Last month's article "Are You A Linchpin?" was inspired by the outstanding branding / marketing expert Seth Godin's book, Linchpin. Towards the end, he asks, "What's Your Superpower?"
As I noted in last month's article, "The most successful are the Career Search Linchpins who figure out ways to distinguish themselves from everyone else and truly master niche marketing. Instead of worrying about their competition, they focus on what makes them unique to stand out in the crowd."
This comes down to figuring out your superpower.
Seth drew the analogy to comic books, where the lesser known superheroes would always introduce themselves by describing their superpowers. This made them memorable.
So how do you introduce yourself to networking contacts, hiring managers, and executives at your company? Do you present your superpowers? Do you even know what they are?
When you present a title, like "I'm a project manager" or "I'm a pricing actuary", you aren't presenting a superpower. You're just telling me what slot to place you in, along with all of the other people who are in that same slot. You're making me less interested in even hearing about your superpower, and 'tainting' it by whatever baggage I attach in my own mind to your opening statement. ("Project managers are too process oriented." "Actuaries are boring and can't communicate.")
When you tell me "I can work in many industries", "I can do lots of things", or "I have transferable skills", any superpower you might have presented begins to decay. You are avoiding the laser-like focus that generates true engagement and raises your profile in your stated niche.
What is a superpower?
If you would like the complete article, just drop me a note at John@JHACareers.com, or you can visit my website to check out the contents of past issues and selected articles at www.JHACareers.com/Newsletter.htm
Other topics I covered in this most recent issue include:
John
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John West Hadley Career Search Counselor (908) 725-2437
"Land The Job And Pay You Deserve"
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