How to Market Yourself in a Tough Economic Climate?
Companies are inundated with CV's on a daily basis, how easy do you think it is to get through the screening process? There is no doubt that these days it's getting even harder than before. One of the best skills you can learn is how to market yourself.....
Marketing yourself will get you a lot further and a lot faster. When you go for a job you are marketing yourself but you are also selling the most difficult product to sell - you, that's why getting a job is so tough. It's actually much easier marketing products and services to people who want your products and services than it is to get a job. Because there are so many people out there looking at the same jobs and opportunities, you have to outsell the other person. You have to equip yourself with the best strategy, the best preparation and skills required to market you as the product, demonstrating clear benefits to the prospective employer. Remember you are the product/service that needs to convince people to buy!!
SWOT Analysis on yourself
This is an important first step, just like you were going to plan a new product/service to the market you will need to understand various factors. Without doing this due-diligence in the first place I am sure you will fail to penetrate the market successfully. You need to sit down and consider the following:
* What are your talents? (features of a product)
* What benefits will you bring to your new employer? (Benefits of the product)
* What is your focus?
* Where would you like to be in 2, 5 and 10 years time?
* What are your weaknesses? How will this impact your effectiveness?
How can you turn these into positives?
Develop a Strategy
This is very important; again you would not launch a product and/or new service without developing a strategy. From your point of view you need to sit down and be clear on what it is you're looking for, you're areas of flexibility and your dream job!
How can I develop a strategy? You should look at the market, are you interested in competitors? Who are they? Do you know the type of company you are looking to join? The type of sector? The culture? These all need to be considered.
You need to decide which potential agencies to engage with, don't just engage with everyone. Pick suppliers who are targeted to specific markets and have a real knowledge of their sector. Research job boards, make sure you understand which ones offer the most opportunities with your skills and look into networking sites. This is a great way to make connections with hiring managers/companies directly (http://www.linkedin.com , http://www.xing.com & http://www.ecademy.com are my favourites.)
The Basics: But forget them at your peril!!
Make sure you're CV is 100% accurate in terms of spelling, grammar and punctuation. This is the first way you can turn off a prospective customer. Would you buy a product that looked faulty or the packaging was messy/information was spelt wrong or inaccurate - I doubt it!
Make sure you have your CV proof read by others, the layout is impeccable, to the point and contains killer content that stands out. Not just I did this, I did that etc etc. You need to make sure it demonstrates real value throughout, like a brochure that would tempt someone to buy a product / service.
What you can do in your current job to help
Make sure that you constantly have a focus and plan as to where you want to go and be. Then you can align your skills towards that route, if you are looking to move in different directions look into training, self development and qualifications. Additional extra's to your profile will always help your CV and find out what your customers (potential employer) actually want to see on a CV.
Remember, when you have products and services that people want, marketing to them is easy, it will also mean you will then have more people coming to you as your skills will be in demand.
Be-Proactive
This is key to marketing yourself, as above you can help yourself get found but combine this with a pro-active approach and you will get where you want to go so much faster. Make connections on the job currently (you never know where you're boss will end up), facilitate the networking sites, research who you want to work for and go out there and get them. Don't rely on agencies and don't blame them if you don't get where you want to go - THIS IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY! Agencies can help you and use them as a tool, but make sure you act yourself. Remember a multi-communication approach is far more effective than relying on one avenue.
The Sales Stage
So you have got several interviews lined up - you have managed to market yourself successfully to this point and know you're really embarking on the crunch stage which will be the interview. This is getting you close closing the sale.
To prepare for this make sure you do the following:
* Thoroughly research your audience (company & individuals)
* Practice interviewing with members of the family, friends and/or a professional interviewer
* Read interview techniques & prospective questions, have all the answers in your head for any eventuality
* Make sure you are immaculately presented
* Remember to focus on your impact / initial impression - people form opinions of others within the first 10 seconds of meeting
* Remember to talk clearly, succinctly, to the point and with examples (your features and benefits)
* Build rapport and smile - this can go a long way
Hopefully all of the above has given you a useful insight into how you can market yourself to be successful in this tough economic climate - to stand out of the crowd you need to market yourself effectively. Without doing this you as a product / service may be left on the scrapheap.
Edwin Abl is a Director of Consegna UK which is a leading recruitment consultancy specialising in jobs in Management Consulting and the Technology sectors.
