Ask LH: How Do I Make Myself More Employable?

It seems like all anyone is talking about at the moment are jobs, employability and the workforce. That’s probably because the Australian Government held the Jobs and Skills Summit last week, and there were some really interesting insights into the current employment landscape in the country. But for people looking for a new job or struggling to find one, we’ve got some great tips on how to make yourself more employable.

For this week’s Ask Lifehacker, we’ve got some advice from SEEK Career Coach Leah Lambart on how to make yourself more employable.

How can you make yourself more employable during your job search?

Tip 1: Conduct some self-assessment

The first tip from Lambart on making yourself more employable is all about taking the time to complete some self-assessments prior to starting your job search.

By doing so, Lambart says it will ensure that you have absolute clarity about what exactly you’re looking for in your next role.

After doing some self-assessments and figuring out where you sit, it’ll be easier to articulate to potential employers and recruiters the key skills, strengths and experience you can bring to the job.

Tip 2: Know your unique selling proposition

Knowing, and being clear on, your unique selling proposition (USP) is a super important step in making yourself more employable.

How do you determine your USP? Well, you have to fully understand the role you’re after first.

According to Lambart, this means anticipating the skills required to be successful, the challenges that may exist and what the key priorities might be for the person taking on that particular role.

Once you’ve done that, you should then consider what experience, skills and attributes will match you to that position.

Some questions to ask yourself are: why should an employer hire you over any other candidate? What is it that you can bring to the table that other candidates can’t? What unique skills or experiences do you have that could add real value to the organisation? Do you consider yourself to be particularly creative or innovative, and if so, what are some examples of this?

After you’ve figured all that out, you’ll then be able to voice that in the hiring process and back these up with specific examples, which will hopefully make you seem more employable.

Tip 3: Consider what you’re looking for

The next thing to do when trying to make yourself more employable is to consider what you’re looking for in a new role and in a new employer.

You don’t want to end up in a job that isn’t a good fit for your personality and your needs. To avoid this, do a bit of research and think about how the potential job aligns with your goals and future plans.

According to Lambart, a candidate that can clearly explain what they are looking for in their next position and company will be much more desirable than their competition.

This is because when hiring, employers want to see that a candidate really wants to work for them and that the role they are applying for fits into their long-term career prospects.

Knowing what you’re looking for and researching a bit more about the companies you want to work at can massively increase your employability prospects.

According to SEEK’s Onboarding 101 survey, nearly two in five people found that remote onboarding made it harder to understand the company culture.

As a result, it would be in your best interest to do a little prior research into the companies you wish to work for and the workplace culture. By doing so, you’ll be able to articulate the values of the company back to your potential employers and also help yourself further down the track should you get hired.

Tip 4: Nail your interviewing skills during the job search

This one seems like an obvious step in making yourself more employable, but it’s probably one of the hardest ones to master.

Obviously, you want to nail the interview stage if you really want to impress employers.

Lambart says that if you are job searching right now, take time to research different interview methods and, in particular, how to answer behavioural interview questions like the ‘STAR’ method.

Doing this will help you stand out for all the right reasons and leave a lasting impression on your potential employers.

And there you have it, four easy tips on how to make yourself more employable.

Happy job hunting, folks!