Marketing is the essence of all successful businesses and organizations. Without marketing, no matter how good the product or how valuable a service; the business or organization will fail. How does this little marketing lesson apply to you?
In today’s job-hunting jungle, the most successful job-seekers are those who understand the value of marketing. By applying similar principles in a job hunt you gain better expose yourself to valuable companies by demonstrating that you understand basic marketing.
Tip #1: Marketing is not sales. Sales is a small part of marketing but marketing is a product (or service) that says look at me not buy me. Selling yourself in the job market is certainly an important aspect however this article will expose you to the much broader aspects of marketing that get your resume and qualifications seen. Selling is when you are at the interview.
Tip #2: Believe in yourself. Every good salesman knows that you must believe in your product. If you don’t believe in yourself why should anyone else?
Job Hunting Marketing Strategies
MISSION STATEMENT (Career Objective) ~ Develop a mission statement to let employers know what direction your interested in – what are your long-range goals for your career? Through this understanding, employers can see more clearly how your role as a potential company employee can contribute to the further success of the company goals.
MARKETING ANALYSIS (Career & Industry Research) ~ To market yourself to potential employers you need to use marketing techniques used to attract and persuade consumers. But instead of attracting consumers you are attracting Personnel Managers. Marketing includes research so go online and research what the industry or specific company needs are for your chosen career goals. One stone in a solid marketing campaign is to find out what employers want, then setting out to meet their unmet needs and providing it.
STRATEGIES & TACTICS (The Job Hunt Jungle) ~ There are many viable marketing tools available in receiving interview appointments. The trick is to remember that every conversation whether it last twenty seconds or twenty minutes is a marketing moment in introducing yourself as a successful and valuable professional.
Strategies in marketing and widening your network include:
Volunteering
Volunteering not only gains you valuable experience but also is a vastly successful networking opportunity. Almost everyone from the soccer mom/dad to the corporate CEO volunteers at one point or anther. Some volunteer on a regular basis and others volunteer only for special events. But volunteering is a great way to meet your next career opportunity.
Constant Supply of Cover Letters & Resumes
The cover letter is a standard business letter that accompanies a résumé. Carry a cover letters and resumes in your car at all times. Make sure to keep them in a neat plastic portfolio to ensure they don’t become wrinkled. If a conversation turns towards a potential opening to offer a resume, do so. Offer them a cover letter / resume, they may actually give it to their manger.
Business Cards
Carry business cards in your wallet or purse at all times and give them out like Halloween candy. Make sure the name, email address and phone number are correct and they are contact sources you check regularly. In addition, make the business cards simple but effective. Too plain will say your not creative or a forward thinker. Too loud and you could be seen as too aggressive or all glitter and no substance. Each industry has certain stereotypes, follow them enough to be recognized in that industry but break the rules just enough to be remembered.
Use the gift of technology to your advantage. Position yourself in the grownup version of show and tell.
Video Résumés – Visumés
This is a new concept and debate that is an article all on it’s own so I’m just going to explain what it is. According to the 2007 Video Resume Survey, conducted by Vault Inc., 89 percent of employers would watch a video resume if they received it. Yet only 17 percent of those surveyed have even seen one!
Visumés have seen some good times and bad times in it’s initial beginnings and are starting to mature. Basically a visumés is a less than forty second introduction of yourself and a resume to read your resume. Visumés have a lot of potential for success but they also have potential for a career destruction.
Keep in mind that visumés are not meant to be MTV videos – they are meant to be introductions to you and your career. Companies such as VIPE, Inc helps job seekers create successful visumés.
Some people instantly hate the idea of a potential employer judging someone on how they look – not all of us look like we belong on The Apprentice. If that’s the case, consider doing a visumés of your accomplishments or artwork. Be creative but be professional.
Blogs & Social Networking
Don’t promote your personal profiles; make new ones that are strictly for personal networking and demonstration of your skills and abilities. Use blogs to talk about your industry (positives), the trends, the news and what you think or how you would solve particular problems.
DESIRED RESULTS (Examples of Work / Accomplishments) ~ Would you buy a product you have never seen or heard of? Have a list of accomplishments you have had success in. Have companies of your work available online and in a portfolio.
OBSTACLES & OPPORTUNITIES (Teamwork) ~ Explain how your skills and experience will meet and overcome obstacles in the company. Describe your ability to solve problems that are expected and unexpected and how you can turn obstacles into opportunities. Clarify how you value cooperation and commitment of other individuals and place value on networking with other companies and associations outside of the company.
An effective strategic job-hunting plan is industry-based and employer-oriented. It provides a detailed step-by-step tactical approach for acquiring interviews at quality potential employers. The benefits of self-marketing will far outweigh the time needed to set up a good strategic job-hunting plan.
Forget thinking outside the box, think outside the entire corporation.
When Larry Kinsmore lost his job as a database programmer for 15 years he went about the traditional job hunt sending out more than 100 resumes with very little progress. Knowing that everyone knows someone who knows someone that works at a company currently hiring he took the concept to a wearable new level.
Larry Kinsmore created a t-shirt that said “Damn, I need a job,” and listed his qualifications on the back. He did indeed get strange looks but he also got a lot of people smitten with his ingenuity and willingness to do “whatever it takes” to find a job. The idea was so radical he received some local press coverage regarding the t shirts which led to a new job.
Since then, he’s launched a Web site Damn I Need A job where anyone can order a similar T-shirt with his or her individual qualifications, and post jobs or their need for work.
I’m not sure I would use this strategy, but it’s a cute idea and a great marketing idea if you’re an artist or someone with a professional website. The point is to do what other people are not doing or at least not doing as well as you. Conform, and you’re really nothing special.
Posted in Job Hunting Ideas
