can do everything or who is so perfect because of what the job description says. You have to have the skills and be the right fit, but the company knows that perfection doesn't exist.

Apply to the job even if they are not hiring. How about put in the application to the company you want to work for. When they do hire, your application will already be on file.

Keep up with what is going on in your field. You need to stay up to date with all the information you need to know about the type of companies you want to work for and changes they could be making. You should be in the know and the “expert” in your field. Learn as much as you can. 

How to Sell Yourself during the Job Interview

You know the basics of the preparing for a job interview; don’t be late, wear the right clothes. But there is much more to it. You definitely need to know how to sell yourself during the interview process. This is where you have the opportunity to show, tell, demonstrate, and pitch yourself to the interviewer.

Before you go in the interview do your research. We talked about this earlier in this book. Then you need to be honest with yourself and the company. What ever you do, don’t lie to the employers about your credentials, or skills. This is a sure fire way to keep you in the unemployment line. And next you need to be real and not fake. The interviewer is very skilled and will see through the fake-ness and you will forfeit your chances of getting hired for the job. You also need to have the right attitude. Once again as I stated earlier, be positive and believe in yourself. You will also need to have the right mindset. Without the right mindset, skills and qualification won’t matter.

Now let’s get to the core. You need to know how to answer the questions in the interview. So you need to practice.

Tell me about yourself. This can be a tricky question but you have to know how to answer it correctly. Don’t ask them what do they mean or what they want to know. This shows you’re not ready for the job or that you can’t follow directions. You need to give them the answer they are looking for. This is where you need to sell yourself. You should tell them your most important accomplishments; tell them how you are a fit for the job or how you are the best candidate. Tell them what you did at your last or current job and how you can be an asset to their company. Don’t tell them “oh I went to such and such high school, or what your favorite food is. They want to know how well you will adapt to their company.

What are your strengthens and weakness? You answer this honestly. Tell them what your weakness and strengths are. It don’t necessarily have to be a bad weakness, it can be a good thing. For example, “I work so hard to meet strict deadlines that I tend to lose track of time” can be your answer to a weakness, and you know your strengths. The weakness is the hardest one for most applicants to come up with.

Why do you want to work for our company? When you come across this question don’t say because I think it will be fun or to make more money. Be serious and tell them what interest you about their company.

Why did you leave or why are you leaving your last job. The best way to answer this is to just be honest. If they let you go tell them. If they ask you why tell them. Most importantly don’t lie, they will check you out.

Be prepared for any questions they may ask well before the interview. You have got to answer the questions correctly and smart. That’s why the researching is so important and that is why knowing who you are and your skills is also important. If you don’t know who you are in your field, you’re going to be in deep trouble at your interview and while seeking employment.

Once your interview is over, you need to follow up. Before you leave, give them your business card if you have one. Once you leave, send them a thank you email and give them a call. This shows that you are serious about getting hired and that you are still interested. 

Conclusion

You have now learnt the most important skill you need to have, how to effectively market yourself to get the job you crave and desire. Marketing your self starts with communication, this is not difficult. Your job is to get the employers interested in allowing you to join their successful company. This means you have to put yourself in your employers’ shoes. If you had a company, who would you hire and why? What would you look for in that person? Use this to help you answer the same questions for the companies you’re applying to.

In this day and age it can be tough to get a job period. Many people already have the skills you have. The employer has a hard enough decision to make when it comes to picking who will be the best fit for their team. Why don’t you make it easy for them? Help them to understand you and give them the reason to pick you to join their company. Research the job and the position and get a better understanding of the company and what they want. Then ask your own questions that will show them that you have taken the time and done your research. They will be impressed with you and you will stick in their mind. You will have painted a vivid picture in their head.

Learn some of the names. What do I mean; who is the owner? If you call the company, after your research, you can put together a good helpful plan and pitch it to him or her. Impress the company. Show them what you are made of and let them know your knowledge. You got to have what it takes to get hired and if you are just another job applicant that doesn't set yourself apart from the other job seekers, you will be just another person trying to get a job. At the end of the day it is all about them and not you. They've got a business to run and if you are not a fit, you’re out. 

More tips and help for how to get a job with no experience? Job Interview Questions & Answers