How To Get Hired When Nobody Is Hiring

I'm often asked,

"How do I get hired when nobody is hiring?"

I cannot get you hired, but I can tell you how you can stand out among the crowds we see.

Every week, we comb through a growing number of resumes, usually of highly qualified people. What catches an employer's eye?

Over the coming weeks, we will share a number of ideas. Here's one to start:

Have a plan, and an open hand

When a candidate shows an employer that they are living and working with a purpose, that sticks. When people come to the table with a keen self awareness, a knowledge of how God has wired them and what He wants them to do, it separates them from the ordinary resume in a stack. Do you know your purpose? Can you state it well (without sounding proud)?

At the same time, most great churches are growing quickly and changing on a daily basis. That makes flexibility paramount. Some of the best leaders I see are people who can do whatever is needed. It's almost like "agility" ought to be on the spiritual gift list.

Preston Mitchell (on our team) is a great example. He was at Fellowship Church (Grapevine, TX) before anyone, even before Ed Young came to be the Pastor. Then he served the church in nearly every leadership capacity imaginable as it grew from 30 families to over 20,000 weekly attenders. He's run students, been the Executive Pastor, and everything in between. Unusually valuable people are able to show value in a number of different roles.

Unusually valuable people are able to show value in a number of different roles.

Here's a practical application of "having a plan, and an open hand."

There's some old advice out there that says your resume should lead with a stated objective. I find this to be good advice, when it's held loosely. If you state too tight an objective, you may not get noticed at all. If you state it too loosely, it won't register.

A little too specific:

"Objective: To lead a multi-ethnic, Spirit filled, Reformed, SBC church in Southern Ohio, preferably the western side, of 1250-1400 attenders."

A little too loose:

"Objective: To pursue God."

If you hit the middle, stating purpose while showing flexibility, then you've caught my eye. More importantly, you've allowed our research team to enter you into our systematic database in a way that you hit our radar. Here's a great example from a resume:

"Objective: To use my experience building and leading teams to help a church move to a new level of effectiveness"

Believe it or not, that's not too loose. Your resume will show me if the teams you've built are in student ministry, children's ministry, etc.

That's just one example, but the idea should be pretty simply grasped. Have a plan. Have an open hand.

It will get you noticed in a time when getting noticed is harder than ever.