The Business
of Self-Marketing: A Job Candidate’s Guide
By Lisette Hilton
MARYSVILLE, WA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 08/08/2003 -- The kind of job you get, and whether you’re considered at all, depend on how you market yourself in your job search. It’s not how much
experience you have, but rather how your accomplishments benefit your potential employer, and how well you can communicate those benefits, according to Frank Heasley, PhD, president and CEO of MedZilla.com, a leading Internet
recruitment and professional community that serves biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, healthcare and science.
Don’t Wait Until You Need a Job to Prepare for Your Job Search
Joanne G. Sujansky, PhD, CFP, a management consultant, keynote speaker, owner of The Key Group, and author of "The Keys to Conquering Change," says that people should pick out the companies or organizations that they’d most like
to work for long before those employers advertise openings. Once you’ve selected the employers, get to know them, she says.
Consider writing a letter or making suggestions to employers of choice before they post for jobs, says Andrea Nierenberg, author of "Nonstop Networking: How to Improve Your Life, Luck and Career" and president of The Nierenberg
Group, Inc., a management-consulting firm. Research companies you like and come up with creative solutions or comments about what they’re doing. Taking the time to do that separates you from everybody else because you’re doing
something the employer doesn’t expect.
The advice is the same for people who are in industries where jobs are plentiful. “If you’re fortunate enough and smart enough to be in a profession where there are a lot of jobs, why not get the job with the employer of your
choice?” Sujansky says.
Marketing yourself to an employer, you’re very familiar with and enthusiastic about could land you an even higher job and salary than they originally estimated, according to Sujansky.
Consider Yourself an “Interim Entrepreneur”
Niels Nielsen, author of "Princeton Management Consultants Guide to Your New Job" (Wiley), says that rather than looking at yourself as someone who wants a job, think of yourself as an entrepreneur starting a business, charged
with landing one client. “You’re in business as a job hunter,” he says.
Market what you have to offer by creating what Nielsen calls a “catalog of services.” Make sure those services add value for the employer. In other words, find out what each employer needs before making your presentation.
Your catalog of services will be made up of your accomplishments -- what you did that produced savings, increased in revenue, improved quality, etc. Your job will be to show the potential employer that your accomplishments will
make a difference.
Your catalog, Nielsen says, will be a source of information for your resume, which should contain several accomplishments tailored to specific employers.
Advertise Your Skills and Accomplishments
The Web has opened a world of opportunity for people wanting to reach employers with information about their skills. According to Michele Groutage, MedZilla’s director of marketing, self-marketing to employers via the Web is free
and if done correctly can be effective. “The key is to target your efforts,” Groutage says. “Just as you would pick and choose which advertising opportunities would best reach a target audience if you had a company or product, you
carefully select internet sites that will help you zero in on the right employers.”
Groutage recommends that candidates conduct job searches on niche sites to find those that are posting the types of jobs in which they’d be interested. Other good Web resources include professional association web sites.
Form Relationships
Word of mouth is the best way to "market" yourself to an employer. Get out there and talk to all of the people you know in order to find personal contacts within the firm or other people who know key members of the firm, says
Diane K. Danielson, co-author of "Table Talk: The Savvy Girl’s Alternative to Networking" (1stBooks). These people might talk you up or even help you secure a meeting. Having personal contacts also helps you to do your research on
the firm, according to Danielson.
Networking is more than randomly moseying around and asking people if they are hiring. Nielsen recommends that candidates develop a networking methodology based on proven business strategies. Generate leads by not only asking
people if they have any job openings, but also of asking them if they know other people who have job openings. “I know one guy who in a matter of a month had 500 names. It’s a matter of being very diligent, very systematic,” Nielsen
says.
Nielsen also refers to relationship marketing -- making sure that you’re in front of people. And in any relationship, there is give and take. Don’t just take, Nielsen warns. Contact people from the standpoint that you can do
something for them. The only way to know if you can do something for them is to learn about them and their companies, he says.
Get Out Into the Community and Get Involved
Sujansky says people who are out of work look at her funny when she suggests they volunteer. But volunteering can be a great way to get your foot in the door, or to meet the right people, she says.
Get involved in the community by joining professional groups, walking groups, book clubs -- even consider joining an association that is outside of what you do. Some groups don’t cost anything, she says, yet they offer
opportunities to form relationships.
Treat the Interview Like a Sales Call
Sujansky recommends that job candidates handle interviews as they would a high-level sales call. You might not get the job right away, but you must try to get to the next step; which would be the next interview.
Danielson has a similar approach. She says that if you have an interview, the best way to "market" yourself is to stop thinking "I need this job, I need this job." Rather, think about what the person sitting across the interview
desk needs. “Look at your next interview as the difference between selling vitamins and pain pills. Vitamins are viewed as extra items, which are nice, but unessential to survival. Yet for anyone in pain (and with this economy, most
companies are in a bit of pain), a pain pill is clearly a vital necessity,” according to Danielson.
Get Organized
Your job search should be a series of deliberate steps, says Robbie Miller Kaplan, career consultant and author of "How to Say It In Your Job Search" (Prentice Hall Press 2002).
Kaplan Recommends:
1. Make a list of your colleagues and let everyone know your present situation and job search goals. Avoid asking for help in finding a job; instead, ask if they know anyone who may know of job opportunities in your target
market.
2. Contact those people by letter and follow up with a telephone call.
3. Direct your letters to the right people. Demonstrate what you have to offer and stimulate their interest.
4. When you call, get their direct phone number. Make your calls before 8 a.m. and after 6 p.m. -- it's during those times that you are most likely to contact them directly and bypass anyone screening their telephone calls.
5. When you reach them, have a short script in front of you, detailing who recommended that you call and the types of opportunities you're looking for. If you're rebuffed, ask them about leads for other potential opportunities.
Your Personal Note Can Make a Big Difference
Nierenberg says that follow up is key. Find out how best to stay in touch with the people you meet, interview and network with. Don’t rely solely on electronic means to communicate she says. In fact, always send a handwritten
personal note. “I call it my $.37 investment plan. If people take the time to write a note and really go out of their way by finding out something about that person, it’s a nice way of staying in touch,” she says. “I created a
client value thank you chain. When someone puts me in touch with someone, I always thank the first person who introduced us. What I’ve done is stay on these people’s radar screens.”
About MedZilla.com
Established in 1994, MedZilla is the original Web site to serve career and hiring needs for professionals and employers in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medicine, science and healthcare. MedZilla
databases contain about 10,000 open positions, 13,000 resumes from candidates actively seeking new positions and 40,000 archived resumes. These resources have been characterized as the largest, most comprehensive databases of their
kind on the Web in the industries served.
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