I want to share my annual thoughts on job search trends that are a little different this year. Instead of one list where I share a list, I want to dive deeper into each one I share and then write a summary link for each article.
Let’s start by stating the obvious. You heard me say that job hunting is a lifestyle. You will need to market the brand you have. It’s more than titles, initials, and letters behind your name, unless it’s MD, JD, and others. There are even MBA letters behind the name have lost their essence. It will not develop into anything significant until it becomes visible with applied knowledge.
If you differentiate yourself from your peers and competitors, you will make yourself solid. It will help if you want to stand out, but listen to many people who tell you this brand something you create. If you’re making a persona instead of taking advantage of the one that markets yourself, you’re doing it wrong.
Yes. I used “markets”. Get used to it from now on. We’re all trying to get some visibility. It’s not magic. This is an intention.
Let’s talk about the title with the letters behind it. Many LinkedIn experts will say it doesn’t matter. Headlines are marketing if they are useful and known worldwide. Labels are marketing if you do something that only 50 people in the world do. Titles come in handy when you are professionally involved in an industry where you are paid to have these skills, and everyone knows what that is. Okay, so maybe I’m wrong about this. This may get you some helpful LinkedIn SEO.
But it’s not your brand.
I’d argue if you can’t capture your brand in as few words as possible, you’re thwarting your marketing efforts. This works well if you want your brand and work to be his referral engine. People need to scan and click. Take their thinking from them, and insert it wherever possible, in as few words as possible.
We are remote and we are online. Present yourself as a gold mine, not a land mine:
- How are you valuable?
- What do people need from you (what have they told you)?
- What solutions are you known for?
You need to explain a title; If you have three unexplained titles, people may not ask you anything.
My wife and I have contracted George for our electrical work for many years. George was our go to guy for any electrical work we needed for our condo. We thought that was all he did, and in fact, we also enjoyed his company. We know that he also owned several pieces of property.
We didn’t know he retired from the government after 32 years of finding hidden funds as a tax accountant. We didn’t realize that until this year about George.
If we knew, it wouldn’t change our relationship with him. But he just wanted us to understand what was relevant for us. George solved one problem for us. He got a lot of referrals from us just for the work he did for us. George only created the demand for his work as an electrician for us.
Be like George.
About Mark Anthony Dyson
I am the “Voice of Job Seekers!” I offer compassionate career and job search advice as I hack and reimagine the job search process. You should be “the employer’s job description register”. You must be solution-oriented and work in positions in companies where you are the remedy. Your job search must be a lifestyle, and your career must be in front of you at all times. You can no longer shed your ambitions at the change of seasons. There are strengths you have that need constant use and development. Be sure to subscribe to download my eBook, “421 Modern Job Search Tips 2021!” You can find my career and job advice in media outlets such as Forbes, Inc., Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, Glassdoor, and many other publications.
