How to Market Yourself During A Career Search
When searching for a new career, knowing how to market yourself to potential employers and recruiters can give you an edge over the other applicants. If you don’t know how to stand out from the rest, it could make your search very long and exhausting.
With marketing, there are tons of things you need to know. To help you get started, here are some of the essential things that can help you know how to market yourself.
Know Your Unique Selling Point (USP)
In my book “The Job Book”, I talk about the importance of understanding one’s true attributes and strengths. By having a clear understanding, one should be able to find meaningful job opportunities that fit.
Since you are the product, you have to figure out what your USP is before you start selling yourself. A Unique Selling Point might be the experience you bring to the table or the skills you have gained. Maybe you’ve gone through some type of special training which can make you the best candidate for the job.
Once you know your USP, it needs to be highlighted throughout your resume and interviews. It needs to be the focus of your marketing campaign as you search for a new career.
Understand your Value
When it’s time to start a career search, you shouldn’t think that just because you need a job, any job will do.You need to know your value and settle for nothing less than what you’re worth. There are several online tools you can use to discover the average salary for the type of position you seek.
See Also: 7 Steps On How to Figure Out Your Career
Provide Growth
What you offer to a potential employer today is only a small part of the equation. Often, companies make hiring decisions based on where they think you can go in the next two to five years. If you provide plenty of upside and you’re motivated to advance, you might just land that dream career.
Promote Yourself
A strategic marketing plan often starts with a new product. You need to take a similar approach when searching for a career. You cannot just count on scattering a few resumes through email.
Instead, you need to use various channels to promote your skills and abilities. Making sure your message gets across online is just half the battle. You will also need to make sure it’s received offline, especially if the person you intend to send it to isn’t easy to contact online.
In addition, you need to take care of the details, such as sprucing up your LinkedIn profile, updating the job boards with your resume, and putting yourself out there through recruiting agencies.
You can use LinkedIn and other professional social media sites to network based on your specific expertise. This can be a very powerful way to attract the right employer who can give you the keys to your dream career.
Put Your Marketing Plan Together
Once you have an idea how to market yourself and you’ve created your USP, you will need a few tools to help bring it all together. You need to create an impressive resume/CV, optimize your LinkedIn profile and make sure your cover letter shines. It’s also a good idea to brush up on interview skills and make sure you’re ready to impress.
See Also: 6 Interview Hacks That Are Sure To Land You The Job
