Be the purple Skittle in a bag of M&Ms

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT TO DEMONSTRATE YOUR UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND DURING A JOB SEARCH

When Vanshika Mehta was job searching, she branded herself as the #purpleskittle. She clearly articulated to employers that she is different than other job seekers— that she thinks outside of the box and has a unique skill set.

When Nina Mufleh relocated from the Middle East to Silicon Valley, she launched a high impact career campaign that generated over a half million views to her website and over 14,000 views to her resume in just two weeks. Just like a “real” business marketing campaign, she had a clear target, simplified goals and measured her results. One of her key takeaways in the white paper that she wrote about her job search was: be unique.

OUR MINDS ARE TRAINED TO RECOGNIZE NOVELTY. HOW CAN YOU BE UNIQUE?

It can be a simple as writing a compelling cover letter or leveraging your network to get an introduction to the hiring manager. OR it can be truly out of the box. Remember the guy who turned his resume into a donut box and hand delivered them to his dream offices? Yeah, Lukas Yla landed 10 interviews.

I just learned about a cool new website called lemlist by founder Nathan Latka which has the ability to personalize e-mails in a way I haven’t seen before. I can see a job seeker sending out unique targeted e-mails using the platform.

One of my favorite sales quotes is from Jerry McGuire (not the movie): “Different is better than better”.

Let me be clear: I’m not saying that you can get a job if you are unqualified, I’m just saying that the candidate who can clearly articulate their strengths, differentiators and can address how they will meet the pain points of an organization will stand out during the recruitment process.

Author

  • Sarah Johnston

    I’m a former corporate recruiter and industry “insider” who got tired of seeing talented high-achievers get passed over for opportunities because they did not have the right marketing documents or know how to position themselves in interviews. I have relocated multiple times across the country as a “trailing spouse” and have had to execute job searches in completely cold markets (where I literally knew no one!) I have been named a LinkedIn Top Voice in the career space in 2019, HR Weekly’s Top 100 Most Influential People in HR, named the owner of the “best resume writing firm for experienced executives” by Balance Careers and a “top follow” by JobScan in 2019 and 2020.

Sarah Johnston

Sarah Johnston is a former corporate recruiter and industry "insider" with a passion for empowering high-achievers in their career journeys. Frustrated by talented individuals being overlooked due to ineffective marketing documents and interview strategies, Sarah made it her mission to equip professionals with the tools and knowledge to succeed. As a seasoned "trailing spouse" who relocated multiple times, she understands the challenges of executing job searches in unfamiliar markets. Sarah's expertise and impact have earned her recognition as a LinkedIn Top Voice in 2019 and a spot on HR Weekly's Top 100 Most Influential People in HR. Her resume writing firm has been acclaimed as the best for experienced executives by Balance Careers, while JobScan listed her as a top follow in 2019 and 2020.

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