Hey ladies!

During the past month, I’ve answering your questions on making career transitions and discovering what your dream career is. Every Tuesday, I’ve been on Facebook live to answer one of your questions.

Today our topic is all about how to increase your chances of getting hired. We’re talking about after the application. This comes from a question submitted by one of our CCG Network Facebook group, Erin Ford. She asked:

What are steps I can take after applying to a job online? Whether it’s via a job board or the company’s website, what are ways in which I can increase my chances of having my application seen/considered?

Great question! Firstly, I want you to remember that people are extremely busy.

I know this first hand because people are applying to work even at our company and sometimes I can get too busy to even respond. One of our interns, Raven, applied for a position at CCG and had she not followed up I might not have hired her.

We had talked on the phone and she submitted her application when we weren’t as busy. All of a sudden, our business got super swamped for about two to three weeks and I literally could not focus on anything else. I was not going to hire anyone when our business was super so swamped. Every week she continued to follow up with me and send me an email and check-in.

I noticed her in our Facebook group and she’s following us on social media, too! Every time I saw her name pop up, it was another bell of, “She really wants this job, I need to get back to her. I’m super swamped right now, but when things calm down a bit I’m going to reach back out to her and hire her.”

I hope you see how following up can increase your chances of being hired. Along with that, I want to share 4 tips with you that can increase your chances of being hired tenfold.

After the Application: How to Increase Your Chances of Getting Hired

1. Follow Up!

One of the first ways to increase your chances of getting hired is to follow up!

People are busy and you want to make sure that they don’t forget about you. A member of our CCG Network, Ashley Nicole Hammond, actually shared a story about what happened after she submitted her application:

I submitted an application online and the company I applied for said that my application/interest was received and that if my qualities matched what they were looking for that within two weeks they would be in contact with me. A week went by and I didn’t hear anything, so I called to follow up and got an interview this way and interviewed the same week and landed a second interview for the same position right after. This helped me.

Most importantly, don’t just sit back and relax and think you can get the job. Take the initiative to follow up because it shows your passion and excitement. You want them to know that you really want this job. That’s how I hired Raven. She didn’t just give up when I didn’t get back to her. She was always on social media following up, and I knew she was really passionate about the job. That’s what employers are looking for when they hire people.

2. Find The Recruiter or Hiring Manager on LinkedIn

I would highly recommend doing your homework and research and finding the company’s hiring manager on social media. LinkedIn is probably your best choice, but it could even be over Twitter.

Find the person that’s in charge: maybe the name of the person you applied to, the head of the company, whoever! Find them and message them. Tell them you applied and that you really want to work there. Tell them why you’re qualified, and that you would love to tell them more in an interview. Give them your phone number and your availability.

What you need to know is that employers want people who are excited, passionate, and determined to make it happen and make things work. If you’re showing up in all these different places online, the company is definitely going to notice you. Even if there’s a stack of candidates piled high, if you come through on LinkedIn and send a personal message showing your passion, they will move you ahead of the line because you stood out in a different way.

[RELATED: How To Create a Personal Brand That Moves Your Career Forward]

3. Get a Referral Via LinkedIn

If you’ve done the first two strategies already, awesome! Move on to meeting other people who work there. Connect with anyone who works at the company you applied to on LinkedIn. Try going to a networking event where you know employees of that company are at, or find them via LinkedIn groups and message them. You might be able to get a referral now that you’ve submitted your application.

If someone else at the company you applied for goes to HR and says, “Hey, I know this person, they’re great, thumbs up!” they’re definitely gonna move you ahead of the line. An in-house referral can be crucial to getting that job.

4. Use Social Media to Your Advantage

Let’s say I just applied at Nike. I can go to Nike’s Facebook page and write a comment or on their wall and say “Hey, I just applied to your company. I’m so excited to work for you guys! Can’t wait to hear back!”

Show your passion through social media. Wherever you decide to reach out to them, make sure it’s a really good profile and you’re able to demonstrate your skills and experiences on there. For example, when sending a dm on Instagram, make sure your Instagram looks amazing when they come to check it out after getting your DM.

Find their company page on LinkedIn and message them or comment on their profile. Go to Twitter and DM hiring managers, company managers, or the company itself. Tell them you applied and you’re excited.

There are so many things you can do on social media to your advantage! Remember my intern? She showed up everywhere! I saw her over and over again! Even though I was super busy and swamped with work, I saw her comment on all our social media profiles and help other people in our Facebook group. I saw her in all of these different places.

Yes, there are other people checking the accounts, and social media managers are the ones getting the DM, but you just never know. They may tell HR. You may stand out enough that they contact the hiring manager and tell them they need this person on a team because they’re going above and beyond the typical application process. That’s really what you wanna do.

Overall, if you take away anything, notice that all of these strategies have to do with networking.

I’m an introvert and I know networking is hard, but I learned to conquer those barriers. I hope you can conquer those through this plan too