Take A Chance On Me!

Illustration by MyNameIsRene

Remember that old ABBA song "Take a Chance on Me"? 

The chorus went something like "If you change your mind, I'm the first in line; Honey I'm still free take a chance on me."

These days you can picture hiring managers at various companies say "he's low risk" or "she's a safe pick" while discussing the merits of candidates. 

I don't think this is a reaction to the economy.  I don't think companies decided to play things safe in the last six months.  Let's face it, companies tend to be a bit conservative.
 
Historically, most companies have always wanted to hire "round peg, round hole" candidates.

So does this mean you can't be a career changer?  Heck no.  It's just means you have to work harder.  It means you have to WANT the job more than the other candidates.  You demonstrate this by being more prepared than everyone else, by doing more research than everyone else, by asking better questions than everyone else, by quickly following-up with well-crafted thank you notes and finally... by DEFINING YOUR VALUE PROPOSITION!
It isn't enough to talk about your transferable skills.  You have to demonstrate how you would leverage them.

Ideally, you want to come up with a few key messages, such as:

•    I'm interviewing for the same position at two of your competitors in this market
•    If you hire me, I'll be the only person on your team with (specialized skill)
•    In my last position I was successful in implementing a (program, system, etc.) which mirrors your needs
•    I really want to join your team because I believe in your mission of (...) and know I would thrive in your culture of (...)

Remember, this is all about sales.  If you want a company to "Take a Chance on You" you need to convince them it is very low risk.  Got it?