Personal Branding For Job Seekers Step 3: Your Industry UVP
Previous articles in this series:
The fact is, treating your job search like a numbers game by applying to as many positions as possible, doesn’t yield the best results.
Why?
Because companies are looking for strong candidates who can help them solve specific problems and you can’t position yourself as the right potential employee if you’re trying to appeal to everyone.
Currently, around 75% of employers report that they’re having a hard time finding the employees they need. This means they’re looking for you but having trouble finding you or don’t realize that you’re the right candidate.
So, what can you do to ensure that a recruiter or hiring manager will know they’ve found the right potential employee when they land on your LinkedIn profile?
Easy. Instead of listing generic information about your experience and what you’re looking for, you show them you understand their pain points and have the ability to help solve them.
It’s the difference between, “Customer Success Manager Dedicated to Client Satisfaction” and “I bring unexpected industries together. In my previous role as a Customer Success Manager, my unique background in both neuroscience and marketing led to a groundbreaking customer engagement strategy that increased retention rates by 40%.”
Who would you hire if your company was struggling with customer retention?
So the ultimate goal of researching your target audience is to first understand overall industry trends and then uncover specific company challenges so you can position yourself as a problem-solver who can add immediate value to an organization.
I got a little carried away writing this and I had to break it into two parts because ya girl is way too thorough. 🙄
So in this post, I’ll cover how to write industry specific Unique Value Propositions (UVPs), and I’ll get into how to craft company specific UVPs in my next post.
Let’s dive in.
Industry Insights & Trends
It’s a good idea to start by getting a broad overview of industry trends, pain points and future predictions. (also, make note of any companies you come across in your research that you might want to learn more about later).
Before you start, you should choose where you want to collect and organize your data. I use Notion for this kind of thing but use whatever project management tool or spreadsheet that works best for you.
Here are some questions to consider:
Which industries are experiencing significant growth or decline in 2024?
In what ways is your industry growing or declining? What seems to be driving these trends?
What are the leading companies and big names in your industry?
What are the biggest challenges your industry is struggling with?
How are companies addressing these challenges? What’s working and what’s not? Why?
Which positions and skills are in high demand in your industry and why?
What are the salary trends and compensation expectations for the role(s) you want? Do they vary by industry?
What are the predictions for job security over the next 5 years?
What are some emerging job roles or career paths?
How is AI and automation impacting the industry?
Where To Find Answers
There are a lot of different ways to conduct industry research but I suggest you start with a free AI search engine like Perplexity or Bing (NOT ChatGPT or Claude). They have real-time access to the internet so you can use them like regular search engines, however, the big difference is that they compile search results and generate concise, plain-language summaries with cited sources (this makes it easy to fact check results).
They’re basically robot research assistants that save you the hours it could take to sift through thousands of search results yourself. I’m personally a fan of Perplexity. To start, just copy and paste the questions above to search for relevant industry data.
Here are some other places you can look:
Industry Reports and Publications — Professional and trade associations, consulting firms and research organizations publish annual industry outlooks.
Market Research Firms — Organizations like Gartner, IBISWorld, and Forrester regularly publish trend reports and forecasts for various industries.
Industry-Specific News Sites
Business Publications — Reputable business magazines and websites often feature articles on upcoming trends.
Government and Economic Reports — World Bank, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, IMF, and national economic bureaus.
Statista.com — Provides statistics and data on various industries.
Conferences and Trade Shows — Industry events often feature presentations on upcoming trends and innovations.
Social Media and Online Forums — Follow hashtags on Twitter related to your industry (e.g., #TechTrends, #MarketingNews), and join relevant subs on Reddit or find other industry specific forums and Q&A sites to see what kinds of problems people are struggling with.
To stay on top of current trends, set up Google Alerts for relevant keywords and use Feedly to create a customized feed of industry specific news sites, blogs, newsletters and articles. This can help you stay updated on which companies are expanding, merging, or launching new projects.