Related Articles:
Investing & Online Stock & Share Trading- The Stock & Share Markets are Booming But Be Warned
I had the pleasure of being invited on a friend's yacht to sail in a race on Sydney Harbour yesterday. On board, as one of our motley crew, I met a top ranking corporate executive from one of Australia's largest banks, who we'll call 'Phil' here for the purpose of this article.
The Swiss Finance Academy and its Swiss Finance Institute Investment Banking Bootcamps Celebrate 4th Anniversary
Swiss Finance Academy Celebrates 4th Anniversary. The Academy continues to attract talented students to its investment banking, trading, financial modeling and hedge fund training programs.
Financing a Car with a Home Equity Loan - LendingTree.com Shares the Facts
Car dealerships are constantly trumpeting their "zero-percent" financing deals. While these may sound attractive, these deals are sometimes too good to be true. Those in the market for a new car might want to consider a different form of financing for their purchase: a home equity loan or home equity line of credit (HELOC). Often used to pay for home renovations, this tool is also sometimes a good fit for car financing.
Business Finance and Business Loans Versus Residential Loans
More residential real estate investors are exploring commercial real estate and business loan alternatives as a result of the increasingly chaotic investment environment for residential financing. In these circumstances prospective commercial property owners, business investors and business owners should educate themselves about choices for the business opportunity financing and commercial loan climate that currently prevails throughout the United States.
Online Investing & Stock & Share Trading: 4 Reasons Why Most Online Investors & Traders Go Broke
Are you attracted to the idea of being in control of your financial future, but confused about how to start investing in the stock or share market, while avoiding costly mistakes?Or maybe you're disappointed with your performance so far?Does it sometimes feel like every time you take the plunge and buy into the market, the price goes down?That's understandable..
Investing & Online Stock & Share Trading: Money & Risk Management - Atkinson Portfolio Planner (1)
This article was originally featured in Daryl Guppy's 'Tutorials in Applied Technical Analysis', voted no 1 trading newsletter in Australia by Shares magazine & no 4 in the world by US Stocks & Commodities magazine and is reprinted here with Daryl's permission.In addition to developing sound technical analysis skills, strong trading psychology coupled with well thought-out money and risk management are also vital key secrets for success when trading or investing in the market.
Finance Investing - Invest In Forex Trading Now!
Finance investing through forex trading is one of the largest money making markets in the world A little known fact is that forex aka forex currency trading accounts for over 2 TRILLION dollars traded a day across the market
Online Investing & Online Stock & Share Trading: Difficulty in Taking Stop Losses in the Market
This is an extract of an article which was first printed in Daryl Guppy's Newsletter Tutorials in Applied Technical Analysis on 26 March 2005 and is reprinted here with his permissionA stop loss is a predetermined exit point. When a trade is first planned, the stop loss is designed to protect the trader's capital.
SNL Financial's Bank Deposit Market Share Ranking Shows Bank of America as No. 1
JP Morgan Chase retains hold on second, while Wachovia bests Wells Fargo.
Getting Financing From Banks For Real Estate Investing
People investing in real estate look for capital providers, who will offer the level of capital they need as well as the rate, term, pricing, closing time frame, exit and prepayment options, and recourse provisions. These must suit their individual needs, as well as any value added features on the offer. Choose a capital provider with whom the individual can develop a good, long lasting, working relationship as well as providing the broadest access to the much-needed capital. Those who are experts in dealing with real estate investments are ideal capital providers. There are direct, indirect, and hybrid lenders that provide capital to real estate investors. Banks are direct lenders.
Trading And Investing In Stocks And Shares - An Introduction
There is a lot of money to be made from stocks and shares but the only hitch is nobody knows a sure fire way of a method. Let us now see some of the basics of stocks and shares. You can earn money in two ways by investing in stocks and shares. One is trading and the other is investing.
CabinetLiquidators.com Offers Interest-Free Financing Through GE Money Bank
CabinetLiquidators.com is proud to offer interest-free financing through Home Design Plus, a credit service of GE Money Bank. This program is available for purchases of $500.00 or more and includes no money down and no payments or accrued interest for 12 months.
Bank On It: Places to Hide and Invest Money
Today I passed a thermometer at a bank that read 110 degrees, but I am not telling you that to show you how hot it was. I am telling you that because this bank really needs to fix their thermometer.
International Finance Bank Invests in Restoring Joy in the Lives of Foster Kids
Company President and Employees set aside day to create safe, fun environment for His House Children's Home.