New Product Launch - YOU!

A job or career change at an executive level is similar to a new product launch. In a job search process, YOU are the new product on the market. But how do you break through the clutter? The key principles of effective marketing apply:

1. Know Your Target Market

In a new product launch, success depends on an in-depth knowledge of your target market. The same is true for a job or career search. What industries are you interested in? How large is the market opportunity within those industries? Are there key trends in the marketplace that make certain industries "hot"? What types of position do you want - what functional area? What size of company do you want to work for? Where? Are there industries or companies that could fuel your passion? Develop your criteria and then a list of target companies that meet your criteria.

2. What Does Your Target Market Need?

Consumers buy a new product when it meets a need. What does your target market need? Understand the strategy, market position, and market outlook for each of your target companies. Understand the broader macro-level trends that impact the needs of industries/firms- such as regulatory, technological, demographic, and consumer trends. For example, if it's a firm in a growth phase, do they need process and structure? Other companies may need to find new markets or new channels to grow. Are they in a turn-around situation? Make sure you understand the strategic needs of the companies you are targeting.

3. Match Your Benefits to Target Market Needs

For a new product, consumers buy benefits, not features. How will the company benefit if they hire you? It's all about what you will do for them. They don't care what you've done in the past, although it may give them comfort if you have a strong track record of success. But that's the past - that's the olD product. If they hire you, what results will you deliver for them?

Start by tying into their strategy and market position. Even if you are in a "support" function such as finance or human resources, you must understand the broader issues and how it will impact your functional area and more importantly, how you will help the hiring firm in achieving their goals.

Then move to specifics of the position. Thoroughly understand the expectations of the position you are interested in. Match up your skills, experiences and results to the expectations and responsibilities of the position. If you are changing industries or careers, you must translate your skills to "generic" skills. How are your skills transferable to the new situation? Match up your "generic" skills with their needs.
Make it easy for the hiring firm and hiring manager. Don't make them dig to figure out how what you've done in the past will translate to what they need. TELL THEM!

4. Differentiate Through Personal Branding/Positioning

Information overload abounds! You need to be able to stand out from the crowd, just as a new consumer product must stand out to get shelf space. You need to identify and concisely communicate your uniqueness - no one else in the world has the same set of experiences and skills that you do. The key is creating a unique position or brand that describes you and is valued by your target market.

What is unique about you that would make a company hire you? What "position" do you want to hold in recruiters' minds? What will you do for the company? How will you do it (leadership style)? Why are you superior to other candidates and the best choice?
This personal brand needs to be more than a generic headline that reads "Successful sales and marketing professional". For example, one client we worked with in the senior housing industry came up with: "Faith-Based Leader Called to Senior Housing Mission". He could then build on three themes in his resume and interviews: 1) faith based/ethics and a "calling" 2) leadership philosophy, skills and results and 3) his industry experience.
Summarize your experience, results, and skills into a concise, hard-hitting phrase that reflects your personal brand - your uniqueness. Be able to use it both in written and spoken form. Then support it with everything you write and say.

5. Communicate through integrated marketing campaign

There are two major aspects of an integrated marketing campaign - the type of marketing collateral to use and the media mix.

In the consumer market, a new product may be launched with print, online, direct response, and point of purchase collateral. With your executive experience, a two-page resume is insufficient to represent your skills and track record of results. You need more marketing collateral.

More frequently, executive job searchers are putting together a portfolio beyond their resume. The portfolio can be used to "seal the deal" in the interview process. This portfolio could include items such as:

1) "CAR" stories - key accomplishments captured in Challenge, Action, Result format

2) Leadership philosophy - develop bulleted list of your key leadership philosophy

3) Graphs/Charts that describe key results. Charts that show improvements you led - cost savings, increased customer satisfaction, employee retention, revenue growth, margin growth, etc. - can be very powerful and grasped much more quickly by hirers than words

4)Testimonials/References

You must also consider the media mix. How are you going to get your message out to your targeted market? Obviously you are unlikely to buy a billboard or do a print ad, but there are various options. Possibilities include personal networking, online networking through sites such as linkedIN, online job boards such as TheLadders, and email or physical letter mail campaigns.

Think of yourself as a new product, then build and execute a marketing plan to successfully launch yourself into a new job!

Best Regards,

Harikrishna Talent Circle HR Services Vadodara 9274541254