The Riley Guide

The Riley Guide: How to Job Search

How To Market Yourself

Ron McGowan, author of
How to Find Work in the 21st Century

May 2009

Market, then Sell

Most job seekers don't understand this and dive straight into selling. Unless you get an employers' attention by marketing, you won't succeed in selling. Marketing gets the attention of the prospective buyer, but actual selling begins when they contact you, check your online profile, or look at your web site.

Market 90%, Sell 10%

Spend the majority of your time in the marketing phase. Strategize how to get an employers' attention. Be very clear about what, where, and how you are going to sell it.

Define what you have to sell

This is where most people do a poor job. Employers doesn't care if you have an MBA, or if you're an engineer, etc. The only thing they care about is how will hiring you make their life easier. Your whole approach must be centered on this or you'll just waste your time.

Decide where you are going to sell it

A very common mistake made by employment seekers is to focus, almost exclusively, on jobs advertised in media like the Internet and newspapers. These represent, at most, 20% of the employment opportunities. You need to sniff out opportunities by being connected to all the resources related to the field you want to work in and by networking effectively. Being active in the associations related to your field is also necessary.

Determine how you are going to sell it

Your traditional resume is a dinosaur. You need to create new marketing documents that clearly indicate to an employer that you've done your homework, you know the challenges they face, and you know how to help them. Get over your discomfort with selling yourself by learning what selling is really about. You can learn how to sell effectively.

For a more comprehensive look at how to market yourself, visit my blog at 21centuryjobhunt.wordpress.com.

Ron McGowan is the author of the bestseller How to Find Work in the 21st Century, a new edition of which has just been released by Self-Counsel Press.

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