Simple Ways to Increase Your Chances of Securing Any Job The only way to get ahead is by playing it smart and understanding other people's perspectives.
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The job market today is arguably more competitive than ever before, despite the fact that the Indian economy is booming and the middle class is expanding at historical levels. There are several reasons for this abject atmosphere of competitiveness, but perhaps the most obvious is the relatively few well-paying jobs in proportion to the sheer number of new graduates each year. Securing good marks, winning a lot of competitions and being exceptional at your internships will only get you so far, because there will always be people out there who are every bit as competent and hardworking as you are. This is why getting an edge over your rivals, no matter how small can make all the difference; and that involves making the recruiter's job as easy as possible.
As difficult and stressful the recruitment process is to candidates, it's even more so for recruiters because hiring and incompetent, malicious, or criminal person can cause innumerable financial and reputational repercussions to their organisations. Up to 50% of all job applicants have confessed to lying on their resumes, and several seemingly legitimate companies and universities have been caught providing candidates with fake certificates in exchange for money. In this atmosphere of suspicion and fraud, background checks are the thin blue line that assures a company of quality recruits.
The background verification process is reactive rather than proactive, and this detail is the key to increasing your chances at securing a good job.
Proactively, and voluntarily having your credentials, i.e. identity, address, educational qualifications, work history, and criminal record properly accessed by an established BCG (background check) firm, securing character references from as credible a source as possible i.e. university deans, professors, and senior management at your previous organisation. Ensure that you provide the right details of these references and let them know that you are citing them as references. The sum total of these actions will assure recruiters that not only are you a clean applicant, but have a strong initiative that would greatly benefit their organisation.
Filtering out social media to remove content which could harm their job prospects or any information that may go against company policies/ideologies are just some of the additional steps one needs to take.
Procuring a credit report is equally as important and includes a person's credit history with detailed information of their credit accounts and loans, bankruptcies, and late payments, apart from their personal information. Income tax returns and bank statements are just some of the additional documents that can be requested on top of the appointment letter and salary slips.
A simpler option is to pre-verify your resume and make it accessible to the employer with the certified documents and verified details, giving you an edge over the hundreds of other candidates. In a better safe than sorry scenario, students benefit from running a test background check (to understand which areas might be troublesome for them) or have themselves pre-verified through services.
The world is a tough and competitive space; the only way to get ahead is by playing it smart and understanding other people's perspectives. By getting into the psyche of a recruiter, and making their job easier by giving them exactly what they want, you will tip the scales of success in your favour.
