What is your unique value proposition?
All of us have that one thing that separates us from the crowd. You know what we are talking about, that one skill or unique characteristic that makes you valuable. Come on, you know, that undeniably awe-inspiring trait that makes the people around you jealous. This distinctive force that defines you is what we like to call your Unique Value Proposition.
To beat your competition, you must outshine them in your CV. To do this, you need to present the value that you can offer your future boss – this is your Unique Value Proposition. Every business has a unique value proposition. It is that one service or product that their competitors don’t have that gives them the edge. So what is it that gives you the edge?
Think of yourself like a brand and market yourself in the same way. Your Value Proposition is your personal career ‘brand’ that you need to sell to prospective employers. Using this analogy, you are the ‘product’ and your potential employer is the ‘target market.’Your message must compel the target market to purchase the product. If you define your Value Proposition properly you should not have any problem successfully selling your product.
As a brand leader, you have a unique blend of credentials, skills, expertise, and accomplishments to offer a potential employer. Determine which distinct features you have that your competitors do not have. By providing your prospective employer with a clear idea of your distinguishing value, you take the competition out of the equation.
Now that you have an idea of what your Unique Value Proposition is, it is time for you to define it better to reach your job hiring success. Read the below steps and work out how to:
(1) Discover Your Hook: What is special about you? What skills and accomplishments set you apart from every other person in your industry? It’s not easy to determine what makes you special and unique, but it’s important to think about it if you’re going to market yourself. Think about your job. What do you accomplish better than anyone else?
If you don’t know what makes you stand out from the crowd, it will be difficult to convince anyone else why they should hire you.
(2) Research Your Target Audience: Once you begin to focus on what makes you special and unique, don’t forget to consider how you fit into your target employer.You will find out the employer’s needs via research, informational meetings and networking. Don’t forget to investigate industry conferences. Many post their speaker programs online, so even if it is not feasible for you to attend, it’s easy to learn your field’s major pain points. This will also help you to work out which of your skills would help in providing solutions and ultimately assist in bringing more money into the business.
If you are not prepared, it is like walking into an exam without the right knowledge. If you put in the hard work soon you will see the rewards!
(3) Deliver on your target audience’s needs: Think about it… if someone approaches you and starts talking about themselves and what they want, how closely do you listen? Statistics demonstrate that people don’t typically have very long attention span to listen to other people talk. It is important for you to work out what your company needs and show they how you will help them focuses on their needs.
If the company you want to work for requires a chef and you know you would be the perfect foodie for their gourmet kitchen. This is your opportunity to demonstrate your greatness by personally arriving with your delicious masterpieces to show off your skills and meet their culinary needs. It is all about being smart about how you deliver on your target’s needs.
(4) Identify your unique value proposition and make sure it’s not all about YOU! Big brands like Disney decide what they offer before they create and place their advertisements.When they want to advertise Disney World, they appeal to families and parents’ need for an affordable, yet magical vacation. Their brand is all about magic and family fun. Their television ads appear on shows with a high viewership of people Disney targets. If Disney didn’t consider what they offered, they would not be able to target their marketing. By defining themselves and what problem they solve, they can offer a hook (an affordable family vacation).
If you translate yourself as a business and market your brand to the right audience you should have many target employers interested in ‘Brand You’ because you are able to define and solve their current problems.
Now that you know the importance of defining your Unique Value Proposition, we hope that you already set aside a couple hours to write down your important skills and determine which of these skills are most needed by your target employer. Add your skills and Unique Value Proposition to Job Mail CV now!
While you are improving ‘Brand You’ it also makes sense to revise your career goals statement to a well-constructed mission statement to attract target employers to what you have to offer.
In the next upcoming weeks we plan to give you more useful tips on how to market ‘Brand You’ better. So make sure you read the Job Mail Blog regularly and be informed.
Don’t forget to read these other related helpful job hunting tips:
