8 Ways the Most Successful Women Stand Out on the Job Search, According To a Career Coach

As women, we have often been taught to be smaller than we are. Yet as a strong woman in the workforce, you need to sell yourself. For many of us, the voice in our heads can’t get past that lesson we learned. Here’s how to combat the negativity we’ve learned and start accessing our successful women network.

1. Discover your strengths.

Talk to your friends and ask them to share three strengths they see in you. Pay attention to those strengths and use them. Put them on a sticky note when you are job searching. Make sure they are on your resume.

2. Find the right LinkedIn photo.

It doesn’t need to be professional, but don’t do a selfie. Get someone to take a picture of you with a nice smile. When someone else takes the picture, you can relax and be you. Dress professionally, smile and think about those strengths you’ve just discovered.

3. Revamp your resume.

Sit down with a piece of paper and write down all the moments from your past position that make you proud. For example, maybe you streamlined something and it saved 20 minutes a day. If you decide to hire someone to write your resume they should prompt you to do this. These are achievements that need to be on your resume, not in your job description. You were an amazing employee, not a list of duties. Whether you’ve hired someone or not, get someone to proofread for you.

4. Define your actions.

With the list above, start defining what you did in your role. What makes you a valuable employee? Did you save the company time or money? Did you increase staff morale or safety? Here’s an example from my first job as a file clerk in a large insurance company: 

Decreased staff required in filing department by 50% 

Recognized multiple inefficient, time-consuming tasks 

Created roadmap to streamline morning caseload file delivery, reducing time by half

Developed a complete system for file retrieval and location management

5. Broadcast your achievements.

Once you’ve realized just how amazing you are, make sure people know it. It’s not bragging, it’s selling. Utilize the long space at the top of your LinkedIn profile. It’s like someone gave you a free billboard—leaving it in boring blue won’t help. Adding a picture of your city or some cute kittens won’t help, either. Showing your accomplishments, however, will have an impact. If you aren’t great at using photo software, ask a friend or pay someone on Fiverr. Find a bright background and post those achievements for all to see. 

6. Build up your LinkedIn.

Update your LinkedIn profile with the achievements you wrote. Don’t waste valuable space selling the company where you worked or that mundane list of job duties. Sell you and your strengths! Then, start building your network by searching for people you know or work with and asking them to connect. Then, search for anyone who is a second connection and ask them to connect. Once they connect, tell them who you are and what you’re looking for. “Hey, I’m looking for a new position selling widgets. I was the top salesperson at ABC company. If you hear of anything coming up, please let me know.” Your goal is 500+ connections. It’s work but worth it.

7. Get recommendations. 

The only person who can write a recommendation on LinkedIn is the account owner. It’s not like getting a letter of recommendation and attaching it. This is written by the person and is absolute proof of your strengths. Try to get 10 to help validate your skills and experience.

8. Never apologize for your brilliance and strength.

Finding a job is work. However, it’s a lot less work if you have built a great product and ad campaign. Before you start on that job search, repeat after me: “I am a strong, capable, accomplished woman who deserves the best.”

Joanne Rosen is a career coach and resume writer whose career has taken her around the globe. Friends say she is fearless. She says, feel the fear and do it anyhow.