Hi! Managers: Use marketing secrets to build your own job competitiveness

Still, with the gloominess surrounding political arguments, it is inevitable that the next few years will be very challenging for our country, especially when econo-mic integration is formalised under the Asean Economic Community.
It will be even more challenging for the new wave of talents to get ready for the ferocious competition in the labour force. Many challenging factors are approaching. That’s why I am taking this opportunity to share some thoughts for young graduates and experienced talents who plan to look for a job.
In a situation like this, it’s vital to create a personal point of difference. To do this, the curriculum vitae needs to be refreshed and made impressive. To develop an imposing CV, you have to imagine yourself as a product that will be sold without reservation.
In marketing, you need to identify your target audience and also your personal point of difference clearly. Specifically, you are working on your per-sonal marketing plan – a resume – to sell yourself so that you can get an offer from your ideal employer.
My personal tip to you in developing a decent CV is to reapply the analysis of your personal strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT). Yes, you may grin and think it is too much. But I want to tell you that this is a good time to reapply the marketing concept to your life, since it’s a true social science that is really pertinent to everyone. SWOT can really play an important role for your future career.
Usually in marketing, it is advisable to assess the external environment first; therefore, I would advise you to start by identifying the opportunities and threats first.
In the labour market now, you need to research closely all information relevant to your personal opportunities and threats. For instance, the available job may require some special certificate or specific field of education. An accountancy position may require an educational background in accounting, which can be either an opportunity for those who graduated with an accounting major or a threat for those who have not.
To start with this, I would recommend that you read through the classified adverts section of the newspaper and tally the available positions to see which field is looking for the most talents. Then you may need to jot down some requirements in each area of those available jobs.
Next, you must identify your personal strengths and weaknesses. To do so, it’s important for you to be very honest with yourself. Draft and jot down all your key skills and barriers and consider which ones make you more attractive than other people and vice versa.
In such an analysis, there are many cases where people write down a great deal of strengths, but it turns out to be just a laundry list of possible skills. This will be disadvantageous for you, since it is just like selling a product by exaggerating its qualities. This will never get you an offer from your targeted employer.
Later, match your strengths with the opportunities in the labour market and highlight that in the first section of your CV clearly. The summary of great skill sets that match with the requirements of the offered position up front in your CV will get the attention of the job recruiter right away.
Should you have a few weaknesses you think may reduce your opportunity to get a job, you will need to get better equipped through special train-ing or by taking some relevant courses immediately. This will help you prepare for the job interview and add more value to your CV.
These recommendations are just a starting point before you draft your personal resume. Always keep in mind that you are selling yourself to your target consumers or your future em-ployers. Once you have carefully done the SWOT analysis of yourself, you will be ready to write a full CV impressively by highlighting your strengths and depreciating your weaknesses with some relevant training or practice.
One more tip to help you win the heart of your future employer is to tailor your personal resume to each of your ideal companies, if you have applied to more than one.
Here you can see how marketing is really a social science that can be a part of our daily life. And so, in the spirit of Songkran, I would like to share my best wishes to all new Thai graduates for good fortune in their career in the year to come. Happy Songkran 2012!

Medhee Jarumaneeroj is Influencer Marketing & External Relations Leader – Asia Male Grooming at Procter & Gamble Asia. Follow his articles in the Hi! Managers column every fourth Monday of the month.