You: The Product
This article is specifically written for my out-of-work friends. If you’re pleasantly employed without a care in the world, good for you – be grateful every day – but right now I’m talking to those far less fortunate.
If you’re trying to land the right job (or for the time being you’re trying to land any job) it might help you to find a new perspective on the search. You might consider the search to be a sales and marketing presentation.
You = Product
Get your mindset straight from the very beginning. You are a product, and as in any competitive environment you need to look good for the prospective buyer (employer). So consider from the start what that buyer/employer is looking for? If the search is for a sales position, the buyer/employer will be looking for positive energy, assertiveness, drive, and goal clarity. Do you show these things? Are you attractive to a shopper?
Prospective Employer = Shopper
Like any prospect on a shopping mission, the basis for that mission will be a need. Taking care of that need will come at a cost. Will the value that you bring exceed the cost? If you cannot prove that in the interview you’ll never get hired.
Securing Interviews = Marketing
Effective marketing is about repeated and targeted exposure. It’s about standing out and being memorable. It’s about staying the forefront of a prospective employer’s mind. Do something bold and interesting! Stay in touch. Close (hard!) on just one interview. If you don’t ask, you don’t get. Forget it if you think you can just e-mail a resume and call it quits. These days that strategy is as week as trying to sell your home through a 2-line classified add.
Interview = Sales Presentation
Here you’ve got to stand out, and you do that with your positive energy more than anything else. Walk into that interview with a smile on your face, and then be prepared to share the value in this outstanding product. Most importantly, CLOSE all along the way!
It’s not a job search; it’s a sales presentation. Stay positive and apply your efforts with that perspective. Seek to change your “prospect’s” world, and you’ll change your own at the same time!
