The main thing to realize when looking for a job is that you are a product. Think of yourself as an account executive trying to sell something. You have a dual role. You are the sales person and your skills are your merchandise. What do you bring to the table? What are your talents? What do you do better than others? It is your job to figure it out. And once you figure it out, it is your responsibility to learn how to be confident in your abilities. Like any manufacturer interested in quality assurance, you need to also realize your weaknesses and try to compensate for them. By compensate, I don’t mean lie, for there is no room for dishonesty in your job search. But everyone has weaknesses and everyone can afford to better themselves.

Why does anyone buy a product? We buy products because we need them, that is the most obvious answer, but why else do we purchase goods? Because we realize how much easier our lives would be if we had that product in our possession. Employers are the same way. A recruiter wants to know that you and your skills will be invaluable to the position in which you are applying. But how do you achieve this? There are certain things to think about; your presentation, your ‘merchandise’ and your liability factor.

As your own advocate and sales person, it is imperative to think of how you make an impression. Your presentation is your branding and your packaging. Do we ever buy products based on the packaging? Absolutely. Your presentation starts at your resume. The resume is your first contact with a potential employer. It is essentially the advertisement of your skills. It is so important to target your resume to your desired position, using the skills from your experience and education to highlight what you can do. Key words, industry jargon, and statistics should be arranged in a chronological, easy-to-read format. Your phone number, professional email address and contact information should be visible and up-to-date. (I’ll post another blog about how to write a killer resume, but for now, I will just highlight the gist of it.) Your resume should make the recruiter want to reach out to you. In a sea of thousands of possible candidates, what makes you stand out? Your resume is your gateway to being recruited. But the resume is only the tip of the iceberg. Your presentation is how you carry yourself; how you conduct yourself in public; how you dress; how you speak; and ultimately how you will fit in with the culture of the organization. Figure out a professional presentation for your merchandise, and you are half way to getting to your goal.

What is it that you are selling? And why does anyone need it? This is the bread and butter of who you are and what you can bring to the table. It is the product you are delivering, your merchandise—essentially—your skills. First, you have to think of the future. Where do you see yourself in your career in five years? You have to be realistic about this vision. Don’t expect to become CEO of Google if you just graduated with your Associates in liberal arts. But you should have a career benchmark in mind that is a reasonable goal. And like any good business plan, you have to figure out what steps need to be taken to get to that goal. What is the position that you can reasonably reach for now? And what skills do you have that will be alluring? This might take some research. But hey, isn’t that what the internet is for? A successful advertising campaign makes the consumer feel a burning ‘need’ for the product. But first it comes from you. You need to realize what skills you do best and market them. Then stand behind them with confidence during your interview. Your confidence in your abilities, with your professional presentation might be just enough to convince a skeptical audience.

Your liability factor is your work ethic. It is difficult for a recruiter to fully gauge work ethic from a simple interview, but there are some pretty telling signs. For one thing, how easy was it for the recruiter to get in touch with you? How many times did you postpone your interview, were you late to the meeting? And where are you embellishing your skills where you may not be that strong? Being reliable, easily accessible and forthright are all extremely important. It costs a company a great deal of money and time to fill positions and they want to believe that without a doubt, you will deliver your merchandise consistently and reliably and hopefully grow and thrive in your new role.

Your liability factor can also be your weaknesses. It is important to remember that everyone has a set of weaknesses, but the real questions are these: Do you know what your weaknesses are? Are you able to take constructive criticism? And are you willing to figure out how to fix your problems?

If you master each of these aspects of selling your product, you will surely be a strong contender in getting the job. You are your own best advocate, but you can also be your own worst enemy. It is ultimately in your hands. You are the only person selling your skills. So have confidence in your abilities and present them in the most professional manner.

A recruiter is someone engaging in recruitment; or the thorough search and selection process of candidates to fill jobs or positions for an Employer. The search for the perfect candidate is a difficult task, but someone has to do it——that is my job. I search for capable, reliable, intelligent and enthusiastic people; in hopes that I will find the very best ones.

Just like anything in life, no organization and no individual is ‘perfect’ (in the idealistic sense of the word), but there is certainly an art to matching the right candidate to the right job. Everyone is born with talents that are cultivated through life experience, work experience and education. It is my job to decipher your talents, your strengths and your weaknesses to determine if you, in fact, would succeed in a particular role. There are some candidates with limitless potential, others with minimal potential and others who are simply clueless.

In this time of so much economic uncertainty and so much competition—the job market has essentially become ‘the survival of the fittest’. I’ve decided to start a blog to outline what recruiters really look for; to help YOU stay one step ahead in the race.