Someone once said “It’s a jungle out there!” and never a truer word has been spoken when it comes to today’s job market.

With a failing economy, the national debt, wide spread redundancies of quality people and a shrinking job market there are more and more applicants for every job than at any time in history.

Even to get some eyeballs to look at your CV is proving difficult. So what can you do differently to stand out and market your personal skills to the best of your ability?

Here are 5 ½ ways to stand out:

1. 1.    Video CV

 

Ever thought of recording yourself? It will certainly separate you from the other 99% of applicants who will not do this. All you need is a decent webcam and some free autocue software to load up which runs underneath your webcam so you don’t mess up and you’re away!

1. 2.    Website

 

Going one step further than creating a video is to create your very own personal website CV. On this it can have a video, photos, information and can give you that professional edge.

 

1. 3.    Coloured Paper

 

Imagine a manager or HR person who has the job of going through a pile of CV’s. They all look the same! Even if only one page of your CV is different colour it will stand out and draw the attention of the person who is reviewing it. You need an audience and this will certainly draw attention to it.

1. 4.    Be Radical

 

Did you hear of the guy who spent his last £500 on a billboard to advertise that he is wants a job? Sometimes you need to be innovative and different to stand out. What can you do?

 

 

 

1. 5.    Advertise On Social Media

 

You can use Facebook to target would be employers. Be creative in your ad and include your skills and qualifications and the type of job you are looking for. You can really target in to the people who you want to market yourself to due to the tools that Facebook has to offer in its advertising interface.

5 ½. It’s A Mindset Thing

The other point I wanted to make didn’t warrant a complete point! So I’ve given it a half! And that’s that what you have done to date has not worked so you need to be different, you need to try different things and don’t be afraid of failure. Stick your neck out and remember if you do what you’ve always done you’ll get what you’ve always go.

 

Author Bio: Founder and MD of international management development firm MTD Management Training, Sean McPheat is widely regarded as a leading authority on modern day management and leadership. Sean is a bestselling author, and has been recognised for his own business building skills throughout his impressive entrepreneurial career, which has included founding and managing successful sales training company MTD Sales Training and HR outsourcing company MTD HR Consulting.