Employment news hasn’t been great lately. Locally the three biggest organizations are in the midst of laying off thousands of employees. I feel for every person impacted. You probably had no desire to look for a new job. You did what was asked, didn’t do anything wrong and here you are looking for a new position. It probably doesn’t feel fair but now is the time to find a new better role. So how do you do that?
The job market is more competitive than ever so I understand if you don’t believe finding a better job is possible. To do that you need to do one thing. You need to stand out in the job market. In a market flooded with new entrants, what can you do to stand out? I’m not a career coach and there is plenty of information available about how to conduct a job search. That said, I can help you stand out in one very important aspect.
Stop Promoting Yourself
Most resumes describe the person in terms of who they are and what they have done. They typically describe the various roles they’ve played. Each is accompanied by a small description of their responsibilities. How many people they managed, resources under their control and a project or two they completed. This all sounds great but it misses the point. Your job search is not about you so stop promoting yourself.
Your search is all about solving other people’s problems. Hiring managers have problems they need to be fixed. They don’t need people, they need to get things done. Rather than describe what you’ve done, you need to focus on your transferable skills. Let me give you an example. Here’s a typical resume highlight: “I designed a new sales and marketing program that increased revenue by X%.” While it might sound impressive, I have little idea what you can do for me.
What Can You Offer?
Here’s an alternative for the same role. “I am known for resolving conflict by bringing people together to find common purpose and work effectively as a group.” You could follow this by something like, “I used these skills to achieve improved results including…” I bet there are at least 10x as many hiring managers who need someone who can bring people together. In essence, you are saying this is what I can do for you. I would rather hire anyone like this over someone who is good at project management, accounting, etc.
Throw out your existing resume and describe what you offer. What is it that makes you stand out in the job market?