When it comes to your job search, your value proposition is critical. What is your value proposition, exactly? It’s that set of skills (soft, technical or industry-specific) that make you better suited for a position. More importantly, they make you stand out from the competition. 
So understanding your value proposition – and effectively communicating it – during job interviews is key. These four tips can help you better position yourself for your next career opportunity:
- Do research on the company’s main challenges. To understand how you can best perform within a certain role and company, you should understand its challenges or “pains.” What are they struggling with? Where could they improve? Once you’ve identified those challenges or “pains,” take a look at your background and accomplishments to craft a value proposition that directly addresses them. This small bit of research will immediately put you miles ahead of the competition.
- Read past performance reviews and ask for more input. Performance reviews are an excellent opportunity for your supervisors to review your on-the-job performance and offer tangible steps for reaching your goals. Review them for critical insights to guide your value proposition. Also, don’t be afraid to reach out to your peers with targeted questions. Targeted questions can help you gain some excellent insight into your specific value proposition. When speaking to co-workers, position the question as a method of trying to improve your performance and expertise. Try something like: “What is the one area of expertise or skill where you feel like I’m the ‘go-to’ person in our office?” or “If I focused my attention on strengthening one skill, what should it be?”
- Pare down extras. In your written communications and during job interviews, eliminate any extras that don’t support your value proposition. You may have worked really hard to gain some specific experience or accomplishment, but if it doesn’t contribute to your value proposition, it’s diluting the message you want to convey the most. Leave it off your resume and avoid bringing it up during job interviews (Bonus: Recruiters spend an average of six seconds looking at your resume – This ensures they’re spending those six seconds on the most important parts!).
- Go beyond your resume. Your cover letter should entice recruiters to read your resume, and your resume should get you a job interview. Don’t head into a job interview ready to simply regurgitate the points on your resume. Instead, illuminate those points. Offer insights into how you achieved certain results or how you overcame challenges to succeed.
Understanding your unique value proposition has tremendous impact, both for job seekers and professionals in every capacity. Following these steps can help you take a closer look at your career and how you’ve developed, and can help you further enhance your value within the workplace. Defining your value proposition now can be a tremendous step toward advancing your career and reaching your goals!
Helpmates specializes in helping professionals in Southern California reach their career goals across a range of disciplines. Visit our job board for the latest job openings, or contact your local Helpmates office for more information.
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