How your smartphone can get you your next job!

Are you using your career skills to help you find your next job? You know, the ones that you use on a daily basis: that clients pay you for, employers have recruited you for and you proudly state on your CV?

Case in point. A recent client of mine is actively searching for a role in marketing. They have got a “gold star” from me as they are being proactive in their search. Contacting companies that they feel they would like to work in. Crafting a CV and then emailing the decision maker.
However, I discovered in a recent session is that they are not actually showing themselves off as a marketing professional. They are not applying any of their branding experience on themselves!
Let me explain.
The central thread of anything in sales / marketing (and to be blunt, that is what we are doing when we are looking for a job, we are selling ourselves) is Features and Benefits.
I often use the analogy of the mobile phone purchase. Whilst my Samsung is from the stone ages, I have heard that many other people in the world like to keep up with smartphone upgrades!
You wouldn’t walk into a shop and just ask for a phone. You will have decided what features you want it to have (such as a certain memory size or camera type) because of how this will benefit you (the memory size means you can store lots more music or the camera type gives you better quality imagery).
When you are contacting a company or organisation, either through a standard job advert or speculatively, then unconsciously they are reviewing you against what they need in their staff (essential skills), what they want in their staff (desirable skills) and how both of these things can impact their business; usually making or saving money!
So, back to my marketing client. They hadn’t considered branding themselves up. When I ask them what their top three feature and benefits of their phone was, they could tell me. When I asked them the same about themselves, they struggled!
• Feature: what skills or experience you have that will make you stand out from the crowd.
• Benefits: what these skills or experience will do for that employer.
Think about your career, what you do for your team or your clients and ask yourself

“Am I using my career skills in my job search?”

I would love to know if you are. Hop along and join the Facebook group The Balance Collective with Clara Wilcox and let us know.

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