I Don't Feel Comfortable "Selling Myself"
Let's get one thing straight. If you want to find a new job, you are going to have to sell yourself. The idea you can just post some information online, a hiring manager will call, you schedule an interview and you show up as you want, discuss the job, they offer it to you and you work happily ever after is WRONG!!
If this has happened to anyone, please let me know. In rare cases when your skills are in demand and you are in the right place at the right time, this may happen. DON'T count on it. You are going to have to SELL, SELL, SELL yourself to that next job.
Once you accept this reality the real work can be done. There are two ways to begin to sell yourself effectively for a new job. The first is to determine your marketability. You really need to recognize how you fit into the "job environment" you are trying to locate. What job marketability means is your "profile" based on your level of expertise within a particular job. You may be a novice or an expert or somewhere in between. You cannot change that. The level you are at is what it is. Accept where you are and use it to your advantage. For instance, if you have been an engineer for only 2 years and are applying for jobs that require 5+ years of experience, don't expect many calls from hiring manager. Even if you are great at what you do, a potential employer won't even consider you at face value until you meet their basic criteria.
So what do you do? You find opportunities that only request your level of experience. This is where you are most marketable. When you go after these opportunities, you will have a better chance of getting contact from a recruiter or hiring manager. So the first way to begin to sell yourself is to know your marketability.
The second form of selling yourself is to ask good questions. One of the most effective ways to show a potential employer you are a good match is to understand what they are looking for. Asking well thought out, targeted questions uncovers the most important qualities and skills an employer is looking for. These questions can make or break your candidacy. For example, if you hear about a job opportunity from a friend at a company they work at, don't just send them one of your resumes. Ask them questions about the opening. If they don't know, ask if they or even you can talk to someone who might. Don't leave the conversation without getting as much information as you can or a contact person who can answer your questions.
If your friend is willing to ask questions for you, the best questions are those that open up your understanding as to what type of person the hiring manager is looking for. So ask, what one or two skills or experience levels is the most critical for the job. You can even ask what will be the primary responsibilities of the person who they hire. The answers to these questions will be the basis of your "sales campaign" for that job.
Don't ignore this step because it is one of the most crucial steps in the entire process. The more you know about a potential opening, the more you can sell yourself to the hiring manager.
These two areas, your marketability and learning about an opportunity first are going to form the basis of your "selling campaign" for that new job. We will get into more of what selling yourself means on another post. Keep up the hard work of trying to find what you are looking for. You will find it. It just may take some time.
Don't Stop Till You Drop! (my new motto)
I am at the library today. No coffee just some salt water taffy (yuck). I have had enough coffee this morning. I was out of my decaf so I had to pull together a couple of old (one or two weeks) packets of coffee that were way up in the cabinet to make my machiato this morning. It was not very good. I went to my local coffee house to pick up some more beans. I was out because my wife has started drinking expresso drinks. I had a review with her how to use my/the expresso maker. She got the hang of it pretty fast but now whenever she wants a cup of joe she goes pilfering through my/our coffee. This is the first time in our marriage this has ever happened (12+ years)...it makes me nervous. I guess there is a first for everything. It is fun to have her join my obsession so now I don't feel so guilty.
Let's Get Started!
Jeff
If this has happened to anyone, please let me know. In rare cases when your skills are in demand and you are in the right place at the right time, this may happen. DON'T count on it. You are going to have to SELL, SELL, SELL yourself to that next job.
Once you accept this reality the real work can be done. There are two ways to begin to sell yourself effectively for a new job. The first is to determine your marketability. You really need to recognize how you fit into the "job environment" you are trying to locate. What job marketability means is your "profile" based on your level of expertise within a particular job. You may be a novice or an expert or somewhere in between. You cannot change that. The level you are at is what it is. Accept where you are and use it to your advantage. For instance, if you have been an engineer for only 2 years and are applying for jobs that require 5+ years of experience, don't expect many calls from hiring manager. Even if you are great at what you do, a potential employer won't even consider you at face value until you meet their basic criteria.
So what do you do? You find opportunities that only request your level of experience. This is where you are most marketable. When you go after these opportunities, you will have a better chance of getting contact from a recruiter or hiring manager. So the first way to begin to sell yourself is to know your marketability.
The second form of selling yourself is to ask good questions. One of the most effective ways to show a potential employer you are a good match is to understand what they are looking for. Asking well thought out, targeted questions uncovers the most important qualities and skills an employer is looking for. These questions can make or break your candidacy. For example, if you hear about a job opportunity from a friend at a company they work at, don't just send them one of your resumes. Ask them questions about the opening. If they don't know, ask if they or even you can talk to someone who might. Don't leave the conversation without getting as much information as you can or a contact person who can answer your questions.
If your friend is willing to ask questions for you, the best questions are those that open up your understanding as to what type of person the hiring manager is looking for. So ask, what one or two skills or experience levels is the most critical for the job. You can even ask what will be the primary responsibilities of the person who they hire. The answers to these questions will be the basis of your "sales campaign" for that job.
Don't ignore this step because it is one of the most crucial steps in the entire process. The more you know about a potential opening, the more you can sell yourself to the hiring manager.
These two areas, your marketability and learning about an opportunity first are going to form the basis of your "selling campaign" for that new job. We will get into more of what selling yourself means on another post. Keep up the hard work of trying to find what you are looking for. You will find it. It just may take some time.
Don't Stop Till You Drop! (my new motto)
I am at the library today. No coffee just some salt water taffy (yuck). I have had enough coffee this morning. I was out of my decaf so I had to pull together a couple of old (one or two weeks) packets of coffee that were way up in the cabinet to make my machiato this morning. It was not very good. I went to my local coffee house to pick up some more beans. I was out because my wife has started drinking expresso drinks. I had a review with her how to use my/the expresso maker. She got the hang of it pretty fast but now whenever she wants a cup of joe she goes pilfering through my/our coffee. This is the first time in our marriage this has ever happened (12+ years)...it makes me nervous. I guess there is a first for everything. It is fun to have her join my obsession so now I don't feel so guilty.
Let's Get Started!
Jeff
posted by Jeff at
11:04 AM
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