Five Tips for Creating Self-Marketing Capsules to Accelerate Your Job Search Campaign

Five Tips for Creating Self-Marketing Capsules to Accelerate Your Job Search Campaign
The self-marketing capsule is a valuable piece of marketing
collateral that job seekers need to position themselves
effectively during a job search. Whether in a networking
context or a job interview, job seekers must always be
ready to deliver their personal pitch in an exciting and
memorable way. Ultimately, you want to be able to recite a
message that is clear, targeted, and easy for anyone to
understand. When the capsule is presented in this way, you
are more likely to create an advocate for your candidacy
who can refer your qualifications on to the next
appropriate person in the networking or hiring chain. Below
are the five key components of an effective self-marketing
capsule.

Create a professional identity.

Job seekers must be able to tell their audience what type
of position they are targeting. Sometimes people confuse
professional identity with the job title that is listed on
a job description. These titles can be misleading and do
not always fully describe the nature of the person’s
responsibilities. By using such titles in place of a
professional identity you run the risk of compromising your
self-marketing campaign. For example, in the world of
finance, many back office administrators are simply called
clerks. Such a title can place severe limitations on your
marketing capsule. A more targeted and effective
professional identity might be Financial Custody
Administrator or Securities Administrator.

Showcase three strengths.

Highlight three areas of competency that show your value
add and differentiate you from the competition. Chose
traits that can easily be coupled with examples of how you
have helped the organizations you have supported make
money, save money, save time, maintain the business, or
grow the business. For example, being proficient in
Microsoft Project can position a project manager as a
candidate that gets the job done expeditiously and in turn
saves time, money, and resources.

Use accomplishment-focused, metrics-driven examples to
support your strengths.

Just like the resume, the marketing capsule must include
proof that you have successfully completed job relevant
tasks. A good strategy is to marry a strength with a
specific example to prove that you are accomplished at what
you do. Quantify accomplishments using numbers,
percentages, and dollars whenever possible.

Discuss your background as it relates to the target
function or industry.

Draw on your past experiences from several positions to
solidify the scope of your skill set, show career
progression, and build the business case for your
candidacy. Also include relevant education such as a
job-related or advanced degree, industry certifications,
advanced technologies, or leadership roles within a
professional organization to showcase the diversity of your
experiences and position you as a unique contributor.

Make a match between your experience and the skills needed
for a particular job function or industry.

Bring the conversation full circle by relating your traits
back to the needs of the employer or the needs of a
particular industry. By doing so you prove relevancy and
demonstrate why your skills are a good fit for a certain
type of position.

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Barbara Safani, owner of Career Solvers
(http://www.careersolvers.com ) has over twelve years of
experience in career management, recruiting, executive
coaching, and organizational development. Ms. Safani
partners with both Fortune 100 companies and individuals to
deliver targeted programs focusing on resume development,
job search strategies, networking, interviewing, and salary
negotiation skills.