Purple Squirrel

Dear Valued Users,

Even before we launched our Beta in 2015, industry leaders praised Purple Squirrel as the “the future of hiring.” Despite the fact that we’ve only let a few thousand amazing candidates into our platform so far, we’ve already transformed how people find their dream jobs, and now we are stepping it up a notch by transforming how people find love.

I’m thrilled to announce that we have relaunched Purple Squirrel as a dating platform. It’s the same platform that’s connects talented, single professionals, faster and more easily than ever before. But starting today, we will focus on three areas of innovation:

Faster scheduling. To accelerate dating, we’re making it easier for users to update their availability to find, interview and select prospects who are ready to date right away.

Better collaboration. We’re making dating simpler and more efficient. A new messaging experience will include chat and video, plug into your favorite services, and organize conversations. Plus, you’ll be able to communicate with your romantic interests through native Android and iPhone apps.

Professional growth. Purple Squirrel will be a platform where single professionals can form warm, loving relationships. With access to work history stats, the ability to earn Top Rated status, and information on high-demand skills, users will have the tools to get more and better dates.

You can begin experiencing the new platform today by going topurplesquirrel.io. You’ll see familiar Purple Squirrel functionality and your existing profile. You can search by company and by role to find talented, single professionals at many top companies. And, don’t miss the Dating Guide, our latest source for dating ideas and inspiration.

We’ll continue to share our progress, and look forward to creating more success for your dating life than ever before. I invite you to join in the conversation to find answers to your questions. If you have feedback for us or have questions about our new platform we’d love to hear from you [email protected].

Jon Silber CEO, Purple Squirrel

Get Verified

Verifying your company email address is the only mandatory verification. Your Ambassador profile will not be active and visible to job seekers until you click the verification link or enter the verification code sent as part of the process of creating your profile.

Sell Yourself

Use your tagline and overview fields in your Ambassador profile to tell Job Seekers why they should pick you as their Ambassador. You should try to answer the question, what makes you qualified to help people land their dream job? Be sure to describe the benefits they'll receive from an engagement with you. Edit your profile here.

Look Your Best

It’s important to choose a high-quality, professional photo that captures the essence of what you’re all about. You’ll get a lot more bookings if you avoid unprofessional profile pictures. Update your profile picture here.

Update Your Availability

Profiles displaying more availability perform better and are ranked higher in our search results, so keep your calendar up to date and have as much availability as possible, so long as it doesn’t overlap with your work schedule. You can change your availability and manage your calendar here.

Set Your Rate

Selecting Who You Engage With

When you get an engagement request, you have 48 hours to accept or decline the engagement. You can learn about the candidate by reviewing their resume and social media profiles. We recommend accepting an engagement only if they fit the minimum qualifications and you believe they would be a good fit for your company.

Be Prepared

Review Our Interview Guide Improve your interviewing skills with the Purple Squirrel Ambassador Resources. You can view and download sample questions, candidate scorecards and other materials to help you make the most out of every engagement.

Practice Makes Perfect There are multiple ways for you to improve your interviewing skills, but nothing beats experience. Practice your questions on friends or colleagues and you can even contact Purple Squirrel to set up a free mock engagement and consultation with any member of Purple Squirrel.

Understand Expectations When you accept a booking, we strongly recommend exchanging a message to job seekers if you need any clarification or additional information about them or their goals. For example, if they want access to unlisted jobs, you’ll want to become familiar with the positions currently available.

Review Qualifications Thoroughly review job seekers’ resume and profile to get to know the Job Seeker before your engagement. You can find more information about the job seeker on their profile, which you can access in your upcoming engagements tab.

Don’t Be Late!

You're responsible to call the job seeker at the engagement start-time. Failing to be on time is a sure way to negatively impact the rating you receive. If you're booked back-to-back, be sure to give yourself enough time between sessions.

What if They are Late?

If you call and they don't answer, check that you have the right phone number, confirm the engagement time/date and if you are unable to get them on the phone after 10 minutes, abort the engagement and send them a message letting them know you did everything you could. You'll still get paid--even if they don't show up.

Be in a Quiet Place

It's important to find a quiet place for the engagement, where you won't be disturbed by noise or other people. Turn off your music, silence your phone, and make sure nothing will distract you for the next 30 minutes.

Have What You Need Within Reach

Have the job seeker’s resume and any other relevant materials in front of you when the engagement begins. Also, be sure to have a list of prepared questions and a scorecard ready before the engagement begins – view and download our sample questions and scorecards on our Ambassador Resources page.

