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Marketing 101. Now, I realize that many of you reading these articles may not be applying for a sales or marketing job. But, keep in mind that at the end of the day, you are marketing yourself to a prospective employer. Whether you care to believe this or not, you will be lumped in with tens / perhaps a 100 other resumes which look very good.
Let me put a few things into perspective. Over the last 6 months or so, I've noticed a "sea change", similar to the period when I was working for a hot wireless start up company back in 2000. The market was still very frothy, people were hiring almost randomly and the jobs were plentiful.
Then, BOOM, 9-11, the dot-com blowout and hiring pretty much came to a standstill. We are in a similar predicament. The housing market's woes have really penetrated deeply into many aspects of the economy. I am seeing a slow down in hiring, open positions being taken off the able and sometimes even job offers being rescinded. This is happening across the board.
So, how does this apply to you? You need to know a few trade secrets which apply across the board, but even more so now that we're in a tight hiring market.
Bear in mind that in this business you are selling a product. That product happens to be you.
Inside Secret #1. It's not always enough to sell "features and functions", i.e. accomplishments and skills, but how those translate into BENEFITS to the hiring company. For example, you might highlight that you've worked across geographic borders and managed short and long term projects. How does that translate into a benefit to the company? It might be that you can benefit the company because you can quickly capture certain foreign markets because you understand the cultural issues related to that country.
Each individual has their own unique selling point. I cannot tell you what yours is, but you should dig deep down to figure out and highlight it / them in your resume. For example, my unique selling point, if I were to apply for a business development role, is that I can get the deal done, whether raising venture capital or signing up strategic partners. I've done this for both start up companies as well as large multi-nationals. Don't be shy about pointing this out in your resume.
Bear in mind that the unique selling points could be different depending on the job(s) for which you are applying.
Yes, you are a unique individual. You have the university degree, perhaps an advanced degree or MBA. And, yes, you have over 10 / 15 years in the industry and specific job roles. Believe it or not, there are many people with the same general qualifications.
But, no one else is you! You have the unique background if matched correctly with the job requirements and should boldly state it to stand out from the crowd.
I'll cover more inside secrets in my next article.
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