Steve Miller, director of Steve Miller Training

The cold wind of recession blows and the unemployment figures are starting to inflate. With fewer jobs on offer in the market place its time to polish up one’s personal impact. Lets face it, times have been pretty good over the last ten years but the future doesn’t look quite so rosy.

Developing new career opportunities is certainly going to require a more strategic approach and at the heart of this strategy is transforming you into a high class brand. In this article I offer five key strategic steps to ensure you sell yourself so much so that others fight over hiring you. Im going to be very direct with you but believe me I am on your side. Follow my steps and make yourself the marketable product that only others can dream of!

1. Remove the demons and be super confident

Have you ever wondered why you allow the mind demons to get away with sabotaging your confidence? Get rid of them immediately. Right now go stand in the mirror and acknowledge that you are a unique product and affirm your brilliance.

Over the next few weeks develop the success habit of basic affirmation. Do this by mentally telling yourself that you are confident, at ease with yourself, and most of all a winner. If demon talk creeps in then visualise it being incinerated as it is no longer welcome. Mentally see yourself performing well at interviews and recognise that others see you as an exquisite product. Remember you are what you think you are so make sure that your stash of positive self talk raises higher in the stakes than the negative.

2. Glam up

With 55% of communication being non verbal you are well advised to carry out my three checks when it comes to your personal image:-

• The dress check – forget looking like an old has been, mutton dressed as lamb or a traditional stick in the mud. Check out your wardrobe and throw out all the old clobber. Go out and select a few new outfits that make you look confident and very 21st century. Choose colours that do you justice and select garments that are cut to complement your body shape. Shopping at selective stores means there is always someone on hand to offer advice if needed.
  
• The body check – if your love handles are becoming more like flotation devices then take action to reduce them by changing your eating habits and by taking up some exercise. The last thing you want is for an interviewer to be more focused on your size rather than your competence. Rightly or wrongly sizeism does exist so do be aware.
  
• The grooming check - it is often the smaller things that make the biggest difference. First consider you hair style. Is it modern day or still a 70’s perm? And does your hair suit your face? If not then take action by making an appointment at a top salon. Oh and please remember that sprinklings of dandruff are not very pleasant so try a treatment shampoo if you suffer from this condition. Men can often be guilty of nasal hair and eyebrows that look like they are taking off so get them trimmed. Check your nails and ensure they are not surrounded by bitten skin or have been collecting dirt from the garden. In short clean them up. Finally wear a fragrance that is fresh and expensive to complement your dress.

3. Be razor sharp on paper

Brush off the dust and sharpen your CV so it’s like gold in the hand. Your CV should be two sides maximum and contain six core areas as follows:-

• Personal details to include name, address, email, telephone contacts and driving licence.
  
• Career objective - that being a statement of your intent. One example may be “to achieve a strategic HR role in a fast paced sales and customer service environment”.
  
• HR competencies - listing your top six competencies such as influence and persuasion, commercial awareness, Resourcing and development.
  
• Education and qualifications – depending on how long ago you sat your GCSE’s it may not be needed to list them. If you sat them over ten years ago and you have since attained professional qualifications and a degree simply list these as it is likely that it is the latter part of your education that a future employer will be interested in.
  
• Experience – list the last ten years experience. Avoid simply listing your key duties. Instead write your key achievements. For example successfully reduced sickness absence from 9% to 3% within 12 months or contributed to increasing sales revenues for the business by implementing a competence based sales development programme.
  
• Special achievements – be sure to write on the CV any special achievements related to your application. This may include formal recognition made by the directors for your contribution or outstanding academic achievements.
  
• References – state on the CV that references are available upon request.

When preparing the CV in hard copy use a quality paper rather than the flimsy sheets you find at the photocopier. Oh and resist using coloured paper as it looks really naff.

4. Conduct a capability audit

Being aware of the key capabilities you have to transfer into a new job is part of crucial preparation for attaining it. Once you have identified your next move, list the transferable capabilities you can take to it. Then rank your performance against each of them with 1 being the lowest score and 5 being the highest. Once you have done this rank them again in terms of importance to the job you want to grab hold of.

Having identified the gap you should take action to increase your ranking against that particular capability. For example if you have scored low on commercial awareness then consider spending time with a commercial manager or surf the net to find out what it means to be commercially aware. This action will not only increase your knowledge base but also your confidence at the job interview.

5. Communicate with excellence   

How well you sell yourself into a new job will be very much based on your inspirational communication skills. By being inspirational means you will stir positive emotions in the interviewer. This means you will therefore be remembered having made such a positive impact.

Key tips include eye god contact. Don’t just look with your eyes but also smile with your eyes. Walk tall and have open gestures. Make sure you pace your speech and use emphasis on certain words so that you sound more interesting. Strategically placed pauses can also help as they demonstrate a confidence. Diction is important so align the words you use in the interview to the interviewers style. Finally don’t forget to smile. Your infectious smile will melt the interviewer; make you look warm and friendly and above all approachable.

So there you have my five key strategic moves you should make right away if you want to grab that new job. Remember to get excited about the prospect of moving on and keep your attitude very half full as opposed to half empty. You do deserve it – Don’t you?