Be Ready to Take Notes

Take notes on how the job seeker answers your questions. Record specific responses you thought were particularly strong or weak, and why. This will help you make and justify your feedback. We recommend not typing your notes due to the noise (and distraction) of key strokes.

Introduce Yourself

Don’t jump right into questions; make job seekers feel comfortable by telling them about yourself and mentioning what you like about your job and the company.

Set the Agenda

Before you begin the Q&A, recap what the job seeker wants to gain from the engagement to ensure you are both on the same page. It’s also important to let them know what you hope to gain from the engagement. “We only have half an hour for our engagement and this is what I want to cover...”

Time Management

Engagements are booked for 30 minutes, but it’s up to you to ensure you make the most of that 30 minutes by managing your time and finding the right balance between asking your questions and answering theirs. To do this effectively you’ll need to understand what they hope to gain from the engagement. For example, if the Job Seeker is looking for a referral, more time should be devoted to your questions. If they are hoping to learn about the company, their questions should be given a greater share of your time together. We've put together some excellent sample questions that you can download here.

Here's how you can aim to split up your 30 minute engagement:

Tone & Style 

Be empathetic and encouraging....interviews can be very stressful for job seekers, so stay positive and don’t focus on their mistakes. Regardless of their performance, job seekers should not be made to feel like they’ve failed at any point in the engagement. You can highlight where they fell short in your feedback, but it won’t help them, (or your ratings) if they feel like they had no chance to succeed 10 minutes into your engagement.

Lead With a Question

Always  begin an engagement by asking a question or two about the job seeker's work experience (asking about business metrics is recommended), before jumping into tougher problem solving questions. This gives job seekers something they feel comfortable talking about (their own experience), which helps to calm their nerves and sets a conversational tone for the rest of the engagement.

Be Clear & Precise

For highly analytical interview questions, try to eliminate as much confusion as possible by letting the interviewee know exactly what you’re looking for, how you want them to approach the problem, and how much time they should allocate to solving it. Then dig another layer deeper by asking engaging follow up questions. Sample questions, with multiple follow questions, can be downloaded on our Ambassador Resources page.

Drive the Conversation

Some of the best interview questions are the most difficult to answer. If you sense a candidate is struggling, tactfully give them a hint, guide them, or simply move on. A good way to press ahead (if they are stuck) is to say, “This is a tough question that a lot of people struggle with, I’d suggest we table it for now and move on to another topic.”

Wrapping Up

We advise against abruptly ending an engagement exactly at 30 minutes, but when you are on a tight schedule or the job seeker is showing no signs of winding down, you may have to take the initiative. Try saying something like, "This has been great and I wish we could talk about it some more, but unfortunately this is all the time I have for right now." Once they get the message you can thank them and summarize the next steps.

Thanks & Next Steps

All finished? Follow these tips to help you take the next steps, provide great feedback and earn positive reviews.

Follow Up

We recommend sending a message after your engagement to let any impressive candidate know what steps you’re taking and to let them know that you’re available for follow-up engagements to help them prepare for the next steps in the hiring process.

Politely Rejecting Someone

If the candidate’s qualifications don’t match up with a specific position, you should consider waiting for a better time or a different position to open up. However, when they just aren’t the right fit, here's how to politely decline their request in your feedback.

Be Respectful and Appreciative

The job seeker paid you to be their ambassador because they believed you could help them better than anyone else. So show them you appreciate their confidence in you as well as the time and money they invested to speak with you.

It was great speaking with you...

I really appreciate your time and I hope I was helpful...

Thanks for choosing to speak with me…

Decline the Request, Not the Person

Let them know your decision isn't about them personally; it's about the requirements of the company, role and/or position. Simply being polite and understanding will help communicate that your decision isn't personal.

Your resume is strong, but the job requires a very specific skill set...

I admire your passion, but your work experience doesn't match up with what the role calls for...

You'd fit right in at Company X, but you don't meet enough of the minimum qualifications for this position...

Be Honest and Offer Suggestions

Use your feedback to offer honest, actionable advice that will help the job seeker become a better candidate.

Your experience in marketing is strong, but sales positions at this company you'll need sales experience...

It takes a lot of time to apply to a position, so only apply to those where you meet the minimum qualifications...

Qualifications and Requirements

Consider the job seeker's skills and qualifications in relation to the must-haves of the specific role or position they are applying to, or your company’s minimum requirements in general if they don't have a specific position in mind.

