How do you differentiate yourself in a market that seems saturated with candidates?
At Transition Solutions, we have been helping companies and individuals with workforce changes for 30 years.
Differentiating yourself from others is essential in the job search. Below are the top ways you can set yourself apart from other candidates.
1 – Define YOU as the product. In the job search, you are the product. You can differentiate yourself by identifying your top skills, interests, and accomplishments. Not sure where to start? Answer the questions below.
- What are your values?
- What are your skills?
- What are your liabilities?
- What are your interests?
- What are your accomplishments?
- In what work environment do you do your best work?
- What kind of people do you want to work with?
- What kind of organizational goals are important to you?
- What management style do you work best with?
- What industry interests you and/or is hiring right now?
2 – Have a plan. Create a marketing strategy for your job search. Plan, organize and implement a marketing campaign that will help you find, interview and get the job. If you are changing careers, you may investigate jobs and industries to determine the fit between what you offer and what is required. Questions to consider.
- What is your daily, weekly, monthly action plan?
- How do you organize your search to maximize opportunities?
- Where should you focus your energies and efforts?
- How do you go about implementing it?
- How do you present yourself in writing?
- How do you present yourself in an interview?
3 – Show that you are capable of solving problems. Develop “BAR” stories that showcase your work related accomplishments. BAR stories can be leveraged in your networking discussions, on your resume and LinkedIn, as well as in interviews. They tell the story behind your top accomplishments and will differentiate you from other candidates.
BAR stands for:
- B = Background — a brief statement that describes the situation and/or problem.
- A = Activities — the actions you took.
- R = Results — how the department, company, group benefited from your actions. Whenever possible, quantify the results using dollars, numbers or percentages.
Once you have written the accomplishment using this format, you will need to reduce it to a short statement – five to ten words – starting with an action verb.
For top jobs, there will be many qualified candidates. Leveraging the tactics above will help you stand out from the crowd in the most competitive situations.
At Transition Solutions, we have been helping companies and individuals with workforce changes for thirty-five years. Our strong reputation for consistently delivering exceptional service at value sets us apart.
If you would like more information on our services please check out our website at https://www.transitionsolutions.com/ or you can contact us directly at 888-424-0003 or email us at info@transitionsolutions.com.
Be sure to follow our LinkedIn company page where we share advice for companies and individuals going through workforce changes at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/transition-solutions/!