How To Land The Job: How British Vogue & Charlie XCX Can Help You Get The (Professional) Bag During The Job Hunt

Image courtesy of British Vogue.

I never thought there would be a time after 2020 when the term "viral" was associated with anything positive. When I started this blog, "viral" referred to COVID-19 and uncertainty. Our culture faced a crossroads. While we emerged in a post-pandemic world, viral and virality are the key performance indicators for communication efforts. Every C-suite official saunters into a marketing department needing their digital presence to go "viral." Companies want to infect the population with their messaging, brand ethos, and product/service in a 30-to-90-second timeframe.

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To work in the communications realm, I developed a new appreciation for performers. Sometimes, marketers need to bend over backward like a Circus Soliel gymnast. Other times, a communications professional mirrors an early 2000s reality television contestant trying to make their mark on the zeitgeist. But more often than not, the residential social media savant feels like a perpetual auditioning actor, waiting for the one-in-a-million chance to end up in a Grey's Anatomy-like role (the high impact- highly public-facing dream role with great pay and job security).

Image courtesy of Mark LoMoglio.

I perpetually see one trend on my social media platforms: a soundbite from British Vogue's What In My Bag, starring Charlie XCX.TikTok and Instagram users hope to achieve virality by showing what is in their bags, tagging all their products, and promoting their #aesthetic. They hope to be the one in a million who get a certain amount of likes and shares to reach the macro-influencer level (over 10,000 followers). It is also the same feeling many job seekers relate to as they try to find a job.

Image courtesy of Sony Pictures.

If you go onto LinkedIn, you will probably see a sea of green banners on people's profile pictures. The banner says "Open To Work." While there are benefits and drawbacks to showcasing the green banner, the job seeker probably feels mixed emotions when they have to post it—the potential future employee of the month wants recruiters and companies to know they are open to new opportunities while feeling the green banner acts as an almost scarlet letter. When you visit other online job boards, you know that the odds of you getting the job are similar to your video going viral. So, what do you do? Do you still use the viral soundbite? Moreover, how can you showcase to British Vogue (your potential employee) that you are indeed a Charlie XCX (good candidate) and confidently say: Hi British Vogue, I'm Charli XCX, and this is what's in my (professional) bag (skills)?

Image courtesy of Marc Jacobs.

Hi, British Vogue, Here is What's In My (Professional) Bag

Experience

Image courtesy of British Vogue.

When you read a job listing, job seekers feel like Alan Turing decoding the following:

1. Is this job posted meant for someone already, and they are just posting it for legal reasons?

2. How does this company define experience?

3. Why is this job open?

4. What is the company culture, and would I be a good fit?

Image courtesy of Central Globo de Produção.

So, I have both good news and bad news. The bad news is you will never really know what a job or company culture is until you are in a role for more than ninety days. After ninety days, you will have moved on from the honeymoon to understanding the strengths and challenges of the work environment. The good news is you can discern if the job is worth investing your time and energy in by scheduling info chats. An info-chat is typically a 30-minute conversation where the job seeker asks about the current employee's professional journey, the average day-in-the-life, and personality fits. If you are an extrovert and the role you are interested in works in silence from 9-5, that place might not be a great fit for you.

Image courtesy of Alfredo Flores.

Skills

As someone who has been out of school for a few years, I want to tell you a secret. You can learn anything. You might not be a master at it, but if you focus and consistently try, you can reach a level of competency. When entering a new professional environment, your supervisor and/or department might like tasks done in a specific way. A job requires proficiency, not mastery. You will never be the best at a job because the world constantly changes. If you want to showcase your skills, it's equally important to show that you can admit you don't know everything and continuously work towards a greater understanding.

Gif Courtesy of Wix

Education

Instead of discussing what you study or where you went to school, the most important part of your education is the alumni network. I am lucky I went to two big public schools: The University of Central Florida and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. These schools have expansive alumni networks, and if you find a role at a company, chances are there will either be a UCF or UNC grad working there or someone is connected to someone I know.

Gif courtesy of Wix.