Did you locate your dream job, but find yourself discouraged by the challenge of standing out from the crowd of competing applicants?

The seasoned staffing professionals at Relational IT are in perpetual contact with the IT talent pool, and offer these insights into techniques to differentiate yourself, regardless of your experience and expertise:

Build a strong personal brand. This will help you distinguish yourself from other professionals, stay competitive in the employment market, and increase your marketability. You might find Personal Branding to be time consuming and feel like a useless activity, but in fact most companies perform variety online searches in order to find the perfect candidate for their job opening. Social media surveys reveal that 1 of 3 employers rejected candidates based on something they found on them online. Furthermore, a recent Microsoft survey found that 86% of companies agreed that a positive online reputation influences their perception over the applicant. The management of your online presence, personal brand and online reputation are intrinsically connected to your public image and has become extremely important when competing for that dream job.

Proactively get involved in the social media channels and generate new employment opportunities. The same study by Career Enlightment shows that 65% of companies surveyed said that they had successfully hired via social media. By strategically participating in forums, blogs, and professional networks in your area of expertise, you have a passive means of introducing yourself by building a positive social profile, adding pictures and videos; but don’t overdo it.

Create a Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn account and make regular updates on your profile with the latest news in your areas of interest. You can stand out by participating directly in discussions and providing your solutions to popular topics. Good management of your social brand paired with consistent networking in the right circles can generate a dream job that you didn’t even know existed.

Look for the dream job that really fits your skills and expectations. Recruiters and human resource professionals advise to thoroughly review the job description and company background to be sure that your skills meet the company and position’s demands. Constantly watch and strategically analyze job market trends to identify what skills are “hot” for employers and decide how to channel job search efforts to these positions that are in high demand. Becoming aware of the trends in your area of expertise will help you understand whether your skills and experiences are relevant to landing your dream job, and if not, guide you to develop the new “hot” skills that are in demand.

In Cloud Computing, one of Relational IT’s key areas of focus, job perspectives for IT professionals are very optimistic this year. According to a recent poll by Gartner worldwide, cloud adoption is growing at 17% annually, with industry surveys showing that more and more companies will be implementing cloud computing solutions over the next several years. Companies following Apple’s trend setting lead into Mobile Cloud Technology is creating new employment opportunities and perhaps … your dream job!

My advice is to stand out from the crowd by dedicating the necessary time to building your personal brand throughout the social media channels of your expertise, and by doing so you will feel informed, confident, and empowered to embrace your next career move and dream job.

If you are an IT Professional seeking to make a career move, please contact Relational IT for further advice on Branding your Image and exciting opportunities that they are recruiting for now.