How much are your skills and experiences worth? It’s important to be able to describe yourself in a way that is attractive, compelling, and memorable to an employer, whether you’re seeking a promotion or venturing into a whole new job. This description is the core of your competitive advantage. It clearly articulates why an employer would be interested in you, and what your unique value to the organization is. Capturing that information, however, can be challenging.
Here are some tips:
- Identify your favorite roles, including volunteer positions, club memberships, and so forth. What did you do in those roles? What did you get praised for?
- Write down some unique experiences you’ve had in your life. Have you traveled internationally? Been chosen for highly competitive positions? What do you tell people at cocktail parties when you’re asked to say something unique about your history?
- Think about the next role you want. What are the challenges those organizations are likely to face? What changes have they had to deal with in the last few years?
- Now look over your list of unique strengths and experiences. How do these start to answer the questions you came up with in question 3?
- Write a short beginning sentence: who are you professionally? Be sure to capture 4 or 5 key skills or strengths.
Example: I am an experienced administrative assistant with a broad range of skills, ranging from office management to executive support to managing high-visibility projects. - Note your essential skills.
Example: My success comes from my high energy and initiative. I am consistently recognized for my ability to understand people’s needs and proactively solve problems. I follow up on concerns and smoothly manage multiple demands. I am also proud of my ability to work well with people at all levels, from top executives to customers and everyone in between - Now write a statement about what differentiates you. What really sets you apart? How have your various experiences made you interesting? Be specific here.
Example: In every position I’ve had, I’ve quickly become the go-to person for tough projects and facilitation of collaborative projects. For example, at ABC Corporation, I was tapped to lead the data transition team, as we moved from one client management software platform to another. It was complicated work because we needed to maintain confidentiality while moving a lot of sensitive information, and it needed to feel seamless to our customers. I am proud to say that we were able to make the transition in less than the 6 weeks we were given, and the only things our customers noticed was that their interface got faster.
