Jobs @ Career Consulting Limited
Return to career-consulting-limited.com
People |
|
|
 |
Your Job Search Is A Marketing Campaign (Part 2)
Here's a continuation of my article from a few months back on how the successful job search is really just a personal marketing campaign. To recap, the same marketing techniques that have sell billions of dollars worth of products and services on TV, in print and via direct mail can also help you find a job. All you have to do is look at the advertisements you see with an eye toward borrowing their best ideas for your job search. Here are three ways to do that, and get hired faster by emulating successful marketing. 1) Define Your Target Market Smart marketers don't try to sell to everyone. Instead, they clearly define their ideal prospects in terms of age, income, hobbies, etc. Then, they create advertisements that appeal to them directly. Example: McDonald's wants to be the #1 choice for children, so they target them by advertising Happy Meals with toys based on popular movies. Result? Kid sees toy on TV, kid pesters parent, parent takes kid to McDonald's. You can do the same with your job search. Define, in as much detail as possible, the kind of work you want to do and the company you want to do it for. Then write your resumes and cover letters to appeal to that target market. Speak the language and say what they want to hear. Leave everything else out. Focusing on a "target market" this way will bring immediate clarity to your search for the perfect job. And it will give you an edge over approximately 80% of other job seekers, who really have no specific idea of what they're looking for. 2) Develop a USP A USP, which stands for unique selling proposition, is at the heart of all successful marketing. Any business that can't answer the question, "What can I get from you that I can't get from your competition?" won't be in business for long. FedEx ("When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight"), Domino's Pizza ("Fresh, hot pizza delivered in 30 minutes, or it's free"), and Avis ("We try harder") all built billion-dollar businesses on a good USP. To develop your USP, answer this simple question: "Why should I hire you and not the other guy?" Simple, yes. Easy, no. But you absolutely, positively can NOT expect busy employers to figure out your unique value. You must do that thinking for them. Avoid trite claims like, "I'm hard-working and trustworthy." That's not unique. (And it could also describe a good hunting dog.) Instead, focus on your unique combination of skills, knowledge and experience. Example USP: "With five years of helpdesk experience supporting 400 users on three sites, I've seen and solved just about every problem imaginable. In college, I completed officer's training as an ROTC student while earning my MIS degree. This gives me a broader range of technical, leadership and problem-solving skills than typical applicants." Here's a fill-in-the-blank statement for you to complete. When you do, you'll have your USP -- "Because of my ________, I can do ________ for you better than typical applicants." 3) Contact Employers Repeatedly It's an old saw in advertising that you must contact prospects at least 7 times before they will buy. Why? Mainly because people are busy, and easily distracted by the hundreds of marketing messages they get every day. It's the same in your job search. Employers are easily distracted by hundreds of resumes and may lose sight of yours. Or they may not understand your true value the first time you contact them. By reaching out and touching employers at least 7 times (unless they tell you to go away), you demonstrate the following: * you are persistent, * you can manage details, * you really, really like them and want to work for them. As a result, you'll gain an edge over other candidates who sit back and wait for the phone to ring. Warning: do not contact employers seven days in a row (that's stalking), or send them the same follow-up letter seven times (that's lazy). Instead, give employers one more reason to hire you with each email, fax, letter or phone call. Examples: you could share a new bit of market research, or a proposed solution to a problem they're having. Be creative and prove you can do the job with each contact. Now, go out and make your own luck! Kevin Donlin is President of Guaranteed Resumes. Since 1996, he and his team have provided resumes, cover letters and online job-search assistance to clients in all 50 states and 23 countries. Kevin has been interviewed by USA Today, CBS MarketWatch, The Wall Street Journal's National Business Employment Weekly, CBS Radio, and many others. As a reader of this publication, you're eligible for a special offer. Get your Free Job Search Kit ($25.00 value) at the Guaranteed Resumes Web site - http://www.gresumes.com
