In times of high unemployment, frozen or restricted recruitment and a high degree of competition, you need to have a strong competitive advantage to be chosen.
Here are 14 tips to help you stand out from the masses and be chosen now and in the future:
1) Skill-up. Invest in your skills – take responsibility for developing yourself and keep your skills up to date. Skills have a shorter shelf life than in the past and you need more skills than before to be chosen.
2) Connect: Create, build and keep in touch with your network. Support them and they will support you.
3) Be visible. The world is increasingly going on-line. Social media is key for visibility – embrace it.
4) Unique brand. Be clear about what makes you unique; your life and work experiences, skills and qualities combined are a unique combination. Who are they useful for? Be targeted.
5) Be pragmatic. It is great to have an ideal, but have a plan A, B and C in challenging times.
6) Set goals. Have a clear SMART goal for where you want to be and break it into small steps for a busy world.
7) Be proactive. Make your success happen by asking for introductions, sharing ideas, developing thought leadership.
8) Be strategic in approach. Look at market trends, skill shortages, new careers to stay one step ahead. Have a vision and a plan to get there.
9) Review. Everything is changing fast, the whole world are now your competitors, technology is replacing many jobs. Keep up with the changes – don’t get left behind.
10) Be confident: in who you are and what you have to offer – this can make a huge difference to success.
11) Be creative. How can you overcome employer objections e.g. ‘not an exact fit’, ‘expensive vs. younger candidates’ and get experience of a new area without having a job?
12) Be smart. Get support. We would love to help,
13) Be targeted: Don’t scatter your efforts and dilute the potential results. Do your research and go for a ‘bull’s eye’.
14) Be responsible: Take responsibility for your career and development, don’t leave it to someone else.
Recommended reading: Lynda Gratton “The Shift” and Reid Hoffman (founder of LinkedIn) “The start up of you”.
