If you’ve not noticed, the Tampa Bay area is at an all-time low unemployment rate hovering at 3.2%! 

What does that mean to the employer?  This means they are beginning to feel the heat from senior leadership regarding their numerous job openings, and being asked about how they are going to fill them! 

What does that mean to the job seeker?  It means two things – it’s a job seeker’s market, and now more than ever, you should be marketing yourself and your skills to targeted companies! 

While many of you may not be well-versed in sales or marketing, you are selling a product and that product is you!  Keep in mind that no one can speak better about you than you!  You might be asking, “How do I market me?” or “How do I even get started?” I’m here to tell you it’s easier than you think, and I am going to provide you a template to help put your personal marketing plan together! 

In my recent presentation to the Transitioning Professionals of Tampa Bay (http://www.tptampabay.net), I had the pleasure to work with Paul Ferreri and Robert Wolfe who facilitate this networking group.  A portion of the meeting is spent on how to “sell” yourself during an interview and how important it is that you are selling your skills and discussing how they can benefit the particular company you are interviewing with.  Without having a “pitch” that you have practiced, a question from a potential employer can put you in an awkward position.  This is crucial, and I encourage you all to work towards “selling” yourself and the Transitioning Professionals of Tampa Bay networking group does an excellent job of coaching people through this process. 

The following key areas should be included in your personal marketing plan when you are beginning your job search, find yourself in transition, or are simply trying to make a career change.

The first element is to develop a defined list of target companies that you are most interested in working for. This list can be as few as five, or as many as 50.  The most important thing to remember is that you have to be able to manage this process and understand that companies will be added, or taken off the list, as you qualify or disqualify them.  Be sure to do some research on your target list!  This will help you better address their needs and prepare you for a potential meeting.

The second element is to is have defined goals. This is important for many reasons, but one of the main reasons is that most people tend to be more focused on meeting a goal and/or a date when they have a specific goal or date to work towards.  This gives job seekers a reason to get up every morning and get to the task at hand.  Some people even go as far as setting a “hire by” date!  This will help you focus on obtaining key contacts within the company, and ultimately getting a face-to-face interview.  Plan to have that date change as your focus and/or interview dates are adjusted, but nonetheless, set a goal! 

The third element of your personal marketing plan is to keep detailed documentation. This element can potentially be the most important one.  You need to be documenting the contacts you make, whom you gave resumes to, when to follow-up, and what jobs you have applied for.  This is crucial as follow-up can be a prime area where you are judged against other potential candidates.  Shame on the job seeker who doesn’t document or follow-up consistently.  This can be the cause of an unsuccessful job search, confusion and embarrassment. 

A personal marketing plan can set you apart from other job seekers as you will become highly efficient in your networking and your ability to make key contacts within your targeted companies.  I can speak for a majority of employers that will say a candidate who has researched a company and comes prepared for the interview is typically ten steps ahead of other candidates.  This tells the employer that you are interested and engaged in their mission. 

By utilizing these key elements, you will be certain to have a successful, organized and fruitful job search!  Remember, these plans are not set in stone, and are intended to be a living document that changes as your focus shifts and opportunities become more readily available. 

During the workshop that I conducted at The Tampa Tribune’s Summit, I spoke specifically about the ways in which to develop a marketing plan that meets the needs of the individual job seeker and how it can serve as a tool to enhance, and ultimately result, in a successful job search.  If you were not able to attend, I will be announcing the next workshop on my blog.

Upcoming Networking Events in the Tampa Bay Area:

April 26th, May 3rd, 10th, 17th, & May 24th; Worknet Pinellas Professional Network Meeting; RSVP; CarolAnn Mannix;cmannix@worknetpinellas.com

April 27th, Transitioning Professionals of Tampa Bay, meets every Thursday; RSVP; http://www.tptampabay.net

May 10th, SuncoastHR, RSVP: http://www.suncoasthr.org

May 17th, HR Tampa, RSVP; http://www.hrtampa.org

May 18th, Sales and Marketing Executives, RSVP; http://www.smei.org

Transitioning Executive Network (TEN); meets every Friday; RSVP;