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5 Simple Self-Marketing Tips for Cleared Job Seekers

When you are actively searching for a new cleared position – or thinking that you may need to soon, it is time to put together a personal marketing plan. Learning to think of yourself as a product is critical. This includes discovering what you are ‘selling’ and how to emphasis those aspects that most appeal to the right employers.

Once you know your ‘product’ and have clarified the value you offer employers, it is time for a marketing campaign. The simple tips below are designed to support and augment your direct job search methods.

Tip 1. Up Your Social Media Visibility

Start by re-thinking your LinkedIn profile. Don’t just update it a bit, consider a complete review and re-do. (Yes, first turn off the updates – there is a button on your profile editing page to do that.) Is your headshot a crisp picture of you in appropriate business attire, smiling? Does your profile summary clearly convey your relevant skills, current experience, and the value you add? Are your jobs shown with boring job descriptions or great snapshots of your achievements and results? Have you used the best keywords for your work and desired employers?

Ask a few trusted friends to review your profile and make suggestions. A little help with grammar and spelling is useful too. Enlist some past bosses and others who know your work to write recommendations – recruiters and hiring managers look for these.

Use updates regularly. Share some relevant industry articles. Contribute to the most important groups in your career field. Consider joining others that may be useful. Skip posting political commentary, cat videos, or quizzes. You want to be seen as smart and engaged in your field, without telegraphing ‘I need a job.’

Learn how to use Twitter for job search tips as well as to connect with target employers and their recruiters. Follow company pages on LinkedIn or Facebook.

Also consider using a personal website, a portfolio, Twitter feed, or blog as ways to show what you offer to potential employers.

Tip 2. Use ClearedJobs.Net Effectively

Make sure that your resume(s), key skills and job agents on ClearedJobs.Net are current. Log in to your ClearedJobs.Net profile at least once a month. That refreshes the date associated with your profile, which means you’ll show up at the beginning of a recruiter or hiring manager’s search results.

Tip 3. Use Email and Voicemail to Support Your Goals

You should have a separate email for your job search. Make sure your email address is professional and clear. JoeSchmoePMP@ or MaryMindCISSP@ are great ways to remind people of a key skill or certification you offer. Then add a useful email signature. Put in your name, your preferred contact details, and a line or two about your goals and value.

Keep your voicemail message professional and brief. If you are not allowed to use a cellphone at work but still want to include it as a way to contact you, state that you return messages at 1-2 specific times each day and when.

Tip 4. Develop a Plan and Use Your Network Effectively

Too often we start a job search by blasting out a request for a job to all we know. Not smart, rarely effective. Instead:

• Think about your network and segment it into categories by each category of help you need – ideas, info on target employers, references, contacts, support.
• Define the easiest way for you to keep track of your actions with each person and do so.
• Set a weekly target for the number of people you will contact for ideas and support, then act. Make the number realistic! You are not going to write a meaningful note or have a great conversation with 25-50 people each week.
• Keep records and follow-up as needed. Remember to say thanks and to give back too!

Tip 5. Business Cards

Whether you have business cards from work or not, investing in a business card specifically to support your job search pays off. Go for a simple style and be sure to use both sides.

• Side 1 includes the basics of name, desired job type, social media links such as your personalized LinkedIn URL, and contact information.
• Side 2 offers a brief ‘highlights’ list about you – include hot skills/expertise, relevant certifications, whatever else is most important.

These cards are great for meetings you attend and other professional events. They can be used when talking with people at community or kid’s events and any other place you may be connecting with people. They offer people a quick and easy way to remember you and contact you. That makes it easier to help you with your search. Take them along on job interviews as well as when attending our job fairs.

Patra Frame is ClearedJobs.Net’s HR Consultant. She is an experienced human resources executive and founder of Strategies for Human Resources. Patra is an Air Force veteran and charter member of the Women in Military Service for America Memorial. Follow Patra on Twitter @2Patra.