You as a ‘brand’ have features: you may have strong leadership skills, an MBA, a healthy amount of experience in the finance sector, etc.
But a lot of other candidates have these features, too.
To win great job offers you need to go deeper. What is unique about you? What is your Unique Value Proposition (UVP) statement?
Some questions to help find your UVP
- What specific needs are employers and clients hiring experts to solve?
- What skills and competencies are needed in the market right now?
- What characteristics and personality traits are valued in your industry or sector?
- What specifically about your personality, qualifications, skills and experiences positions you to solve the challenges and needs you identified above?
- What is the impact you can deliver that’s different from your peers and competitors?
- Why should a business hire you over someone with similar experience and qualifications?
- What gets you out of bed in the morning?
- What’s your professional motto or mantra?
Here’s a draft example
“High-level leadership, operational capabilities and skills. Responsible for 80 staff with oversight of a $5M+ budget. Deep consultative experience in policy management and implementation providing expert advice to senior management and state government officials. Objective, consultative, confidential, media savvy and process-driven.”
Finalise your UVP statement
If you can’t summarise what makes you uniquely qualified in more than a sentence or two, keep working at it, as this is the foundation of an effective resume, a strong LinkedIn profile and the ability to sell yourself in a job interview.