MORE RESOURCES: Careers at Prairie View A&M University Prairie View A&M University National Park Service restores some jobs of fired employees, pledges to hire 7,700 seasonal workers WVTM13 Birmingham Corporate Lowe's 2025 Job Hunting: The Skills That Will Make or Break Your Career and the Fastest Growing Fields Investopedia Careers Baxter Commonwealth Job Fair Governor Tom Wolf Careers at USCIS USCIS Charted: Which Jobs Are Using AI the Most? Visual Capitalist Investigation: Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources lawyer worked second job on state's dime The Columbus Dispatch Careers ontarioca.gov Careers | Home USDA.gov Thousands of federal employees fired from US regulatory and science funding agencies Chemical & Engineering News Employment opportunities Department of Taxation and Finance Jobs City of Rochester (.gov) Store Hourly Job Areas Target Corporate Careers at TWU Texas Woman's University Work at Butler Butler University Jobs and Training at FDA FDA.gov Jobs at Liberty University Liberty News Work at the U.S. Department of Energy Energy.gov Employment | Department of Corrections Governor Tom Wolf Careers at University of Missouri Health Care | University of Missouri Health Care jobs University of Missouri Health Care Careers and Jobs at CRS Catholic Relief Services Work With Us National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Work for the City of St. Louis City of St. Louis Career Opportunities UMHB Work for Us (U.S. National Park Service) National Park Service Careers BASF Career Opportunities Gilead Sciences Healthcare Jobs at Novant Health | Novant Health Novant Health Job Seekers University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Careers Washington State University IOM career gateways International Organization for Migration (IOM) Careers West Virginia Department of Education Careers at FEMA FEMA Jobs and careers | Veterans Affairs Veterans Affairs MTA is hiring for jobs with no education requirements or experience PIX11 New York News Meta slashes 3,600 jobs worldwide, including in the Bay Area KTVU FOX 2 San Francisco Future of Jobs Report 2025: The jobs of the future – and the skills you need to get them World Economic Forum UF Health Careers UF Health - University of Florida Health Student Employment St John's University News Careers CrowdStrike MBA applications bounce back in tougher job market Financial Times Texas Job Openings and Labor Turnover — October 2024 Bureau of Labor Statistics Current opportunities Turner & Townsend Job Opportunities Bellevue School District Careers KPMG Corporate Job Areas - Global Supply Chain & Logistics Target Corporate Work with us | Veterans Affairs Veterans Affairs Careers S&P Global Recorded Video Interviews Target Corporate The Hot Labor Market Has Melted Away. Just Ask New College Grads. The New York Times Explore BCG locations around the world Boston Consulting Group WORK AT LVMH LVMH Careers at Jacobs Jacobs Surging job market could prove costly for households, businesses as odds of quick rate cuts fade The Associated Press Early careers NHS staff increasingly unhappy at work Personnel Today Work with us JPMorgan Chase Department of Public Health City and County of San Francisco Internship Opportunities | BCG Boston Consulting Group Highest-Paying Engineering Careers in 2024 University of North Dakota Careers in A&O Shearman Students and graduates JPMorgan Chase Careers at Discovery Education Discovery Education Careers Turner & Townsend Careers at Sinai Health Sinai Health Employment Opportunities Unity Health Toronto |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Six Factors That Can Cost You the Interview/Job Most job seekers know that an unprofessional appearance will count against them at an interview. Here are six MORE factors that can help you remain in the unemployment line: (1) Being unprepared for the interview. Use Job Search Hacks to Get Hired Faster Job searching alone is like hitchhiking a scary ride with an unknown stranger on a 180-mile long deserted, no-exit road with hopes you'll make your destination. When you lack time or expertise to plan career moves carefully, sometimes the loss of ground is not apparent until years later. Job Search Campaign Tip: An Activity Diary Looking for a job involves a wide range of responsibilities: preparing a resume, looking at ads, contacting employers, calling and visiting friends and acquaintances, follow ups, interviews. While none of us ever plan to be out of work for very long, it can be very useful to immediately start documenting your activities and your feelings to provide a road map of where you have been and where you want to go. Nine Career Zappers Today, everyone is looking for the secret to business success. Professionals read books, take training classes, ask questions, study others that are successful and strive to outperform themselves. Surviving Office Politics It's your first month in a new position and it's rougher going than you'd anticipated. You feel like an outsider and you're miserable. Dealing With How Would You...? Questions I'm always preaching about proper preparation prior to interviews. If you research the position and company carefully, you can anticipate likely questions and prepare excellent answers. Build New Habits -- Payday Will Come -- Feeling that it never works is not a good excuse. You may even remember last year not getting past February. Ten Things To Do If You Really, Really Hate Your Job 