Career Success Through Self-Marketing

Marketing shouldn't be limited to advertising companies. Finding a job or enhancing your current position requires good self-marketing skills. What is self-marketing? Basically, self-marketing is communicating your benefits to potential or current employers. Think of yourself as a "product" and explain to employers what differentiates you from other "products."

Why is self-marketing important? Landing a job or improving your current position requires effectively selling your skills, abilities, and knowledge to employers. How do you market yourself? Self-marketing can be accomplished through networking, resumes, interviews, and salary negotiation.

Reports estimate that as many as 85% of jobs aren't advertised. Networking is one way to get at the "hidden job market" ? those unadvertised jobs. Tell everyone you know that you are looking for a job. They just may know of someone who is hiring. Develop a contact list including: family, friends, friends of friends, acquaintances, co-workers, former co-workers, neighbors, doctors, dentists, and lawyers. If you live in a large city, chances are you can find a job search support/networking group to attend. Remember, more contacts equals more job opportunities.

Resumes are often your first contact with an employer. Your resume should highlight your skills for the job you want, not the jobs you've held. If you present yourself well on paper, you will have an opportunity for a face-to-face meeting with an employer.

Interviewing is your chance to really sell yourself. The interviewer is trying to determine if you're a good fit for the position and the company. Practice commonly asked questions. Be prepared with success stories that emphasize when you've effectively used your skills, abilities, and knowledge, leading to exceptional results.

Don't forget to send a thank you note after the interview. The thank you letter lets you express appreciation for the interview and strengthens your candidacy. It allows you to reemphasize your strongest qualifications, restate your interest in the position, and provide additional information not previously given.

Salary negotiation is a useful tool to ensure you are paid what you're worth and what the market supports. Negotiations can be conducted with your current or potential employer. In either situation, be prepared to talk about what credentials, skills, and accomplishments justify your requested salary. Besides money, other things that you can negotiate are: flex-time, extra vacation days, tuition reimbursement, and hiring bonuses.

Joan Runnheim, M.S., founder of Pathways Career Success Strategies [http://www.pathwayscareer.com]in Hudson, WI, is a career consultant who helps individuals reach their career goals by developing an effective career development plan or job search strategy. As a career advisor for Monster.com,[http://forums.monster.com/forum.asp?forum=3560 ] Joan has been able to reach out to millions of people with her career-related articles and advice.

For more information call 715-549-6432. Email: joan@pathwayscareer.com

In The News:

pen paper and inkwell


cat break through


Job Interviews & the Magic of Music

Can music help you with your next job interview? It... Read More

How to Become a Real Estate Agent

If you're wondering how to become a real estate agent,... Read More

How to Overcome a Bad First Impression

Have any of these situations happened to you? Forgetting your... Read More

Job Search - 6 Tips to Boost Your Campaign

Does your job search feel like a big weight on... Read More

Overwhelmed and Overworked: The Myth of American Productivity

Employment finally seemed back on track during the first few... Read More

Business Careers: Keys to Moving on from Retrenchment

You may be astonished to realize that retrenchment may occur... Read More

Layoff Survival Guide - Do You Have The Career Management Horsepower It Will Take To Survive?

In a recent survey of over 662 career seekers, some... Read More

A Killer Secret To Get Your Cover Letter Read

You're still reading?so I know my title grabbed your attention.Why?... Read More

Staying In Shape

Why Lawyers Should Eat Bananas by Simon Tupman is a... Read More

What is Workers Compensation Fraud

What is FraudFraud occurs when a person knowingly or intentionally... Read More

Auto-Disqualification - When Your Resume Never Reaches the Decision Maker

How would you know if your resume did or didn't... Read More

Are You Winning the Talent Wars?

How many times have you heard or read, "Our employees... Read More

The Not-So-Effective Cover Letter

Here's a newsflash: Cover letters work, plain and simple. This... Read More

Job Interviews and The Secret of Selling Yourself

A very effective and persuasive tactic when selling something is... Read More

Reinventing Yourself for Multiple Careers

In many countries around the globe, people are born into... Read More

Finally Revealed: The Top 7 Resume Killers?

During my job search I read dozens of books and... Read More

Successful Job Search: 10 Steps To Quickly Acquire Your Dream Job And Put More Money In Your Pocket

Do you want to continue your costly, time-consuming and exhausting... Read More

Sample Resume Objectives: Good, But Summaries Are Smokin!

Since college I've been told that a resume ought to... Read More

Get In The Game With a Stellar Resume

During the job hunter's market of the 1990's, employers were... Read More

Before You Begin, Know What To Expect - How You Can Make a Living Proof Reading From Home

Proof reading from home is an excellent way to make... Read More

When Your Job Goes Away: Seven Tips

Q. "What do I do after a job goes away?"A.... Read More

Background Checks: How They Can Determine Whether You Get Hired or Not!

Background checks are utilized by companies today to decide whether... Read More

Career Transitions: Creating Complementary Careers in a Day

Down-sized? Outsourced? Burned-out? Wizened up? That's what I said. Wizened... Read More

Job Hunting: Its Still The First Impression Stupid!

In the 1992 USA Presidential election, political strategist James Carville... Read More

How to Choose Your Ideal Career

They say that most people do complete and total career... Read More

Loving What You Do

Man is a social animal and survival is his major... Read More

The Perfect Resume

The perfect resume presents hiring managers with a... Read More

Seeking Knowledge Will Give You Power

What are you interested in? We all have a passion... Read More

Surprise! Accounting is the Hot New Major

There was a time when accounting was the boring college... Read More

What You Should Never Put on Your Resume

Liars Get Caught! What NOT to Put on Your Resume"Everybody... Read More

10 Keys to Getting Paid What You?re Worth!

Asking for money is so taboo in our culture that... Read More

How To Establish Trust, Credibility and Enthusiasm To Your Interviewer

If you use your voice to get attention, you use... Read More

Free Resume Examples: Use Them, But Dont

There are lots of free resume examples (or free resume... Read More