There’s 1 ingredient you’re missing when you apply.

Applying for jobs is stressful.

It just is.

And it’s not always easy to break through, especially with the job market being as competitive as it is these days.

I’ve talked to dozens of job seekers just over the last couple months alone, and pretty much all of them have expressed difficulties landing interviews.

And…

While it’s challenging to secure those interviews, there’s something that’s missing from the huge majority of job seekers’ approach to applying for jobs.

THE ONE THING YOU NEED TO MAKE YOUR APPLICATIONS COMPLETE

No, I’m not talking about tailoring your resume (speaking of which, is that a waste of time?).

I’m not even talking about the most common deficiency I see in people’s resumes (hint: it has to do with outcomes).

So, what then?

What I’m talking about is following up. The one thing you need to start doing is following up on your applications.

And, yes, I said your applications, not your interviews (although you should be following up after those, too).

That begs the question…

WITH WHO?

You need to put yourself in front of people with what I call “hiring say-so.” Generally speaking, that’s recruiters and hiring managers.

Find out who the hiring manager or recruiter is for the role and let them know you’re in their candidate pool and excited to chat about your fit.

And you should do this with every single one of your applications.

Yup you read that right, don’t play yourself! Follow up with somebody involved in the hiring process every time you apply for something.

I like to call this animating your application. When you just submit your app, you only exist on paper (or the screen but you know what I mean).

That’s inanimate and lifeless. Worse–it’s easy to miss, given all the other submissions from other candidates.

You want to engage people. Reach out to them and let them know you’re actually there and eager to meet with them before the process moves on without you.

This is the secret gravy.

Drizzle this secret gravy into your application process, and watch things change for the better!

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