Executives – How to Outshine Your Competition in 3 Simple Steps

Over the years I’ve had the pleasure of partnering with some truly amazing professionals – highly accomplished executives who have led billion-dollar organizations, overseen thousands of staff, and propelled impressive revenue/business growth.

Yet when these same astute leaders are pressed to share the specifics of their career with me, in order to build stellar career tools, they feel challenged.

Sometimes they are humble and don’t want to brag…other times they are wildly off track.

During a career transition or job change you can’t be quiet or humble – you need to be confident in your abilities and know what your personal value is.

In addition, you need to keep conversations and content focused on employer requirements, demonstrating a clear understanding of needs. Success at outshining your competition boils down to 3 things: know yourself,  know the audience, and know what matters most.

Know yourself. 

Take time to dig deep and unearth a personal value proposition. Work to support your claims with quantifiable and measurable achievements from throughout your career. You can’t claim to be good at something but not provide the proof.

If you aren’t sure what sets you apart, partner with a career professional to help you with that process. Build confidence by understanding what makes you tick, what you’ve excelled at consistently throughout your career, and how these offerings can be of benefit to prospective employers.

Know your audience.

Understand the language they speak and the requirements they seek. People gravitate more towards people they like and feel connected to. Speaking the same language gets you on common ground and people become more attuned to what you are saying and what you are ‘selling’.

I often remind clients that the people who secure job offers aren’t always the most qualified for the job; they are typically the better communicators and salespeople. They know themselves and how their abilities and achievements align with the targeted role requirements. To help, identify keywords or key phrases from each targeted job posting to integrate within your career tools and conversations.

Accomplished job seekers apply this selling strategy throughout all aspects of the job search (not just in the resume or on their LinkedIn profile; not just in the interview). They consistently align personal value with employer needs.

Know what matters.

To qualify yourself for opportunities and to showcase your value, cut out anything unrelated.

Let’s say you have a lengthy career in project management leadership but you are applying now for an operational role at the executive level. You don’t need to sell all of your PM skills; instead you want to focus and emphasize on what matters most to the target job: operational oversight, business analysis, financial management, and team leadership may be top examples.

Recognizing what skill sets matter most to the employer can focus your career tools and refine your messaging. Customize your resume for every job application. Cut out anything unrelated.