How To Market Yourself To Potential Employers

Whether in an interview, at a networking event or on an online profile, you’re marketing yourself to employers. Throughout the recruitment and interview process, hiring managers are determining if you’re a good fit for the members of their team. To set yourself apart from the competition, it can be beneficial to efficiently communicate the value you’d bring to their organization. These tips will help you promote yourself to potential employers through your online presence, interviews and networking events.

Why it’s important to market yourself to employers

One of your main goals when crafting a resume should be to grasp the attention of hiring managers to stay ahead of the competition. This is why it’s important to market yourself. Similar to a company’s product, you should advertise and sell your skills to employers. Marketing your skills and abilities to hiring managers will help them understand how their company will benefit if they invest in you.

Most hiring managers and employers are searching for employees who provide more than a list of skills and experience. Many will look for team members who provide passion and dedication for the company’s product and brand. When you put quality time and effort into building and promoting your personal brand, hiring managers notice and will assume you’ll put this same effort into their own brand as well.

Related: The Best Job Skills To Make Your Resume Stand Out

How to market yourself

Your goal when marketing yourself to employers is to prove not only that you’re right for the job, but that you’re right for the company as well. When companies search for potential employees, they are interested in how your skills, attitude, personality and experience will blend with other team members. You can give them an idea of this by building a personal brand and maintaining it throughout social media, your online portfolio and in the interview. 

Follow these steps to market yourself to employers.  

1. Develop your personal brand.

Your personal brand is often what employers will use to gain a first impression of you. Your brand should portray your personality and skills while remaining consistent on all forms of social media, your resume, cover letter and portfolio. 

Here are some elements often included in a personal brand. 

A professional photo

This is the main visual element showcasing who you are. Once you pick a professional picture to represent you, consistently display it on all necessary materials. Make it your profile picture on social media outlets and add it to your email signature and any other business-related material. Keep it consistent so employers can easily recognize and remember you.

A logo or color combination

To differentiate yourself from other candidates, you can design your own logo, feature a color combination or create a design on your job application. If you pick this option, try to remain consistent. Keep your logo and colors on your business cards, resumes and cover letters. Consistent designs will make you more recognizable for employers and hiring managers.

A personal branding statement

Similar to your resume objective or summary, your personal branding statement briefly explains your skills, goals and experience. Determine what these are to build a personal branding statement. You can display this on any professional social media profiles, your resume and your cover letter. You can also add it to your elevator pitch.

2. Maintain a strong online presence.

Once your personal brand is featured on your resume and cover letter, display it online. This is a way to publicly share your skills and personality for potential employers and hiring managers to view. Build a full profile with all of your professional information added. Share articles containing relevant industry news, follow companies you’re interested in and maintain a positive online presence. Employers and hiring managers will gain first impressions from social media, which is why staying appropriate and positive on each outlet are beneficial. 

You can also market yourself by showcasing your work online. Building a website featuring previous projects helps employers see the quality of your past work. Your website can feature an “About Me” section describing yourself in greater detail. This is a great way for employers to discover your personality.

3. Meet people at networking events.

Develop a list of potential companies you’d be interested in and determine what events they may attend. If you’re pursuing a position within a specific industry, locate events catering to that industry. Search for networking events targeted to employees seeking new careers. Attending any of these networking events allows you to meet new people and build awareness of your personal brand.

4. Deliver a captivating elevator pitch.

Whether you’re meeting with people at networking events or applying for interviews, a captivating elevator pitch will grab the attention of potential employers. A strong elevator speech allows you to communicate your skills, experience and goals in approximately 30 seconds. Here are the elements to include in your elevator pitch. 

• Introduce yourself 

• Summarize your background 

• List your strengths and skills

• Mention the type of position you’re seeking

• End the pitch with a call to action

Here’s an example of an effective elevator pitch: 

“Hello, my name is Leah. Thank you for allowing me to speak with you today. I recently graduated with my bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Media Communication. I’ve spent the last four summers participating in content marketing internships and would love the opportunity to make that a full-time career. In my previous internships, I developed copy for various company’s websites, blog posts, ebooks and whitepapers. I’m excited to learn more about the available content writer position at your marketing agency. I’m very passionate about writing and would love to use my creativity, time-management skills and organizational abilities to market your clients’ organizations.”

5. Demonstrate how your skills will help the company.

Since the desired skills for each position are often listed on the job description, many qualified candidates may possess the same skills as you. To differentiate yourself, explain how your skills apply to the company itself. 

Take a common skill and explain how you will use it to benefit their company. Hiring managers are interested in learning more about you during the interview. What they really value is how you can help them succeed and improve. Demonstrate this by consistently using examples and scenarios in which you will use your abilities to improve their company.

Example:
“After I read the blog posts on your website, the unique content and lack of errors impressed me. I can use my detail-oriented skills to maintain error-free articles. My creative and research abilities can also be utilized to brainstorm content topics that will both capture the attention of your target reader and provide top SEO results.”

Related: 21 Job Interview Tips: How To Make a Great First Impression

6. Conduct extensive research on the company and product.

For most employees, providing quality work can be easier to maintain when you’re passionate about the company. Employers often know this, so they may search for candidates who put effort into learning more about their company and its product. Before an interview or meeting with a potential supervisor, research the company. View their website, social media pages and reviews. 

This will help you grasp more of an understanding of who the company is, what they’re passionate about and what their overall goals are. Knowing this will help you learn if you share these goals or passions. If you do, you can express this in your interview or meeting. Employers will often ask why you’re interested in their company. After careful research, you can provide them with a specific and honest answer.

Related: How To Sell Yourself in an Interview

7. Become an industry expert.

Along with researching your target company’s brand and product, educate yourself on the industry. If you market yourself as an industry expert, companies will see your commitment and may be more enthusiastic about hiring you. Selling a product in a certain industry becomes easier when you’re well-educated on the industry and its consumers.

8. Act and dress with confidence.

Your overall appearance can help you market yourself strongly. If you dress and present yourself professionally and confidently, employers will notice this and assume you will apply this confidence and professionalism to your future position. Wear business professional attire when attending interviews or networking events.