Why Should Someone Hire You?

I am sure everyone has encountered this situation: a friend or colleague has lost their job and starts looking for a new one. They write a resume, start looking and find that what used to work for them no longer does. Initial optimistic concern turns into dire panic as time goes by as the person in question finds that they are not getting any kind of response. They seek advice from anyone in their network for assistance.

I have run into this more times than I care to count in the past year and the symptoms may vary but the cure is the same. I always explain to them that they can get a great start on their next opportunity by answering the question "Why should someone hire you?". This ranks right up there with my other question on "What do you want to do?" but is far more direct.

This question drives at what I call a "complete value proposition". Most people still think that simply having a resume and then going out to look is all it takes to find a job. While basically true there is much more that goes into this. This is what I recommend to friends and colleagues of mine on addressing this question:

• Get all of your value written down. Take a look at old performance reviews, emails, comments from peers on what they really appreciated or valued. I advise making 2 columns: one for thoughts, and one for value. You can write any thought down but always make sure to write down what the value is. In many cases to people that I speak with, they have no idea why they received the praise or what value they have. This helps a lot.
• Determine your core value. Look at what you have written down and see what the common theme is. It may be related to project management, writing code, getting costs down, delivering a marketing campaign, etc. It will most likely be more than one thing so make sure to jot down the various characteristics and weave it into a common theme.
• After knowing your value and getting a theme, plan your message. Everyone asks what is this and why do it? Simply knowing your value is not enough. You have to get others to recognize it as well. Also not everything fits onto a resume; only the most important items for the position you are seeking fit. This usually means a lot does not make it onto a resume. So what about these facts? The best use is for your overall message. They play pivotal roles such as bios for Twitter, descriptions for LinkedIn, descriptions in your blog, follow up emails, and even as practiced talking points.
• Practice, practice, practice! Now that you have your message planned out, go out and implement. Apply it to Twitter, update your Linkedin, write a few entries for your blog, and go to networking events or just plain interesting meetups in your area and see how your practiced dialogs go. I like to think of it as an iterative development cycle for your value and hiring. It will not be perfect the first time out in the public eye, but adjust it quickly and improve along the way, and it will become second nature.
• It takes time. This is the one single thing that I stress over and over. Most people think that they can do all of this in "a week or so". This is absolutely not true. It usually takes weeks to months from beginning to end. Unless you are continually practicing this sort of thing on a regular basis, it takes time to update everything properly and re-assess whether your value and message are accurate. The best time to start is before you actually need it. But even in the worst case, dedicated effort can really help.

Many of my colleagues and friends who have done some of what I have suggested have been really happy with how effective the approach can be. I am just happy that they find a new place to work at a time when the market is so challenging.