When it comes to trying to landing your first job fresh out of graduate school, you must surpass plenty of competition and meet some rather high standards. Companies are interested in individuals who display unique perspectives and skills – something that sets them apart from everyone else. You can demonstrate excellence to prospective employers by showcasing the following characteristics.

Adaptability:

Adaptability refers to your response to change and your propensity for looking into the future. You are a capable leader that is prepared to construct and implement detailed strategic plans designed to grow business despite challenging economic times. During your interview, describe a time in your life when you successfully facilitated a significant change. Perhaps, as a high school student working a summer job delivering newspapers, you created a standard procedure for a complex paper route that ensured timely delivery, every day. Explain the value of this asset and provide a scenario that illustrates how your adaptability will be useful in the firm.

Intuition:

Teamwork is a vital component of most operations. The ability to intuit others’ feelings and attitudes will help you interact as harmoniously with them as possible. Communicate your sensitivity and insight to interviewers by highlighting how you work with others – particularly in terms of conflict resolution. Participation in athletics and different clubs, or doing volunteer work, are ideal examples. For instance, mention an incident in which an acquaintance agreed to go to a sporting event with friends, but did so without much enthusiasm and after attempting to offer excuses for being unable to go. Explain how you intervened and suggested doing something else you thought might be more favorable – much to your acquaintance’s delight.

Crisis Management:

Competency in times of crises is an invaluable resource. Show up to an interview with plenty of scenarios in mind of crises you have navigated and resolved. The more details, the better. Think about a possible incident in which a friend was badly injured in a car accident. Explain how you called for help, soothed your friend, made sure no one else was hurt, and gave a detailed police report. For an even better impression, list the ways you manage your own stress. This may include exercise, deep breathing, and eating well. Maybe you had to conscientiously take slow, deliberate breaths while on the scene of the car accident, and needed ample time in the subsequent weeks to meditate, since your ability to concentrate was affected by the experience

Enterprise:

This refers to your ability to work independently, as well as your knowledge of business dynamics. Overall, you must be able to prioritize tasks, be creative, identify niche markets, manage time, and maintain commercial awareness. Your use of effective negotiation and subtle persuasion should shine during an interview; the act of securing a job is a business endeavor. You must sell your strengths and value without being too forceful or generic. It requires careful strategic planning.

If you are trying to land your dream job, remember that there will be countless other candidates vying for the same position. They will have the same education and qualifications as you. Their resumes may even be more impressive. To stand out in the crowd, you should not only be in tune with your intuition, crisis management skills, enterprise, and adaptability. You should be able to demonstrate your excellence in these areas.