We've heard the arguments ad nauseam, and they can be said
to be true of almost any age. I'm sure you've heard time and again, that
because of the precarious economy, competition is extremely stiff and the only
way that anyone is going to make it is to "stand out from the rest."
This is certainly a valid argument, but in an economic climate in which
everyone is trying to one-up one another, standing out isn't simply about being
flashy. Creativity as distinguished from ostentation (or flashiness) is the
most essential element in searching for a job, but it's absolutely necessary
once you get your job, too. In fact, creativity is perhaps the most
sought-after quality in the job market today.
Consider this—economist and social scientist Richard Florida
speculates that what he calls the "creativity
class" has and will become the driving force in America's economic
development in the twenty-first century. Although Florida defines the creative
class in a number of ways, he identifies two groups of creative types—the
Super-Creative core, whose work "along with problem solving, may entail
problem finding," and Creative Professionals, who "draw upon complex
bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems."
Now what does this all mean in terms of your job search? For
one, if the creative class is indeed a highly-sought after group of people,
then the process of successfully finding employment will be, by definition, a
whole other ball game. Instead of simply come up with cute, new
"tricks" to make yourself stand out, the best course of action is to
demonstrate—every step of the way, through your resume, your interview, even
approaching the initial job search in the first place—how you fit this mold of
a creative individual.
One very small example of demonstrating creativity that
Richard Florida mentions in a Creative Class blog
article is Facebook and Twitter status updates. Although the article
initially explains how portraying a bad image on social networking sites can
cost you your job (as we all know by now), he suggests that the opposite also
holds true. Florida posits that posting interesting, clever status updates with
relevant articles and other resources will demonstrate to potential employers
your enthusiasm for living a creative life—something that many
recruiters are increasingly looking for in job candidates.
Above all, being creative in your job search is not just a
way to help you get noticed among the legions of potential job candidates.
Rather, creative job search techniques—something that Guerilla Job Hunting is
all about—are important for their own sake. They are a window into the world of
the Creative You, someone whom employers are desperately seeking out.
By-line:
This guest post is contributed by Angela Martin, who writes on the topics
of Career Salaries. She welcomes your comments at her email
Id: [email protected].
