How to promote yourself to potential employers
These days there are millions of job candidates out there at any given time— and some are gunning for the jobs that you want. It’s important that you find a way to distinguish yourself from the pack so that prospective employers will notice you.
You might be the most productive, loyal, hardworking, etc. potential employee, but if no one knows about it you’re not going to get the job you want. You need to learn to promote your brand, which in your case is you.
Your resume is the most common and useful promotion tool that you have at your disposal, and it is important that your resume promotes the best you possible. Make sure that you take your audience into account as you use this essential promotional tool to list all your key accomplishments, skills, and education. You can put together a summary of your qualifications on your resume as well, to help potential employers see the complete package they will get if they give you a job.
Like any great product, you should put together a brand portfolio (a you portfolio) which includes your resume, a detailed summary of you accomplishments, a concise but compelling mission statement, samples of your work, articles you may have written, awards, honors, testimonials, etc. In this age of technology, you should use all the technological tools available to help promote yourself to potential employers. You should develop a profile on all of the major social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, and mySpace so that any interested parties can see your brand portfolio.
As more and more employers are “googling” potential employees before hiring them, make sure that you only include relevant material on these social networking sites (avoid photos from that drunken trip to Cabo, frat party photos, etc.) You should also promote yourself by putting up a personal website that displays your brand portfolio for all to see.
You should also promote yourself at your current job and to your network of contacts, as they can be essential in helping you find the job you want. Many employees make the mistake of automatically assuming that their boss recognizes and knows their accomplishments, but that is not nearly always the case. During performance reviews, let the boss know of the things that you have accomplished during the year, and try to find ways to periodically remind him of your successes (again without bragging). Spread the word of your success every so often to your network of contacts as well.
By effectively promoting yourself, you will be able to find the best job for you in shortest amount of time. But remember that just like with any product, if you fail to consistently promote yourself, you will fall off of the radar and lengthen your job search.
You might be the most productive, loyal, hardworking, etc. potential employee, but if no one knows about it you’re not going to get the job you want. You need to learn to promote your brand, which in your case is you.
Your resume is the most common and useful promotion tool that you have at your disposal, and it is important that your resume promotes the best you possible. Make sure that you take your audience into account as you use this essential promotional tool to list all your key accomplishments, skills, and education. You can put together a summary of your qualifications on your resume as well, to help potential employers see the complete package they will get if they give you a job.
Like any great product, you should put together a brand portfolio (a you portfolio) which includes your resume, a detailed summary of you accomplishments, a concise but compelling mission statement, samples of your work, articles you may have written, awards, honors, testimonials, etc. In this age of technology, you should use all the technological tools available to help promote yourself to potential employers. You should develop a profile on all of the major social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, and mySpace so that any interested parties can see your brand portfolio.
As more and more employers are “googling” potential employees before hiring them, make sure that you only include relevant material on these social networking sites (avoid photos from that drunken trip to Cabo, frat party photos, etc.) You should also promote yourself by putting up a personal website that displays your brand portfolio for all to see.
You should also promote yourself at your current job and to your network of contacts, as they can be essential in helping you find the job you want. Many employees make the mistake of automatically assuming that their boss recognizes and knows their accomplishments, but that is not nearly always the case. During performance reviews, let the boss know of the things that you have accomplished during the year, and try to find ways to periodically remind him of your successes (again without bragging). Spread the word of your success every so often to your network of contacts as well.
By effectively promoting yourself, you will be able to find the best job for you in shortest amount of time. But remember that just like with any product, if you fail to consistently promote yourself, you will fall off of the radar and lengthen your job search.
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