How will you market yourself?


Marketing yourself is becoming a common term in the job search process.
It may involve using several of the following tools and situations to show how your skills and experiences can meet the needs of a particular employer
Marketing tools are most effective when you have good knowledge and understanding of yourself and your employability skills and labour market trends.
Whether you are planning to go into business for yourself or not, certain skills can help you market yourself.
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Marketing Tools
Resumes and Cover Letters
Application Forms
Portfolios
Interviews
Networking

Application Forms
Application forms are another way of marketing yourself. Employers may require application forms in addition to resumes to help gather information on the suitability of perspective employees. Their structured format can help them sort through certain criteria more easily.
When completing application forms, remember:
• Take two copies home with you to fill out. Just like tax forms, practice on one and then complete the final copy on the second.
• Be as neat as possible.
• If you require more space to fill out a certain answer, attach a separate sheet.
• Emphasize your skills which are related to the job you are applying for (just like your resume!).
• Write N/A for non-applicable or draw a line through a section that you do not want to answer because either it goes against Saskatchewan Human Rights Code of Standards for Applications & Interviews or because you feel it would serve you better to discuss it at time of an interview.

Portfolios
What is a portfolio?
Portfolios are relatively new marketing tools in the world of work. Well, what is a portfolio? It is a portable "show and tell" collection that demonstrates your past related skills and accomplishments for the job that you are applying for. It may be in a binder, file folder, on video or you may create an electronic portfolio on a computer disk.
What goes into a portfolio?
It is important to select items that will emphasize your related skills and abilities for the job that you are applying for. As in creating your resume and in answering behavioural descriptive interview questions, select items that are relevant, recent and your best examples. With this in mind, you might include a number of the following:
- several copies of your resumes

- letters of recommendation

- certificates or diplomas

- a list of references

- past work performance reviews

- journal or magazine articles you have written

- grade transcripts

- excerpts from presentations, with some of the visuals

proposals

- flyers advertising a course you have taken

- anecdotes from evaluations of your performance

- top page of a college paper with professor's comments

- an award

- a picture of something you built

- any products of your work or pictures of your products

- a list of questions for your actual interviews or informational interviews
Organizing Your Portfolio
Take time to organize and present your information. Think of the job that you are applying for and the intended people who will be looking at your portfolio. You may rearrange your portfolio and select different items depending on your audience. You may decide to arrange your portfolio chronologically, alphabetically, or topically. Include a table of contents.
When to Use Your Portfolio
You may take your portfolio:

- when networking with friends and family demonstrating your skills & abilities;

- when networking with prospective employers,

- when doing informational interviews; you might ask for feedback;

- to actual job interviews to emphasize particular related skills or accomplishments – think out ahead of time so that you choose relevant items and so that you can access it quickly;

- to leave for interviewers look at after an interview,

- to show your individuals who may be your references.
On a cautionary note, you might want to make several copies of your portfolio, so that you if you lose a copy you have a backup.