Ignored!
Participating at various networking meetings over the past week and talking with the attendees, reinforced my belief that very few people understand how to stand out in today’s competitive marketplace. Perhaps because the concept of searching for a new position is rather new and nebulous to most executives, perhaps because effectiveness is based on market differentiation … not the “same old stuff” everyone tries to market, and even perhaps because the product that needs to be clearly and compellingly marketed is “you,” … most executives seem to be caught in the traditional mindset of how to find that next great opportunity. Well, traditional in the post–Internet age anyway.
If you are ready to get in the game … and compete, here are three things you can do immediately to begin getting a much better ROI.
Understand what you have to offer. What is your reputation? Since your brand is held in the hearts and minds of those around you, who you are and the value associated with that must be understood to leverage market differentiation.
Attend networking events! Face–to–face, online, wherever you can and whenever you can. The clearer you are on your value (brand) and how to articulate that value, the easier it is for people in your network to understand how they can help you.
Leverage a novel approach! When I bumped into David Perry and he offered to let me provide four chapters of his latest book, “Guerilla Marketing for Job Hunters,” co–authored with Guerilla Marketing Guru Jay Conrad Levinson, I was excited because his ideas are novel. If you would like a sampling of his “400 Unconventional Tips, Tricks, and Tactics to Land Your Dream Job,” go to www.cfo-coach.com and scroll down to “What’s New” to download them.