We recommend only moving forward with a candidate who:

Meets all the minimum qualifications

Meets all or most of the preferred qualifications

Has demonstrated a track record of success

You're convinced is the right fit for your company

In addition, any candidate you move forward with should (ideally) have:

A perfect resume with no mistakes (the first thing HR will notice)

A strong academic record

A track record of career advancement

A history of staying with the same company for a year or more

Other questions to ask yourself before moving forward:

Would I want this person to be my boss?

Would colleagues (including yourself) learn a lot from working with them?

What if this person went to work for our competition?

Be Selective in Who You Refer

When in doubt, don’t refer. No one benefits from putting unqualified candidates into your company's employee referral system. The candidate probably won't get very far in the interview process and if you make a habit of referring poor choices, you might get a reputation for clogging the company’s referrals system with unqualified candidates.

Submitting an Employee Referral

Every company's referral system is different and there are best practices for each individual referral system. So be sure you are familiar with how your company's system works and how best to use that system. Most companies have online systems where employee referrals can be submitted, but you can also physically hand the candidate's resume to a hiring manager.

Be honest when you are asked to explain how well you know the candidate and how familiar you are with their work experience, skills and other qualifications.

Recommending Unlisted Jobs

Unlisted jobs are positions that your company is hiring for, but they haven't posted them anywhere online for various reasons, but mainly because posting to job boards ultimately takes up a lot of time and they are hoping the position can be filled internally (like through an employee referral).

Regardless of your decision and what the next steps are, you need to submit feedback to receive payment.

Evaluate Immediately

Submitting feedback as soon as possible following an engagement will help you provide more specific, actionable and ultimately valuable feedback (and positive reviews for you). We recommend filling out a candidate scorecard when the engagement and the job seeker are still fresh in your mind.

Be Specific

Use specific feedback, focusing on the qualifications, skills and other qualities associated with the role or position they are looking for and cite examples of how the candidate demonstrated these (or failed to). Avoid vague statements about their qualifications (or lack thereof). Instead, give specific examples of how they demonstrated they are qualified (or unqualified) during your engagement.

Bad: When I asked how you would market the new product your answer was very good...

Good: You demonstrated a careful thought process by asking about the parameters of the question around product marketing and your responses were well structured and included excellent examples at every step. 

This kind of specific feedback will also be helpful when explaining why you are referring a candidate.

Provide Actionable Advice

Be original and don't simply repeat information that’s on their resume or other information the job seeker already knows. If they need to work on their communication skills or be more prepared for their next engagement, offer specific examples of how they underperformed and suggest ways they can improve:

Before your next engagement you should be more familiar with the company. I’d recommend setting up a Google Alert and following relevant members of the executive team on Twitter...

I would suggest taking some time to think through your response before jumping right into the answer, which will help you structure your answers more coherently...

Don’t let yourself get discouraged early on if you don’t have a great answer for the first question. Lots of people I’ve interviewed struggle at first, but if your subsequent responses are good, I’ll forget all about your rough start...

Don't Make it Personal

You are a busy professional. It can be hard to give yourself to the office and still maintain a healthy, positive, and sustainable lifestyle. Here are 10 things you can do to help you manage your mental health and energy levels:

1. Exercise

If you are going to push yourself at work, then you need your body able to keep up. This will make it easier for you to get through the day, and will help you be more effective at the end of a long day.

2. Work with awesome people

Time flies when you are hanging out with people you like. If you can find a great group of coworkers then your day will pass much faster!

3. Relax

Take some time out of your day to zone out and relax. Maybe go for a walk around the block twice a day. Try to maintain this practice even when you get busy. People who try to accomplish too much will often make mistakes from mental fatigue.

4. Love your work

If you really like what you are doing, then it becomes easier to work all day. All you need to do is find a career that you love. Here is an article that can help you in that regard

5. Take a vacation 

Sometimes the best thing you can do for yourself is to take some time off, refresh, and then come back to work with a clear mindset.

6. Work in a different location

With advances in modern technology, many companies will allow you to perform some of your work duties off-site. If your company is against this policy, go into the office for 40 hours and then request to do any extra work from home.

7. Have a variety of projects

Sometimes a project can get overwhelming because it is the only thing you are working on. To take your mind off this task, try adding in a few other projects, even if they are small. This will make it easier for your mind to process information, as it will have a break from a specific set of issues that you can come back to later.

