How do I specialize?

Step 1: Choose your Target Market

Who are your prospective ideal employers? List everything you can about your Target Market (remember, your Target Market may not be the something you your currently do, but the one you would like to have) and/or ideal career. Here are some suggested characteristics to help you. Dig deep here and get as specific as possible. Remember, no one else knows better than you what you want to do with/for your life, however asking friends and family may help to gain greater clarity. Include every detail- no matter how obvious.

• Location
• Industry
• Company Size
• Ownership
• Company Type
• Benefits

Now, let’s dig a bit deeper…

What’s Your Target Market? (Exercise)

Three Steps to Finding the Right Audience
Look at your present employer.
Evaluate your current employer. If you could change anything about your present employer what would it be?

• What are the things that you enjoy about your employer? What type of characteristics (salary, benefits, location) would your ideal employer have?
• Do I enjoy this job?
• Does it have the potential to increase my income?
• Based on their culture, values and background, will they perceive the value in what I offer/skills/abilities?

Research the population of the Target Market.

A good Target Market should contain at least around 10 prospects, possibly 20, and maybe as many as 50 depending on your goals.

Target Marketing Resource Tools:

• Chamber of Commerce
• Local library
• Professional associations
• Industry lists
• Mailing list vendors
• People you already know
• Online

Check out the competition.

• How many others are attempting to get a job with this Target Market? What skills are they bringing to the table?
• Can I realistically target the number of employers I need?
• Do I need to market to a different demographic instead?

Now, sum up what you have written about your Target Market:

• How would you sum up this Target Market in two to three words?
• Do you have a list of the companies that you are targeting? If so, please name them.
• In what geographic region are they located?
• What level are the decision makers that you are targeting?

Is there a specific job title that you are targeting? (H.R. Manager, Production Manager, etc.) If so, what title(s):

Average education level required by employers:

What types of people represent your Target Market?

Design Your Skills and Abilities for Your Target Market = Positioning.
Target marketing is not enough. You must not only choose the audience, but also develop your products (resume, website, stationery-more on this later) and services for that audience. You must position yourself. Answer the following questions:

• Do you know enough, right now, to walk into the business and begin working?
• Main skills and abilities that you will be offering for this employer:
• What is the main message you want to convey to these employers?
• What are the greatest needs, concerns and fears of my Target Market?
• What is their “pain,” the need they have that’s not being met?
• How can I offer my employers the greatest possible benefit?
• What do they value?
• What do they dislike?
• What are my competitors providing?
• What are they not providing?
• What’s your primary product or service?
• What are your Target Market’s five biggest needs or concerns?
• What are your Target Market’s five biggest unknown needs or concerns?
• What skills and abilities do you possess and to what benefit?

Once you have the necessary information and have answered these questions, take a look at the skills and abilities you think will create perceived value. Answer these three questions:

1. Is there a market for these skills and abilities? If not, how quickly will the market develop? Consider offering one skill and ability and not eight or nine. Like a single focused feature, a strong core service can be the core of your positioning.
2. Are any of your competitors offering the same kinds of skills and abilities?
3. What can you do to differentiate?

List your five primary skills and abilities:

Custom-Tailor Your Approach
Now that you have your Target Market and specialized skills and abilities (Position), you must tailor your business around the employer. Shape your approach to your employers, not the other way around.
Live by three principles:

- Know your Target Market and what it needs or fears.
- Design every aspect of your presentation to cater to those needs or fears.
- In your materials (website, resume, business card) and when talking to networking connections, friends and family, tell the employers what you offer. Describe your unique proposition.

What should your approach be?
Thus, and in short, to make a good, convincing application, the basic things you have to do are:

1. Find out what skills, qualities and abilities the job requires.

2. Match those skills, qualities and abilities with your own.

3. Prepare examples of how, when and where you have demonstrated them in the past.

4. Present those skills, qualities and abilities clearly and confidently both in writing and verbally.

5. Demonstrate in your presentation, appearance and behavior the personal qualities required.

Whether you are planning your long-term career, looking for your first job, answering advertised vacancies or applying on spec through your network, the fundamental process is the same. The aim of a job application, from resume to interview, is to convince an employer that you can do the job. If you follow all the steps outlined above, everyone you contact should be able to grasp immediately that you understand exactly what the job requires and that you have the skills, qualities and experience to do it.

To go through these steps requires thought, planning and groundwork.

As a bonus, though, the confidence and assurance that you gain from preparing thoroughly will help you enormously, especially when it comes to keeping calm and performing confidently at the interview.
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This entry was posted on Friday, October 16th, 2009 at 7:34 pm and is filed under Job Search, Specialization. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.