How to Market Yourself as a Job Candidate

‘Market Yourself!’ In other words, self-promotion may be a discomforting factor for many of you. Marketing yourself is all the more important in a job market because, for one job posted, number of candidates applying is too high. The job seekers may be attending a lot of job interviews without getting hired, on the other hand, some may not even be getting interview calls. With this kind of competition around, it makes it clear that it is imperative to sell yourself.

So, think like a marketer and do not feel shy or modest, and go past that feeling of discomfort. Develop a marketing plan. Assess your strengths and, strengthen your performance throughout the application process, and cultivate your brand. Figure out what makes you stand out of the crowd because an interviewer wants you to communicate what makes you notable from other candidates.

Approach it as a promotion challenge, which again can be a struggle when it comes to the application of this knowledge. Knowing what roles are in demand to having right skills, experience and presenting yourself as a professional to get noticed are few important things to do to secure a job. An interview is another employment to position yourself right.

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Set an Objective

Like a marketing campaign has an objective, set an objective of what your ideal job role is. One may like to consider many factors while deciding upon this goal. How much do you weigh work-life balance on a scale, recognize what skills and experience you want as a part of your role, what kind of work culture do you fit in more; are a few questions that help you arrive at the objective. In your job search, with each decision you make, you come closer to your objective.

Start As Early As Possible

It is good to start as early as possible. This headway can be made even when studying at university. The education institutes provide a lot of opportunities in the form of events and campus interviews. Get in touch with industry experts and like-minded students and get a real world experience.

They may be able to give you right directions for various job openings, conferences, etc. Pick faces from the crowd during these events and strike a conversation with them to find your small network of people. Communicate your strengths and make your conversations memorable in a persuasive way. This way you start setting up your brand.

Perform a SWOT Analysis

Like most marketing teams that perform a SWOT analysis to know what differentiates them and to set aside the roadblocks of the process; it is a good idea to perform a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis about you. Having a SWOT analysis will protect one from the competition and prepare for the threats.

Work on your strengths and showcase them when necessary. Opportunities and threats being external factors also need to be strategically worked upon. To grab the opportunities, try to acquire the skills the job role demands. When anticipating your threats which can be in form of a super competitive field or lack of advanced skills, communicate that smartly to the interviewer and prepare a description.

So, when you are well informed of the next steps, you will have a clear path to what things you may need to do to stand out in the crowd.

Build Your Brand

Branding is an effective marketing term that holds true and valid when you want to present yourself for a job position. To build your brand is to develop a broader image for you in order to help you win that desired job. Work around your strengths, experiences, and skills to make a structure for your personal brand.

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Once having decided what skills you can use to single out from others, tailor it as your USP. Prove yourself using facts and figures as the recruiters love to see them in applications. It is a source of building trust in what you have to offer. Any matches in the job description must be highlighted in the application and interview. Create your own content to platform your knowledge.

Social media is one central method to brand you. Sharing articles and industry events you have been a part of will represent your value of thoughts. Having a website of your own, your reputation among industry peers or a compelling portfolio contributes positively to the job search.

Prepare a Target List of Employers

Identifying, who can be a potential employer based on your background, skill sets, goals, and values. Prepare a list of such companies to target them as your market. Research about them and understand in depth, how you fit in their setting. Make use of job description and person specification to clarify how your role will benefit the company.

Presentation

Presentation is essential because it directly reflects the way you communicate. Presentation constructs a strong perception of you as a good candidate. Look for what the employer is seeking; analyze the industry specific skills and knowledge. From your CV to interview, the strategy must be tailored well when you are applying to a particular role.

Proactively frame key selling points that your interviewer may be interested in and communicate them powerfully. Use an approach and language that presents you as a confident and articulate candidate. Listing down your top selling points will demonstrate your strengths convincingly to the employer.

A Job Interview

For an interview research well, prepare short extracts to answer various questions. This will help you be adept at your pitch. Always support your claims of your skills or experience and avoid such clichés that most of all the candidates discuss.

Practice perfecting your responses by rehearsing with friends. This will give you confidence to succeed in stressful interviews by giving polished answers. Attention is another key to come out flying colors in an interview. Establish eye contact and have an attentive appearance. Avoid negative answers, expressions and practice handshake.

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Stay relaxed, keep smiling and be yourself so that the interviewee gets to know how you will fit into the team. In today’s scenario, most of the employers drill down the aspirants very initially in a telephone or Skype interview, since they may not have time enough to call for a personal interview. In such cases, some research and preparedness to questions are likely to click well for you.

Do not ever sell short about yourself. With every interview, make the most from it so that your sales pitch gets better.

Stay ahead of the game and follow up

Keep updated with the job markets. Know the latest developments and be well informed by reading industry publications, Journals, blogs, etc. This gives you more discussion ideas during the interview stage. In the complex and competitive job market, there is a need for new skills continually. In such an environment candidates can best utilize their knowledge to be most successful in their job search.

Following up with the recruiters should not be an underestimated step. Strong follow-ups and persistence will have your edge over the other as you do not slip off recruiters’ minds easily.

Conclusion

Have a creative approach to get noticed and increase your visibility. In the current times, your visibility on social media and professional networks matters a lot to employers. Therefore, social media is one right place to showcase your thinking and expertise.

Recruiters are using LinkedIn big time to verify profiles, so keep them abreast but do not also overlook traditional platforms. Being active on job portals will fetch a fair idea of the opportunities and the employer demands. Victory is only for those who adapt to changes and keep a clear vision of the path to their objectives.

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