Five absolute ‘musts’ for marketing yourself as a Contractor or Interim Manager

8th Feb 2011

1) Make sure your LinkedIn profile has been given the same care and attention as a corporate website. It is effectively your website to promote your micro-business and is a critical piece of marketing collateral which is viewed by 85% of Recruiters / Hiring Managers before a hiring decision is made.
2) Shift your thinking about CVs. Most people are still using the same style that they had when they left school or university. Times have moved on and CV trends change just the same as everything else does. If you don’t know what the currents trends are, seek help.
3) Embrace marketing principles. If we all agree that LinkedIn profiles and CVs are marketing collateral for your micro-business, why do many people feel that core marketing principles do not apply. A good website is good because the information architecture has been optimised; have you maximised the information architecture on your CV? Do you know how to?
4) Think of yourself as a product or service rather than a job seeker. Does a company go to market with home made, badly presented marketing collateral? Of course not, so why do many Contractors and Interim Managers go to market with home made and badly presented CVs / LinkedIn profiles.
5) Be more self-aware. I regularly assist very senior executives, and you would be surprised how many of them do not have a clearly defined value proposition. If you are selling a product or service, you know every single feature and benefit that the product offers; can you do the same when you are selling yourself. Here's a quick test: what are the top 5 skills that your clients need and what are the top 5 skills that you offer? If you cannot answer that in 20 seconds then you are not equipped to do yourself justice in an interview / client meeting.

We are running a seminar on Feb 28th in Central London that covers advanced CV writing, advanced interview technique, how to use sales techniques in interview, and how to create a more effective LinkedIn strategy. For more info, visit http://www.cvandinterviewadvisors.co.uk/ivc/30