SELLING YOURSELF FOR THAT DREAM JOB
You say you're not in sales? If you're serious
about getting just the right job, you need to be! And, from your perspective,
the product you need to market is the most important product you'll ever market:
yourself. Fortunately, even though you most likely aren't in sales, there are a
number of things you can do to become more effective in marketing yourself for a
job.
Perhaps the first and most important thing you can do in preparing to market
yourself is to inventory your strengths and weaknesses to determine exactly what
you can offer a potential employer. An employer may ask you to name some of your
strengths and weaknesses and what you did to overcome the weaknesses. These are
standard interview questions. Do NOT ever state that you do not have any
weaknesses. Employers frown upon this type of answer. The purpose is to
demonstrate to an employer that you have the ability to overcome obstacles and
improve processes.
Another factor in selling yourself is to know that employers look at how your
skills match the skills required for the job. Prior to applying for a particular
position, ensure that you review the job announcement and compare skills
required to your skills. Employers don't have time for-nor do they want to
receive-irrelevant information. If you aren't sure you possess some of the
required skills, think about other jobs that you've held and similar skills you
may have used, and then apply those skills to the position you're seeking. Don't
fabricate skills. An employer will recognize you're doing so and disqualify you,
and being disqualified may further discourage you. Staying encouraged is a key
to your success.
One of the biggest challenges you'll face when marketing yourself is having and
keeping a positive attitude throughout the job search process. The job search is
one of the toughest jobs you will ever have, and you will face some negatives.
The chances of you being selected for jobs the first few tries are slim. And,
don't get discouraged if an employer doesn't respond to you. They will contact
you only if you meet their criteria. Keep in mind that the perspective of
employers is that this not about you-it's about them and ensuring their needs
are met, not yours. So, go into this process realizing you are going to face
some challenges, and ensure this will not interfere with your final
goal-obtaining that dream job.
Another challenge you may face is the ability to be flexible in the job search
process. For instance, you read a job announcement that appears to be a definite
fit for you. You then read the listed salary, and it doesn't fit your needs
and/or expectations. You must then be flexible and decide if this is the job you
really want and if there are options to enable you to accept the job with the
noted salary.
One of the last but most important steps to take during your job search is to
ensure that, in selling yourself to an employer, you look and act the part. Put
your best foot forward and dress for success. This sounds so repetitive, but
even in today's technological world, presentation
definitely stands out to an employer. Also, know some facts about the company
for which you are applying-this will definitely impress the employer. If you are
asked and do not know information regarding the company, the employer views this
as a lack of interest because you did not take time to research and, therefore,
the employer thinks, you do not really want THIS JOB-you just want A JOB.
As you can see, the job search process can be frustrating, but it can also be
very rewarding. Once you reach your goal of getting that dream job, the
possibilities will seem endless. We have included just a few tips to assist you,
but the most important thing to remember is that you must effectively market
yourself. If this gets to be more of a challenge than you anticipated, and you
feel you just aren't achieving results, get assistance from our career
counselors who offer one-on-one counseling on various job search topics, to
include guidance on how to effectively market yourself for that dream job!
This article was written by a member of
The Write Choice team. Contact a member of the
resume/career counseling
team, Sandy, Liz, or John, through this site for help in becoming a better
salesperson for your most important product-yourself.
