I was recently asked to comment on how marketing and career development are related so I’d like to share my response with you, the readers of this blog.
There are many similarities between marketing and career management. Good career strategy also involves a personal branding effort.
Much as marketing professionals study their markets, evaluate the products or services they offer and then design marketing campaigns, so too should all professionals examine the product and market of their careers.
Career management begins by designing a “personal marketing campaign”. A personal marketing campaign is a career strategy whereby strengths and weaknesses are identified and then tactics are devised to communicate those strengths to effectively sell the product--the person, are steps are taken to overcome weaknesses-professional development.
In a traditional marketing campaign, a marketing plan is thoughtfully designed and carefully implemented.
Benchmarks are defined, measurements are taken along the way and results measured before, during and after the campaign. Only then can one evaluate whether or not their plan is working.
Personal branding and personal marketing involve the processes of bringing clarity to your core purpose, your unique attributes, expertise or perspective and then communicating those consistently to a clearly defined market who will benefit from the unique value you offer. Career benchmarks are defined and measurements taken at pre-defined intervals. Only then can the professional track if their career is progressing according to plan.
Career management is nothing more and nothing less than marketing yourself by fully understanding your unique value and fully understanding who can benefit from that value and then delivering it to them.
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