Finding Your Uniqueness in Today's Job Market

If you have been reading articles or listening to news
reports about the job market, it becomes obvious that the
number of people currently seeking jobs outnumbers the jobs
that are now available.

If you happen to be one of those job seekers, you realize
that you are competing against the odds. The question is,
"How can you make yourself stand out when there are so many
other candidates looking at the same job?" The answer is to
"focus" – focus on what makes you unique.

Let's assume that you have an outstanding resume and that
you make it to the top of the stack of resumes of people to
be called for an interview. You, and maybe nine or ten
other equally qualified people for the position, that is.

Because companies have so many candidates to choose from,
they are interviewing more people so that they can select
the "best." When you are lucky enough to be invited to an
interview, it is essential that you be ready to sell
yourself, to let the interviewers know what makes you
unique, what added value you can bring to the position-in
other words, why you are the best person for the job.

By doing some basic preparation, you can determine your
uniqueness and where you should focus your attention. The
first step in this process is to identify your five
strengths. These strengths are the areas where you do very
well.

This may take some thought on your part. What are your
strengths? Think about previous performance appraisals –
what was said or written about you? What would your
co-workers or ex-bosses say about you?

• List the skills and experiences you have that would be
required in the type of job you are seeking. For instance,
a technical job would focus on programs, languages, and
platforms, etc.

• Give some thought to those skills in which you excel,
those that are referred to as the "soft skills." These
skills can be viewed as transferable– you can take them
with you to any job you hold. Examples of these skills are
your communication and people skills, or your
time-management and project-management skills, or your
ability to build strong relationships, or your ability to
influence others.

• Lastly, think of the personal traits that make you
unique. Maybe you never miss deadlines, or perhaps you are
willing to do above and beyond what is asked, or perhaps
you have a great attitude. (Don't dismiss these
traits--many people have been fired for negative personal
traits rather than for lack of knowledge).

When you have identified your five strengths, make a list
of those strengths and some examples of when those
strengths have helped you achieve results on the job. It
will be essential that you can not only identify your
strengths, but that you also have examples and stories of
times when you demonstrated those strengths in the past.

The next step is to look at the job postings and ads. In
fact, look at several job postings that would be of
interest to you. Your goal is to find key words and
phrases. For this exercise, don't limit yourself to
geographical location. Look at jobs of interest located
anywhere.

When you have several postings, read each word and sentence
carefully, taking notes as you do. What are they looking
for? What words appear consistently in almost every posting?

Now, take a piece of paper and divide it in half. On one
side of the paper write, "What they are looking for," and
on the other side, "What I have to offer." Each time you
apply for a position, it will be invaluable for you to know
how you stand against what they are looking for. This
exercise will help you see how close a match you are and
where you should focus.

Your next step is to add your uniqueness to the "What I
have to offer" list. Some postings will list additional
skills required, which make it easier for you to see what
is important to them. An example would be, "Must have
excellent communications skills, strong organizational
skills, and be a willing team player." If these words
appear in most of your posting examples, then make sure
that these are a part of your focus. Can you work these
words and your five strengths into the interview to
demonstrate your fit – and then some? Some postings will be
more vague about what it takes to get the job done and will
require reading between the lines to determine what other
skills are necessary.

In summary, by narrowing your uniqueness to these five
basic points, you can guide the conversation to include
this information. By focusing on five strengths, you will
be prepared with examples of times when you have used these
strengths.

Whenever possible, give examples to show how you have "been
there and done that," and can do it again. It will be
necessary to demonstrate that you have what it takes, and
then some, to be unique in this market.

When you walk out of that interview room, your interviewers
may not remember all five of your points; but if they
remember even two of the points that make you unique, you
will be ahead of the game!

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Carole Martin, America's #1 Interview Coach, is a
celebrated author, trainer, and mentor. Carole can give you
interviewing tips like no one else can. Get a copy of her
FREE 9-part "Interview Success Tips" report by visiting
Carole on the web at The Interview Coach
http://www.interviewcoach.com