Market yourself
Self-marketing is about raising your profile, making people want something - in this case- your services, skills and experience.
In these very competitive industries, you can't just have the right qualification, or just be really keen, or just have some experience behind you. You need ALL these things - and more.
Every skill, piece of knowledge, training and personal attribute needs to be used and demonstrated to make you more employable than the next person. You need a lot of patience, a huge amount of determination and more than a little bit of luck!
To market yourself effectively you need to develop a strategy. Your goal is to identify potential employers and match your skills and experience to their needs. They will be looking for people who can demonstrate some previous work experience, a keen knowledge and interest in the industry, and a real enthusiasm to learn on the job. This means that you need to keep your eyes and ears open and be ready to seize the opportunity when it comes.
If you are further along in your career, ask yourself these questions to focus your job search:
- Do you know all the people who buy the type of products/services you are offering?
- Do you know how to make contact?
- Are you aware of professional ethics?
- Are you on top of developments in the industry?
- Do you need an agent or a diary service?
- Do you know how to put together an estimate? (e.g. schedules, fee rates)
- Do you know how to negotiate with potential employers or clients?
- Do you have systems in place to identify new work opportunities?
- Do you ask for feedback from clients regarding your work/professional performance?
- Do you keep in regular contact with existing clients?
Learn from the experiences of other professionals and see what they have to say about self-marketing here
We've compiled all this information in a document for you to download:
Marketing Yourself
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