Ready to go find that new job? Trying to get promoted internally? Switching careers? No matter what you are doing, you are going to have to learn how to market yourself. Marketing ability isn’t something that you are born with. Instead, it is a skill that is developed over long periods of time. You might see people who are tremendous marketers or salesmen and think that they didn’t have to work for their abilities. That couldn’t be further from the truth. They put in hours of work behind the scenes practicing their pitches and learning how to sell themselves. Let’s take a closer look at how you can be a better marketer.
Nobody Is Going To Do The Work For You
It is important to understand that nobody else is going to market you. You have to learn how to market yourself. Once you drop those expectations, you can get fully involved in learning how to improve your own marketing ability. You shouldn’t expect an old boss or a co-worker who you considered a friend to make calls on your behalf. In some cases, you may need reference letters. But those are things you’ll have to work for too–not everyone is going to be willing to help you in this process. Accept that.
Acknowledge Your Strengths
One of the biggest problems that job seekers have is that they don’t understand their strengths. If you don’t know what you are good at, then how are others going to figure it out? Learn what your strengths are, and then highlight them when you pitch others. If you have a website or social media, make sure that viewers easily know what your strengths are. They need to have a reason for considering you for a position at their company.
Lean Into Your Past Successes
Leaning into your past successes is critical for marketing yourself. You need to take those past projects and put them in your portfolio. That will help to make you a more attractive candidate for hiring managers. Others want to see that you’ve had past success in roles similar to the one that they’ll be asking you to take on. By leaning into your past success, you can put yourself in a better position to get that next job or that internal promotion.
Learning how to market yourself is a process. You aren’t going to become an all-star overnight. However, you can improve bit by bit over time as you learn what your strengths are and how to minimize your weaknesses. Recognize that nobody is going to do the work of marketing you, you need to realize what you are good at and how to highlight those strengths across different mediums such as social media. Leaning into your past successes is a great strategy, especially for in-person interviews. You should be able to leverage your past successful projects with reference letters and additions to your portfolio. This is how you market yourself so that you can take that next big step in your career.