8. Tackle the harder problems first

Doing hard things requires focus and willpower which gets exhausted as we go through our day. To avoid burnout do the hardest tasks first and then tackle the easier ones later when your mind has already processed most of the difficult items.

9. Manage your expectations

Often, people are not always the best at managing their own expectations. When given a new assignment, you may envision yourself completing the task to perfection. However, this is generally unrealistic and leads to stress; generally you just need to get an assignment done in a manner that works well. Don’t expect to be perfect.

10. Manage other’s expectations

Does your boss push you to be better? Are you happy with the extra pressure as it pushes you to achieve greatness or are you resentful of the whip at your back? If the second case, then have a talk with your boss. If they give you a project, evaluate it and then provide them with a time to completion. If your boss ignores your reasonable timeline and asks you to burn yourself out, it might be time to start looking for a new job.

About Purple Squirrel

In our working-oriented culture, we tend to spend a significant amount of time at the office or focused on work. At times, we end up in a pattern where we are unhappy or less satisfied than we could be, but we trudge forward and continue to work. Perhaps this is because we feel comfortable or we worry about paying the bills or giving up our nice vacations. You may even be content to stay in your job, even if you are not truly satisfied or deeply fulfilled.

Whether or not you attain this goal, you should aim to find fulfillment at work, as it would be an upgrade over your current role. In any given position, you can find fulfillment, so I am not telling you to quit your day job and pursue a startup or day trading. This is about finding the right fit for you as a professional.

Here are some signs that you need to pay attention to that may mean you should start thinking about a new job or career path:

1. You’re stagnating intellectually

If you are at a job where you have mastered the skills necessary for the job, then you have a problem. Other people around you are learning and your skills will be outdated when it comes time to look for a new position. While it is great to have a good resume and income, you want to think long-term and have up-to-date skills for which employers are looking. If you are not learning, then you are not likely to remain employable in the long-term.

2. You are not moving forward

Have you been in the same position for several years without a promotion. Unfortuantely, your boss is unlikely to give you a significant raise and there may not be a promotion for you at your current role. In general, there are 2 fixes in this situation. First, you can reapply yourself to your work, producing exemplary results and seek a promotion due to your amazing work output. The second, and more likely option, is to move laterally to another organization and obtain a better title and pay raise.

3. Headhunters are reaching out to you

You might be satisfied at your current role, but stay tuned to other options on the market. Your dream job might come your way and it would be foolish to pass on the opportunity. Additionally, if recruiters are seeking you out, it is a sign that your skills are wanted and perhaps you can increase your salary or move to a firm that is more fulfilling.

4. You don’t get any feedback

Are you an all-star or just another employee? Will you get the promotion or are you going to stay in your role? If you have been at a company for a while and you have ambiguity about your place at the firm, ask your boss. If they do not give you an answer that makes you comfortable, then it is time to start looking for a new position.

5. There is high turnover

You might be satisfied at your role, but are a lot of the other employees leaving or getting fired? At the very least you should understand why they are leaving so that you won’t be surprised if the same situation happens to you as well. Companies with high turnover are not ideal places to work, and you need to be prepared for the worst.

Moving forward, keep in mind these 5 signs you should leave your job and you will be ready to handle the situation, on your terms, when the time is right.

About Purple Squirrel

If you are looking for a job, then it is important for you to ensure that your online presence is acceptable for employers. Today, before anyone makes a hiring decision, they will review your social media accounts at a minimum. Make sure that these are all in line with the impression that you want to leave a potential employer. Here is a list of the items that you need to consider when applying to a job:

1. Social Media Accounts

Do you complain about school or work on Twitter or Facebook – no one wants the world to hear their business; the company will pass on you. What about those racey pictures you are posting to instagram? Also a dealbreaker. If you are concerned about your image at work, then simply make these accounts private. Be aware though that anyone who follows you will have access. If your friend works at a company you apply to, they could show other people your accounts. Expect the worse and go from there.

2. Your email address

Are you [your_name]@aol.com. That is a great email address, but people are going to think that you are a dinosaur. Stick with gmail or a more modern email provider; even yahoo and hotmail are outdated by most people’s standards.

Additionally, if your username is “star_princess” or something that is not professional, create a new account for work purposes. Something related to your name is fine. Make sure to avoid using the year you were born in the email account.

3. Your digital footprint

It is very difficult not to have information about you floating on the web and if it’s out there – expect your potential employer to find it. There are ways to remove results that you deem inappropriate to employers. Click here for more information on how to remove your personal information from Google’s search results.

