Marketing Yourself: Best Practices
Most people do not think of themselves when they think of marketing, but they should.
By marketing yourself and your abilities, you have a higher chance of getting your dream job. Here are some best practices you can use to market yourself effectively.
If you do not already have a LinkedIn account, make one!
LinkedIn is a networking platform used globally. Recruiters use LinkedIn to find candidates, post the jobs they are hiring for, and use the direct message feature to contact potential candidates.
We encourage you to set up your LinkedIn profile today — click here for steps to a better LinkedIn profile. Once your profile is optimized, you have a better chance of catching a recruiter's attention, but do not be afraid to reach out to them first!
We recommend posting at least once a day and engaging with others by commenting on their posts. This effort shows us you're serious about developing your career, which is an excellent characteristic.
You are your best advocate.
You know where your best skills lie and where they lack. Use this knowledge to your advantage! Highlight your highly skilled areas and learn more about where you could improve.
That leads us to our next point — step out of your comfort zone! As cliche as it may be, life truly does begin at the end of your comfort zone. Having the confidence to take on a new challenge, learn a new skill, and be willing to fail, is when we improve.
Be authentic.
While hard skills are crucial to do a job correctly, we need adequate soft skills to mesh well with others. Showcase your soft skills when you present yourself with how you talk, how you listen, etc. Recruiters are good at gauging if someone would be a good fit or not — it's up to you to show them you are.
Know your audience.
One of the golden rules of marketing is to know your audience — the same goes for you. Know who your industry professionals are, know your recruiters, and post engaging content according to their interests.
If you want to get to know someone more, reach out to them. Use LinkedIn to learn about their background and bring up something of mutual interest when you talk to them. Recruiters love a personal touch, and it is something we will likely pass on when we are presenting you to our client.
Review your resume!
Grammatical errors and typos are not attractive — it shows you were not paying attention to detail. Reread your resume until you can not find any errors, then have someone else take a look. We talk more about resume tips here.
There are several ways you can present yourself — these are just a few of our top suggestions! As recruiters, we genuinely want to see you succeed and land your dream job. We hope these tips will help you step out of your comfort zone and into your new role.
