Ideas For Marketing Your Résumé

Marketing is a contest for people’s attention.” Seth Godin

Did you know that the Bible is a marketing resource?

Much of the New Testament is God’s marketing plan. It’s intended to get His story out, so you can learn strategies from His approach that will work to get your story out as well.

Onion-layer marketing:

Acts 1 presents a marketing strategy you can use. Verse 8 says:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

For the Israelites, Jerusalem referred to their relatives and their hometown. The command encouraged them to start their evangelism close to home.

The next layer was their own country. The scripture commanded them to go to all the inhabitants of the country, North and South. The command to go into Judea and Samaria meant they were to go without distinction.

How it applies to your marketing plan…

• In your network-marketing plan, starting in Jerusalem would be the same as talking to the people closest to you ‒ family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers.
• The Judea level in your marketing plan is people you know, but not as well as those close to you. This may include acquaintances, coworkers, those you attend church with, and neighbors.
• The Samaria level in your marketing plan includes people you see at work, in the neighborhood, in passing at church, and other places where you recognize their faces, but may not know their names.
• The “uttermost parts” to the Jews was the rest of the world. To you, it includes people unknown to you at present.

This is the onion-layer strategy. It’s taking a networking approach to your relationships, and prioritizing how to approach them. First, you may ask, why networking? Second, why should you consider this approach?

1. First, why networking? Networking, simply talking to people, is the best way to uncover opportunities that are very difficult to find otherwise.
   • When you talk to people, they get to know more about you. They’ll see what you’re all about, the type of job you’re seeking.
   • They’ll feel comfortable about referring you to opportunities they become aware of.
   • They can hand-carry your résumé to their employer when they see a fit for your skills, just as the cupbearer did for Joseph.
   • This really is the best kind of referral you can have. These contacts can also let you know about opportunities where they work that haven’t been made public yet. This type of referral gives you a jump on the competition.
2. Second, why should you consider this approach? It’s easier to polish your story with people who know you and make you comfortable, before you tell it to people who don’t know you well.
   • People you already know will be less critical and more accepting than strangers will.
   • As you tell your story to your friends, you’ll learn what information you can get from them and what you should plan to give.
   • Then when you approach people you don’t know as well, you’ll already have talked with others, and it will come much easier.

Do you currently have networking as part of your marketing plan? And if you do, are you doing it as effectively as you could?

I was fearful about talking to others about my job search through networking as well. I didn’t know how to approach them or what to say. It’s still not my favorite thing to do because I’m more of an introvert by nature. After much practice, I can now do it fairly successfully. I’m confident you’ll find the same thing.

(My book, “The Christian Job Search Manual” offers worksheets and examples that will help you be more effective in your marketing plan.)

In my next post I’ll talk about Pomegranate-seed marketing…

This is an excerpt from my book “The Christian Job Search Manual,” click on this link to purchase the book.

If you would like to explore working with a Christian centered Career Coach, Contact me for a no-obligation 60-90 minute job search consultation with America’s Job Searching Coach, or text me at 425-220-0707  and we can discuss your situation, your résumé, what you would like to achieve, and structure your job search to fit your uniqueness.

I am also available to speak to groups.