1. Begin focusing on what you want instead of how much you want to escape. Free Resume Examples: Use Them, But Dont There are lots of free resume examples (or free resume samples) on the web.Try searching for "free resume example" at Google and take a look at the almost 5 million pages that come back (the less restrictive "resume example" gives you 7 million pages, if you've got more time on your hands). The Perfect Resume The perfect resume presents hiring managers with a four-fold vision of who you are and what you bring to the table: The perfect resume offers Logical Proofs: Facts Quantifiable data Logical conclusions Achievement and success statements Relevant professional goals/accomplishments Limits the use of jargon Maximizes use of occupation/industry-specific key words Your capabilities and skills Clear, specific, measurable, and quantifiable words and phrases Sells you based on your achievements to date The perfect resume offers Your Vision & Creativity: Balanced white space Visually easy to read A resume style and paper consistent with your self-marketing vision Clear big picture of who you are Sells you based on your potential Examples of your creativity relating to your targeted position Your vision of your role and your capacity to contribute The perfect resume offers Sensible Organization: Easy-to-follow resume structure Presents relevant historical information in reverse chronological order Places the most relevant/marketable data early in the resume Omits what cannot be proved Is error-free Is neatly laid-out and word processed Stretches to the appropriate length for someone of your experience (one page for up to 10 years of experience; 2 pages for up to 15 years of experience, and 3 pages for senior-level positions demanding over 15 years of experience) Sells your past The perfect resume offers Your Personality and Values: Stresses your interpersonal/written communication skills Describes your teamwork skills and cites examples of your cross-functionality Highlights your work-related values Showcases your work-related personality Previews who you are Emphasizes your uniqueness Is enjoyable to read Sells who you are Why not review your resume by comparing it with these four critical categories? You may discover why your resume isn't winning you the interview response you'd hoped for with hiring managers.Cheryl Lynch Simpson is a Spiritual Director and Solutions Coach who helps women discover and create the life they've always wanted to live. Become A Personal Trainer Every human body is different and a personal trainer will know exactly how to not just get a human body into proper shape but also shape the body into the desired form. A personal trainer knows that while guys may want to 'bulk up'; a girl might want to slim down. 5 Resume Mistakes Telecommuters Often Make Finding a legit telecommute job can be difficult. Telecommute jobs are in high demand and hundreds if not thousands of other people are competing for the same position. Creating Traffic Jams It's hard to imagine why anyone would pick up a newspaper to find a job any more. With a seemingly endless array of career sites, mailing lists, corporate sites and newsgroups, job seekers have more options online than ever before. What To Do When HR Calls... Generally, when you present yourself as a prospective candidate for a new employment opportunity, your information will filter through the Human Resources department. Since every company has their own hiring process, understand that you cannot always control when HR will call you. Ten Things About Your Career Development There are some tactics you can action whatever you wish for from your career. Whatever you might think right now, you have all the tools you need for a career which give you joy and fulfilment. Traveling for An Interview? 10 Tips to Get You From Here to There You've just been granted an on-site interview in another town. Hurray!This means you'll be traveling to an employer's location so that they can further evaluate you for a specific job position. Factual Employment Screening Part 2 An Employment Screening OutlinePolicy DevelopmentA policy of Factual Employment Screening; Personality Evaluation/testing; and/or Drug Testing should be developed and embedded into the core policy manual rather than exist as a supplement or bulletin policy. This avoids any "after the fact" ramifications, should the policy be challenged under discriminatory theories. The Squirrel Effect An industrious black-tailed ground squirrel has his home beneath a stump not far from my office window. I've been watching him squirrel away provisions for winter. Top 10 Super Job Interview Tips Use these interview tips for job hunting success!It's a tough job market out there today. And gettingthe job you want requires more than just a killerresume. Dazzle Interviewers With Your Achievements Attention Job Seekers: Tasks and Responsibilities are BoooringHo hum. The interviewer sits there drumming her fingers on the desk trying to look interested while you drone on about your duties and responsibilities at your last position.
|
|
|
| © Career Consulting Limited.com 2011
|