When I talk with people about our undergraduate college days, most of us agree that there’s very little we remember about the actual class work we did; most of our memories come from what we did outside of the classroom. However, for me there’s one principle I do indeed remember from my Marketing 101 class – the 4 P’s of Marketing – product, price, place and promotion. As it was explained to me, if you concentrate your efforts in these four areas, you dramatically boost your chances of selling your product or service.
As a career coach, former recruiting leader, and past job search candidate (multiple times!), I have discovered that this same principle also applies to a job search. Let me explain:
Product – Just like every company or organization has to be clear on what it is they’re selling, every candidate for hire must do the same. The problem is candidates usually fail to realize they are their product! It’s critical that you realize you must sell yourself in the same way organizations must sell their goods or services.
Price – All companies must determine what the fair market value is for their products or services. For those selling “me too” options, it’s easy because they usually price them relative to their competition. However, when a new type of product is being introduced, it can be trickier. Pricing a product or service too high can prevent you from selling the quantities desired or even enough to become profitable! Pricing it too low can give the impression that the product or service is inferior.
Candidates must approach compensation in much the same way. Through a little due diligence, you can begin to uncover what that going rate is in your marketplace. However, if you’re looking to break into a different field, it’s important that you learn what the fair market value is for your experience, education, licenses/certifications, etc. One option you can use as a gauge salary information is the Salary Wizard® on Salary.com’s web site. While some compensation circles say this site is not the best one to use for salary comparisons, I have found it to be at least worth checking out.
Place – Companies must determine where the best marketplaces are for their products or services, whether this is by geography (city, state, region or country), store format (chain, upscale, food or mass merchandise), demographics (age, race, sex) or other parameter.
Candidates must apply this same principle in their job search. Are there certain cities you’d prefer to live or certain parts of your current city that you’d want to work? What industries are the most promising for your occupation? Do you prefer a small organization or a large, multinational employer?
Promotion – Once a company has determined the first three elements, they can more effectively outline and launch their promotion plan – how they will market their products or services.
Candidates must identify the best ways to market themselves. Will you network with people currently in the profession, use social networking or media, work with an temporary agency, post your resume to on-line job boards, use other means, or all of the above?
Once you outline your plan (4 P’s), you will see greater results that will help you land the job you want.
Happy marketing!
Until next time….