Think Like an Entrepreneur to Get Yourself Hired

If you’re looking for a job in today’s economy, you may find that the usual strategies of endless résumé updates and job board postings are yielding little return. When the market is tight, how do you present yourself as the most compelling candidate?

The answer may lie in the way you approach your job search in the broader sense. Put yourself in the shoes of a hiring manager: Which candidate would you choose?

Candidate A: “I’m applying for this position because I want to build on my current knowledge and broaden my experience to include a more technical skill set.”

Candidate B: “I can help your team manage their work-flow so that each person can be more productive, have a clearer understanding of his or her role, and increase revenue by providing more efficient services.”

Both candidates are applying for a mid-level position in a corporation, yet Candidate B approaches a job search not as an employee but as an entrepreneur. Before you begin your job search, take inventory of your skills. How would you market them? And what’s your marketing strategy?

In the book Hire Me, Inc.: Package Yourself to Get Your Dream Job, Roy J. Blitzer puts you in charge of presenting yourself as a special commodity the hiring organization simply must have. He stresses that this approach can be beneficial through the entire process, from researching openings to final offer negotiations. He includes activities and exercises to help you shift your focus toward marketing yourself as a product.

In the end, it comes down to a shift in perception. Instead of asking yourself how this company will provide you with a job, ask yourself how you will provide them with a service. When you take inventory of your well-honed skills, your self-confidence will increase and add to the list of reasons that you’re the perfect person for the job.