WHAT YOU HAVE TO OFFER

When we are in the market to buy something, we all expect the salesperson to know about what they are trying to sell and why it will benefit us. In the same vein, you need to sell yourself to prospective employers.

Sell Yourself

It may not be the most obvious way to think about your job search, but we all have to sell ourselves. If you don’t know, or are unsure about what you have to offer a prospective employer, how will anyone else know?

To make your next career move as successful as possible, it is important to identify your personal strengths, what you love doing and, of course, what you don’t. If you can clearly demonstrate what benefits you can bring to the workplace, the chances of getting the job will significantly increase.

At Select, our recruitment consultants can help you identify what you have to offer, not just in terms of relevant skills, but also your work values, style and preferences. It’s your career so let’s focus on what works for you.

Identifying your strengths will also help to:

• Highlight what your options are
• Identify what type of role will suit you
• Match your skills to specific job opportunities
• Discover any areas of further development that are required

Your Skills

If anyone ever asks you ‘Do you have any transferable skills?‘ the answer is always YES!

Even if your skills seem very niche, they are always transferable. Transferable skills are the skills that you have learnt over time in your current or previous roles that can be brought successfully into a new organisation. For example, if you were trying to change career from nursing to engineering; two very different roles with different skill sets. However, that person will have picked up so many transferable skills from nursing that will be relevant, including people skills, thinking on your feet, dealing well with pressure and problem solving to name but a few.

Note: It is worth considering what you do outside of work, as you may have developed skills that will help you stand out from the crowd.

If you are struggling to identify what your skills are, look back at your experiences so far and ask yourself, ‘what have I done that…

…nobody else has done?’

…has made a difference?’

…I am really proud of?’

…I really enjoyed doing and shared with others?’

…was a challenge for me and/or a great success?’

Still struggling? Try thinking about:

• What others say about you
• The things that colleagues, friends or family say you’re good at
• What others often ask you to do (don’t restrict this to work, activities outside are equally important and can add value)
• The things that colleagues have said about you during appraisals or performance reviews
• Your hobbies and interests outside of work
• Your favourite activities or interests and what skills these require
• What you are good at
• Is there a particular skill that you enjoy using?
• Have these skills helped you at work, if so how?
• What would you say you do better than other people?

Your Work Values

When it comes to a new job or career change you need to ensure that it matches the guiding principles and values that are right for you. Think about the:

• Things that you particularly enjoyed about a previous role
• Types of organisation or the industry sector in which you previously worked and those you have a desire to try
• Types of people that you have worked with
• Values that really matter to you (e.g. trust, challenge, security and friendship)?
• Motivations and inspirations you need

Once you have identified your own work values, you will be better placed to make an informed decision about whether the job you have found is right for you in the long-term.

Your Work Style

How do you like to work, how flexible are you and how much energy do you bring to your time at work?

Once you understand what your work style is, you can then focus on targeting specific industry sectors or organisations that will suit you as an individual. Then you will able to sell yourself more successfully.

Here are some questions to ask yourself, and others, that will help identify your work style:

• How do you like to work with others?
• What role do you normally take within a team?
• Are you targeting the same job level or are you looking for something better?
• How do you handle pressure and deadlines in a team environment?
• How do you like to be managed? (This is a very important question. Does your manager need to be hands-on or hands-off?)
• If you manage others, how do you like to do it?
• When working on a task or project, do you prefer to do this on your own or talk it through with others in your team?
• How organised are you at home and at work?
• Do you prefer working in a detailed environment or is a minimal brief enough for you to perform your tasks?
• What kinds of things make you more productive?
• When it comes to problem solving or generating ideas, how do you proceed?

Never be ashamed of the way you like to work, just because it may be different to others’ it is not necessarily wrong. Remember there is a role out there for everyone, if you are willing to work hard and realise your worth, you will succeed.

As specialists in recruitment we always aim to match the best person to every role, taking into account all of the factors discussed above. Contact your local Select office today to discover not only what you have to offer, but also what we have to offer you.