Marketing Your Skills
The first step in marketing yourself effectively is to create a plan. A well-constructed personal marketing plan helps you to avoid wasting time and energy in an unproductive job search. Elements of a personal marketing plan include your contact information, professional objective or summary, competencies and skills, demographics about employers that you are pursuing, and a list of those employers. Providing networking contacts with this information increases their ability to help you because it includes much more information than can be found on your resume.
To create a personal marketing plan, you can begin by placing your name, address, telephone number, and email address at the top of the page. Use the same style for your personal marketing plan that you use with your resume. This helps people easily recognize your documents and creates a consistent image.
List specific competencies required for the positions that you are seeking and then break them down further by adding skills. For example, you might list Management as a competency and coaching, performance management, and group productivity as skills used while managing others. List the details describing your preferred employers. For example you might include the geographic location (such as states or miles from your home), type of industry, size of organizations, etc. Finally, list up to twenty-five organizations that represent your preferred employers.
Once you have created a personal marketing plan you can then use it when you are networking with others. Rather than giving your contacts your resume, consider providing them with your personal marketing plan. Ask them if they know anyone that works at the companies you have listed, meets the demographics you have listed, or if they have ideas about other places where you could apply your competencies and skills. Have your resume ready in case they ask for it. This is VMI networking with an emphasis on sharing information rather than asking for a job opportunity.
Your personal marketing is most effective when the message is consistent. To deliver a consistent message it is important to plan what you're going to say and to rehearse it so it becomes natural. The three main tools for verbal marketing are: a 2-minute speech, exit statement, and accomplishment stories. 2-Minute Speech Prepare a 1-2 minute summary statement that answers the question "Tell me about yourself". It should begin by stating your profession and then focus on the expertise needed by the person in the role, the types of organization and environments where you've worked, articulate your unique strengths, where you'd like to work, and end with a request for contacts.
I am an information technology manager focusing on the application of technology in the areas of accounting, marketing, and sales. My field of expertise is diverse. I have worked in firms ranging from Fortune 500 companies to small non-profits. My strengths include data administration, strategic planning, system development and design necessary for increasing organizational efficiency and effectiveness. I am now seeking opportunities in organizations within these demographics... Do you know anyone that works in these companies?
You will have the opportunity to use various versions of your 2-minute speech in networking conversations, informational interviews, and job interviews. It is important to modify the statement so that it best positions you for employment while keeping a consistent message about yourself in the job market.
An exit statement informs the listener about where you've been and where you're headed. It answers the question during an interview about why you're looking for a new job. An effective exit statement is brief, non-defensive and positive. Your goal in the Exit Statement is to explain why you are looking for work and to put to rest concerns the listener might have about you. Although you want your statement to be true, there is no need to share every detail. Keep your statement brief, positive, simple, and credible.
The recent reorganization of ABC Company has provided me with the opportunity to explore some new career options. I am currently exploring opportunities that will take full advantage of the challenges I faced at VMI and my experience in business administration. I know that my 10 years of management experience in Fortune 500 companies will be a great asset to prospective employers.
Accomplishment stories use previous accomplishments to illustrate skills put into action. They back up the bullets on your resume and inform the listener about the unique strengths that you can bring to your next employer.
Great accomplishment statements capture the actions you took and the results you achieved and include the following items and make you look like a "STAR": - S cope of the task you set out to accomplish (SETTING)
- T ask or goal of your work
- A ctions you took
- R esults you produced for the company
You will use your accomplishments in at least three places: the resume, marketing letters and face-to-face meetings. Make sure you have at least one accomplishment story for every bullet on your resume as well as for the key expectations of your desired role.
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