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When you’re pursuing the next rung on the career ladder and want to shine as the ideal candidate, you need to meet two big criteria: Credibility and likability.
Credibility is about proving you can do the job by drawing on details from your previous experience, along with portfolio samples and recommendations from others, to lend credence to your claims. Being credible makes you relevant. It’s essential for landing a spot on the shortlist of candidates to be considered to fill the position. These credibility elements are the table stakes that get you in the game. Without them, you won’t be able to stay in the running.
But there are likely other applicants who also have the necessary proof that they can tick the boxes next to all those minimum eligibility requirements. So you need something that will help you become even more convincing. That’s where likability comes in. The likability elements are your emotional brand attributes—the things that make you compelling and help you connect on a human level with others. These likability elements can differentiate you from other qualified candidates and tip the scales in favor of you.
Today, there’s one trait that lets you showcase credibility and likeability at the same time, and this trait is showing up more regularly as a non-negotiable: Digital fluency.
Whether the role you seek is market research director or accounts payable administrator, being tech savvy is a credibility element you can’t avoid. If you’re tech phobic or don’t mention your tech skills and interests, you may not make it to the shortlist. At the same time, it’s requires developing a skill set that many people find challenging, or at least intimidating, so if you can be the one who is not only digitally fluent but is also willing to cheerfully share that knowledge with less-fluent co-workers, your likeability quotient soars. Companies clearly value digital fluency: they’re spending billions to increase their people’s digital acumen. The largest global professionals services firm, PwC, is spending billions to get their people digitally fit to “futureproof its workforce against emerging digital needs.”
Besides touting all the digital skills you possess, what can you do to demonstrate your digital acumen? Here are six ways.
Master the tools your company currently uses
Many of the common tools we use (especially Gmail, Calendly, Evernote, Slack and Zoom) have countless helpful features that very few people even know exist. Becoming digitally fit doesn’t have to mean learning new tech tools. In fact, it may be more valuable to become the expert on the tools your company is already using. Devote time each week to becoming a master of the little-known, time-saving features of your company’s core tech platforms.
Use QR codes
Create a custom QR code that links to your LinkedIn profile and add it to your business cards and hard copies of your resume or other printed correspondence. When you’re attending face-to-face events with flyers or brochures, add a QR code that links to relevant pages. If you’re giving a presentation, add a QR code to your slides to direct people to content and resources. This simple tool that was developed back in 1994 made a big comeback thanks to Covid, when people were concerned about keeping their hands (and therefore germs) away from menus and other printed handouts. Think about how you can use QR codes to add value and demonstrate that you’re innovating. Just remember that it doesn’t make sense to use QR codes in digital messages such as social posts or even email; those should feature clickable links, not QR codes, because social media posts and email are often already being accessed on a phone.
Highlight your commitment
Show that you are proactively pursing tech by calling out the courses you have taken and, most importantly, how you have applied what you learned, in addition to the results that were achieved. Haven’t upped your digital skills in a while? There are hundreds of courses at LinkedIn and Udemy.
One-up your tech platforms
If you’re using Zoom, Google Meet or MS Teams for meetings, add extensions that help your meetings stand out. Tools like mmhmm and Prezi can make a boring meeting exciting, and it likely works with your current meeting platform. Using advanced tech tools during job interviews will help you stand out and demonstrate your tech savvy without your having to say a word.
Use Zoom correctly
Your first interview is likely going to be online via Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams or Cisco Webex. Don’t show up online with rusty skills. Not only does it dilute your message, it sends the message that you haven’t mastered meeting tech. Get the basics right and rehearse the more advanced bells and whistles. Know where to look, ensure crisp audio, get the lighting right, use a background image that reinforces your brand, share your screen to be able to highlight your proof/credibility documents, and drop helpful links in the chat.
Innovate one activity
Take a look at what you do each week and ask yourself, “What one activity, system or process could benefit from a tech upgrade?” Then commit to the required learning and development to make a meaningful impact on your organization through the strategic use of tech.
These subtle yet important actions will help you stand out from others and demonstrate that you embrace tech innovation while also delivering credibility and likeability throughout the interview or promotion process.
William Arruda is a keynote speaker, co-founder of CareerBlast.TV and co-creator of the Personal Brand Power Audit – a complimentary quiz that helps you measure the strength of personal brand.