About Purple Squirrel

Leadership issues can be disastrous to an organization, often resulting in low profits, high turnover, and poor productivity. As these are all things an organization would rather avoid, we have done some research to identify the main traits found in poor leaders. If you are leading employees or even an entire organization, make sure to avoid these characteristics:

Trait 1: Antisocial Personality

A withdrawn pioneer does not have the capacity to energize, manufacture, and advance a group of individuals. Dictatorial, and doubtful of his charges, this pioneer manages what specialists ought to do. Without connectedness, this behavior tends to leave employees feeling objectified and mishandled.

Trait 2: Self-Centered

When a leader is excessively focused around their own needs and insecurities, they give little thoughtfulness to their employees’ involvement with work. Therefore, she doesn't see what moves or demotivates them. This manifestation originates from an absence of mindfulness. You can't lead others until you know how to lead yourself.

Trait 3: Resistant to Change

In today’s digital age, everything changes in the blink of an eye and company’s need to be constantly innovating in order to succeed. Leaders that focus on successfully maintaining operations without thoughts to improving these operations are quickly being disadvantaged. Startups are popping up to take advantage of the void left due to leaders who are resistant to change.

This can also reflect a leader who sets the direction of the company in an innovative direction, but fails to change course once the course appears uncertain. A good leader is always re-evaluating the direction of a business and is willing to admit past mistakes and make tough decisions.

Trait 4: It’s All About the Money

Some industries face this more often than others, but it is a problem in any workplace. Often, a manager attempts to squeeze the most out of their employees in order to obtain the highest profit at the lowest cost (i.e. overtime, no breaks, insane deadlines). These types of leaders can gain productivity in the short term, but in the long-term they have high turnover and do not retain the top talent that would rather be working in better conditions.

About Purple Squirrel

You have spent 1.5 years in your current role and are itching to take the next step in your career. Here is what you need to do in order to get that promotion. First, realize that no matter how good you are at your current job, your boss is likely incentivized to pay you less (more money for them!). So, before you ask for a promotion, you should evaluate the potential obstacles against you and prepare to overcome them. 

Here are some of the common steps we recommend for going through the process of asking for a promotion:

1. Be a Good Employee

First, you should be doing exceptionally well at your current role. No one wants to promote an average worker who may be easily replaceable. 

2. Support your Boss

Be a loyal employee. This will make it easier to get your boss on your side when he needs to ask his boss for your raise.

3. Ask for more Responsibility in Advance

A 3 to 6 months before you ask for a raise or promotion, ask to take on additional projects that shows your worth to the organization. Focus on a project that you find interesting, so you are more likely to execute well on it.

4. Give your Boss Notice

Tell them a few months in advance that you are looking for a promotion at “x” date. Tell them that you are taking on additional responsibilities and that you are willing to do whatever it takes to get that promotion. If there is something else you need to be doing to get promoted, ask them to let you know in advance of the date you will be asking.

5. Ask with a Caveat

Once you have pre-informed your boss and taken on additional duties, it is now time to ask. When you do ask they should say yes, as you have set up a positive outcome for yourself. 

However, if they say no, it is time to start looking for a new job, which you can either accept or use as leverage against your company. 

About Purple Squirrel

Every good company wants to hire the best talent. Employers want dedicated, hard working, passionate employees who go above and beyond to get the job done. Some people naturally fall into this category, while others are lackadaisical, average, or otherwise un-noteworthy. 

We come across a lot of hiring managers and job seekers at Purple Squirrel, so we are confident in our ability to see trends. Based on our experience, we have seen the following key attitudes and behaviors from successful employees:

1. Works longer hours

A great employee goes above and beyond the bare minimum. They will come early or stay late because they are passionate about the job and doing more work than everyone else.

2. Focuses on interests over money

Someone who enters a field and loves the work they are doing is far more likely to be successful than someone who is just looking to pay the bills

3. Takes on additional responsibilities

An employee who is interested in their field will naturally attempt to learn as much as possible about all the different departments at the company. They will take on additional responsibilities because they enjoy the work and they are excited to learn more.

4. Loyalty

A good employee does whatever it takes to make their boss looks good and asks for nothing in return. They understand their value but do not attempt to take credit for their own action. When their boss is promoted, they are likely to be as well. This is not a competition. It is a team sport and the best team players win.

