Building Your Message

[Enda Goodwin]

How do you differentiate yourself in today's hyper-competitive marketplace?

You can certainly hope that you will be "discovered" and rise to the top on your merits and good work alone. Perhaps in the ideal world, that is how things would work. However, in the real world you need to do far more than that to make the most of your job search and your career. You need to develop your own personal brand. Create a strong, positive sense of who you are (the product) and the services you offer that are different and better than your peers' (the competition). Think in terms of what makes you distinctive.

• What is your advantage over the competition?
• How does your price compare?
• Who is your target customer?
• What are your products and services?
• What are the benefits that you offer?
• What do you do that adds remarkable, measurable, distinguished, and distinctive value?

Start with the above questions when preparing to build your resume. You will include accomplishment statements that not only showcase your distinctive personal brand, but also help you stand head and shoulders above the competition.

Deliver a strong, consistent message

A resume is your product brochure, crafted to attract your ideal work. It is a tool that highlights pertinent information about your skills, experience, and achievements. Rarely, if ever, is someone hired based on a resume alone. It only opens doors, creates interest, and sells you as the most qualified applicant to interview for the position you want. From this point of view, the resume is written for a specific audience – not one resume fits all readers!

Like any other marketing literature, it must be crystal clear about the features, advantages, and benefits you are offering to the prospective buyer. You want to carefully design the document to contain information that will highlight your skills, and not rule you out for a specific position before you even have an interview. Your communication tools will include your professional brand, your objectives, and your marketing plan. To do this effectively, you need a solid communications strategy. What you say about yourself online, on your resume, or in person, should be strong and consistent.

You will need to start by crafting three important statements:

• Your exit statement,
• Your positioning statement,
• Your accomplishment stories.