Today I sent someone an email talking about a service I’ve had for years, and she replied:
Gosh, Jason, you have never told me about this……
I have this problem because I have multiple revenue streams. My business is more complex than just offering one or two products/services.
I bet you have the same problem:
As a job seeker you start out wanting to be a ______.
After the job search goes on, you decide you could really do ______ and ______.
A month or two later you finally come to terms with doing _____ and ______ and ______.
After six months you are fine to _____ and _____ and ______ and _____ and ______ and ______.
Then you face a new problem.
Someone who knew you from early in your job search only knew you as the guy/gal who could only ______.
They didn’t realize you had a number of other capabilities or interests.
I did this in my job search.
I started out looking for a “project manager” job, and then added “business analyst.” Eventually I add “product manager,” which was all very confusing to people who thought I was an IT Manager (past job title), or CIO (past job title), or VP (past job title), or General Manager (past job title).
Some people thought I was a GM, others thought I was a PM.
What do people think, or know, about you?
Job seekers have this problem (Gosh, Jason, you have never told me about this……).
Happily employed people have this problem (Gosh, Jason, you have never told me about this……).
Companies have this problem (Gosh, Jason, you have never told me about this……).
It’s a branding problem… and it can take a number of things to help solve it…. how are YOU solving it?
This does become an issue since I often will customize my resume and cover letter for different positions. I think it’s important, however, to know what your signature strengths are and to mention them consistently, even if you choose to emphasize different elements at different times.
Jason- This just happened to me on Tuesday. A client whom I have worked with 6 times had an open break out session at their conference and asked me to fill in a few hours after my main stage talk. While they enjoyed my “keynote” enough to hire me 6 times, they had never seen me do a training session.
After the session my contact came up and said “wow, I did not know you had that background and experience…”. While she knew me in one role, she did not know my other capabilities.
Looking for a job or even if you have a career….. always be sure to look for ways to paint the whole picture or opportunities will pass you by.