About Purple Squirrel

You are officially going for an interview. Congratulations, this means you are in the small minority of applicants that made it into this round of the process. Now is your chance to shine and obtain the position. To do your best in the interview, make sure you avoid these 5 pitfalls:

1. Avoid Too Much Information

Do not babble on and on in an interview. Answer their questions poignantly and then prepare some standard questions for them to answer as well. If you go on and on about your personal life or philosophical views, this is not likely to end well.

2. Focusing on yourself

No one wants to know what you are going to get out of being hired for the position. They want to know the value that you are bringing to their company. The best thing you can do is stick to the different ways in which you can help the company grow and be successful.

3. Insincere

You really want the job so you are doing your best to be nicer than you would normally be. You try too hard to connect with the other person and you give off a sense of falseness or desperation. Avoid the urge to do this. You are qualified and that is enough.

4. Unprepared

Look through the most common interview questions and do research on the company whenever possible. If you are asked about a challenging situation that you overcame, you need a story that will support this. Do not make the other person wait 5 minutes while you think of an answer- have one prepared in advance.

5. Nervousness

This one is unavoidable for many. The key takeaway here is that job interviewing is an awkward process and it is ok to be nervous during the process. Don’t apologize or bring attention to it. Just do your best to stay focused and ace the interview. If you stumble a bit here and there, but do a solid job overall, you can still land the position; people are more understanding than you would expect.

About Purple Squirrel

You may have heard that millennial workers are entitled, languid and continually searching for praise. However, consider these words with a grain of salt: Millennials are the future, and it's difficult to paint a whole era with a single swipe of the paintbrush.

By 2020, millennials will make up an expected half of the workforce. This is a really helpful response to the topic of why organizations ought to think about keeping millenials happy. As more Boomers resign and millennials enter the workforce, you can't overlook that keeping millenials satisfied is in the best interest of companies. The accompanying are approaches to structure your organization to keep millennials cheerful, and more averse to exit:

1. Pay for Talent: 

If you have exceptional workers, pay them what they are worth or they will leave quickly when they get a nice offer down the street.

2. Make pay structures straightforward: 

Who gets paid what, how do bonuses get computed? We are moving into an age of transparency. No one wants this to be a black hole, especially those at the bottom.

3. Offer mentorship opportunities: 

Millenials are ambitious and want the chance to learn from skilled and talented employees. Provide this to them and they will be very happy.

4. Give back:

Is your company doing well? Then maybe it is time to start giving back. People appreciate being part of an organization that is run by people who care about others and the community at large.

5. Be adaptable: 

How can you structure your workforce to be the most effective? Lots of companies are innovating in this regard. Some companies allow remote workers, some say that no meetings are mandatory, and some offer interesting perks. Do some research and figure out what you feel comfortable with.

6. Have a fabulous time: 

Provide work events and make the culture of your firm one that allows millenials to express themselves and engage how they prefer.

Millennial laborers aren't going anywhere, so take some time to consider how to keep these workers cheerful. If you are a millenial, take a good look at the list above and determine if the company that you want to work for is ultimately a place where you will be happy.

About Purple Squirrel

With the large amount of applicants per position in the current job market, 47% of hiring managers will only review a small percentage of the resumes they receive. As such, it can be hard to stand out from the crowd. As a network that connects job seekers and employers, we have been able to see a lot of trends in terms of who gets hired. We also spoke with several top applicants and hiring managers to determine how they stood out from the crowd. Here are 9 methods we found to be effective:

1. Identify what motivates you:

What drives you as a person and how does that align with the mission of the organization. Get personal. If you have a blog, online videos, and social media presences that are all aligned around the organization’s mission, you are a strong candidate.

2. Video application:

Include a link to a video that demonstrates your interest in the company and their organization. This allows them to learn more about you than they would from a piece of paper.

3. Social aptitude:

Include links to your social media profile, assuming that your personal life is an indication of your capability and interest in the position. For example, a person with a twitter account that obsessively follows the NBA will lead to a greater chance of working in professional basketball.

4. Cold call:

Not many people do this, but it provides an opportunity to connect directly with the people that you want to speak with. Purple Squirrel is also an effective method to accomplish this.

5. Focus on project based work:

What have you done at work that had a specific outcome or is related to a specific project? Do not just list your overall responsibilities- focus.

6. Continued education

Are you qualified for the job? Maybe. Are you passionate for the field? Certainly and efforts that you have taken to increase your education above and beyond a college degree will go a long way in the eyes of your potential employer.

About Purple Squirrel