16 Ways to Get an Employer's Attention

By
Debra Feldman '72NRS, '74PH
February 20, 2020

Alumna Debra Feldman, a member of the Columbia Career Coaches Network and an expert on the job search process, shares her recommendations to get an employer's attention.


To attract hiring decision-makers’ attention, focus professional communications on topics that meet their needs and satisfy their expectations. Your goal is to make a positive impression that will generate interest, promote meaningful conversations, and initiate and develop relationships. Grab attention with a "Wow!" while demonstrating you are authentic and trustworthy. By posting, commenting, and sharing on a regular basis and focusing on topics, you establish yourself as a go-to, first-choice resource and an expert worth reading, knowing, and communicating with.

Place your online content strategically choosing where your desired connections spend their time online. With patience and persistence, you will create a respected presence online and develop the potential to attract connections, be recommended, and receive referrals that are relevant to your career progression.

There are examples of how you can demonstrate your knowledge and skills using social media to attract the connections you want and promote your personal brand.

1.) Give a presentation at an industry conference.

2.) Publish in trade organization blogs, newsletters, websites, etc.

3.) Be recognized for winning an award or contributing.

4.) Volunteer for a cause favored by the hiring authority.

5.) Attend the same event as the hiring authority and introduce yourself.

6.) Get to know and communicate on a regular basis with someone the hiring authority knows, likes and trusts.

7.) Prepare and send a DM with a Value Validation Deck which proves your ability to resolve the hiring authority’s challenges.

8.) Upload a review on a book the hiring authority is likely to be interested in.

9.) Regularly (at least once/week or more often) post an update on LinkedIn.

10.) Write an original article on LinkedIn on a monthly basis.

11.) Upload files with original content demonstrating your knowledge, skills, and expertise: presentations, slide decks, original charts, and graphics and post an update to call attention to your accomplishments.

12.) Ask a mutual connection and other contacts who admire your talent to link to #11 or other items above to boost visibility among their connections, followers, and colleagues. 

13.) Join a board of directors that the hiring manager or their close associates belong to and attend the same Board sessions, comment on group correspondence, etc.

14.) Create and cultivate a professional social media presence that demonstrates your expertise and impresses hiring managers with your insights. This starts with a comprehensive LinkedIn profile.

15.) When you introduce yourself, find out something about the person and follow-up with a useful link to an article or a note that demonstrates you were listening!

16) Regularly respond to posts and updates on LinkedIn.

This article originally appeared on JobWhiz.com. Image courtesy of Debra Feldman.

Debra Feldman '72NRS, '74PH, known as JobWhiz, is an international executive talent agent and job search consultant. She researches and identifies the most efficient, effective job search strategy to focus your campaign on generating unadvertised leads in the hidden job market. Approaching your search as a marketing project, she collects extensive data about your capabilities and surveys the market to find potential opportunities that best match your, and employers' expectations, to land your dream role. After expertly positioning you to attract the appropriate hiring decision-makers who will fully appreciate your potential value, Feldman arranges one-on-one meetings between you and the right contacts in senior management, owners, investors, and board members to expedite the selection process while simultaneously establishing lifetime career insurance -- the relationships you need to gain access to future opportunities as a member of the inner circle.

Learn more about Feldman and view the full list of Columbia Career Coaches Network members.