Position Yourself As The Solution
A well-crafted Unique Value Proposition (UVP) communicates what sets you apart from others in your field, and the specific value you bring to potential employers.
Once you’ve identified industry needs and pain points, you’re ready to analyze the data and find where your unique skills and strengths intersect with market needs. This is the foundation of your UVP.
Write Your Industry UVP
Here’s a ChatGPT prompt to help you map you map this out:
Prompt:
“You are an expert in career development and industry analysis.
I am a [role/title] looking for a new job.
I will give you a list of my skills and strengths, and a list of relevant pain points and market needs in the [your industry] industry.
Your task is to analyze the information I give you and map my strengths and skills to the current needs and trends of my industry.
Here are my skills and strengths:
[insert skills and strengths]
And here are the current market needs in my industry:
[insert market needs]”
To use the prompt, copy, paste, replace [insert skills and strengths] and [insert market needs] with the relevant info, and hit enter.
Example Output:
I used this prompt to generate a UVP for a sales rep in the tech industry and added the following info:
Skills & strengths: Strong sales record, expertise in CRM systems, background in customer psychology
Market need: Companies seeking to personalize and optimize their sales processes)
This is the output ChatGPT gave me:
Your Skills and Strengths:
Strong Sales Record: Proven ability to exceed sales targets and build lasting client relationships.
Expertise in CRM Systems: Proficient in utilizing and optimizing CRM systems to streamline sales processes.
Background in Customer Psychology: In-depth understanding of customer behavior and psychology to tailor and personalize sales approaches.
Current Market Needs in the Tech Industry:
Personalizing Sales Processes: Companies want to tailor their sales strategies to meet individual customer needs.
Optimizing Sales Processes: Streamlining and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the sales process.
Mapping Skills to Market Needs:
1. Strong Sales Record:
Market Need: Personalizing Sales Processes
Intersection: Your ability to exceed sales targets and build strong client relationships directly translates to the need for personalized sales processes. You know how to connect with clients on a personal level and understand their unique needs, which is crucial for personalizing sales strategies.
Statement: “A sales powerhouse with a proven track record of exceeding targets by building strong, personalized client relationships, driving increased conversion rates and customer loyalty.”
2. Expertise in CRM Systems:
Market Need: Optimizing Sales Processes
Intersection: Your proficiency with CRM systems is key to optimizing sales processes. You can streamline workflows, manage customer data effectively, and ensure that every interaction is tracked and optimized for the best outcome.
Statement: “A CRM expert who optimizes sales processes to ensure efficiency and effectiveness, reducing sales cycle time and increasing conversion rates through intelligent data management and streamlined workflows.”
3. Background in Customer Psychology:
Market Need: Personalizing Sales Processes
Intersection: Understanding customer psychology allows you to tailor sales pitches and strategies to meet individual customer needs and preferences. This insight is critical for personalizing the sales process and making customers feel understood and valued.
Statement: “A customer psychology specialist who tailors sales strategies to meet individual customer needs and preferences, enhancing the overall customer experience and driving sales growth.”
Unified Value Proposition:
“A results-driven sales professional with a strong track record of exceeding targets. I leverage CRM expertise and deep customer psychology insights to personalize and optimize sales processes, driving increased conversion rates, customer satisfaction, and streamlined workflows.”
How to Sell Yourself (pun totally intended):
Tailored Resume and LinkedIn Profile: Highlight these intersections clearly. Use keywords like “personalization,” “optimization,” “customer-centric,” and “data-driven” to attract tech industry recruiters.
Success Stories and Metrics: Share specific examples where your skills led to significant improvements in sales processes and results. Numbers speak louder than words!
Thought Leadership: Write blog posts or LinkedIn articles about the importance of personalizing and optimizing sales processes in the tech industry. Position yourself as a thought leader who not only understands these needs but also knows how to address them effectively.
Conclusion
Alright y’all, that’s it for this section, I hope you found it helpful.
In my next post, I’ll talk about how to uncover specific pain points of target companies you want to work for and tailor your UVP to stand out.
Stay tuned!