Career Advice: How to Break Through in a Tough Job Market

In the most challenging job market in a decade, how do you stand out from the crowd? Shibani Joshi and Cindy Greig, two alumni career coaches at the Career Management Center at Stanford Graduate School of Business, share four ways to differentiate yourself when applying for your next role.

• Lead with outcomes. “The ability to influence and impact things is your number one message,” Joshi says. If you can promise 1,000 new customers over the next year or secure new contacts and connections for the business, “They will hire you, whether they have an open role or not.”

• Emphasize skills and relevancy. Think about “what you can deliver now and… the value you can add right away,” Greig says. If you’re attempting a career change, “Pivoting does not mean starting over,” Joshi reassures. Instead, “Focus on the transferability and immediate impact of your skills,” carefully crafting your resume and emails to reflect how your expertise can effectively shift to new roles and teams.

• Demonstrate success and delivery. It’s not enough to list your titles and achievements, Joshi says. Explain the ways you drove profits and illustrate the methods by which you realized outcomes. “Talk about what it is that you were able to do.” It’s great to list promotions and show you’re a star performer. But just as importantly, Joshi emphasizes, “Show the how in how you achieve things.”

• Vibes are important. As you may have heard from your Gen Z colleagues — or kids — fit makes a difference in career searches. Make clear how you collaborate and communicate with others, and the ways you’re a unique individual. “How you show up, how you present yourself, your executive presence, it really matters,” Greig says.