Last weekend, I was researching marketing tips and tricks, preparing for that time when my book is finally complete (and this weekend I began my official author facebook page!). When reading about USPs (unique selling propositions or points), something finally clicked. When we are job searching, we should be branding and marketing ourselves just like a company or product, so some of these basic marketing principals should be applied! Sure enough, I googled USPs and found that job seekers were encouraged to use them. So how have I applied this new knowledge?
Firstly, let me explain the idea of a USP. Basically, it describes what is unique and worthwhile about a product, brand or person. It answers the question: why should I pick you rather than one of the other candidates? During my Uni course, we had discussed interviews and the process for applying for jobs. We had talked about dressing professionally, giving a good first impression, presenting a strong resume and answering questions as well as we could. However, we all received this training, so what sets one of us apart from the others if we all applied this? A USP helps us stand out among our peers in order to gain the attention and hopefully the position! And this does not involve brightly coloured paper!
As I began to reflect on this, I wondered what my personal USPs were and how I could present them. All my research seemed to define the 'what' and 'why' of USPs, but didn't make the 'how' too easy for me. If this is crossing your mind, I will be honest with you: being unique and finding what is unique about you is not easy, but it can be done and is worthwhile. Let me share how I worked this out for myself.
I began with my flag page, a passion test which I have discussed in a previous post. I chose to only use my top five motivations. I believe that these introduce me in a unique way, set me apart from my peers, and give insight into what kind of teacher I am. I have seen many resumes begin with a statement of belief, and many of them end up looking the same, but my motivations are unique to me and will not be found on every second resume.
I then listed a few of my unique strengths, experiences, beliefs and even a few quotes that people have said about both myself and my teaching. Basically, it is the details that make each of us unique. We can all say, "I believe that engaging students is important, so I do A, B, and C." However, our A, B, C may be very different. Then again, finding a different way to present this may draw just a little more attention. For example, "it is a habit of my students to request homework." This is strong, personal and slightly more unique evidence.
Similarly, reading through statements of belief, you will find many will look very similar, especially if those writing the resumes have the same training. For example, if I had stayed in Tasmania and worked in early childhood, I would have been submitting my resumes with others who had gone through the same course, and many of us would have been singing the praises of learning through play and a variety of experiences. In order to avoid this, my belief statement is incredibly short and specific. I have limited myself to one statement on why I believe casual teaching is important. As a casual teacher, this is relevant and displays the commitment I have to the job. It also provides some insight into how I approach my short teaching blocks, but it doesn't leave the person at the other end wading through the masses of paper to get there. Their time is important and they won't waste it searching through something that looks the same as everyone else's!
If you have just read through all this and you're still feeling clueless as to what your USP is. Stop. Here is another question which may help: What do people say about you? Often, if people compliment you or your work, it is because it is commendable and not seen in everyone, especially if this comes from a colleague. During my final practical, my colleague teacher commented on things I was tempted to shrug off. She saw this, stopped me, and told me that she was telling me because it was a rare thing to find among even final year students. That means, what she was saying about me was my USP, or at least one of my USPs. Remember what people have said about you in the past, and it is likely that a future employer will find it an attractive trait as well.
As my final reflection on the topic, I wondered how to present this information. By now I had a variety of USPs for different areas. I had already had my interview with the one school that bothers interviewing casuals, so I had missed the opportunity to present it in that form. It didn't seem appropriate to slip into my brief resume (I am told that for relief work, one page is sufficient!). If there is a particularly strong, short USP, it is suitable for a cover letter and should be included to get attention as quickly as possible, but I had too many USPs to put them all on the cover page. Finally, looking through the amazing Relief Teaching Ideas community page on facebook, it clicked. I had never understood the appeal of brochures or what I would include in them, other than the usual resume stuff. However, a brochure is perfect for quickly presenting USPs in an interesting, easy-to-read manner. Slipping it into my job application pack wasn't going to be a problem. Personally, I prefer to keep things professional, rather than colourful and attention-grabbing, even as an early-childhood casual, and designed the brochure to be simple and in line with the style of my resume. If others like to get their creative on and that works for them, awesome. I have also heard of people attaching a photo to the front of their brochure and there have been mixed reactions to this, from the principal who finds it unprofessional, to the one who finds it personal. So I here I have provided a basic format, based on my own brochure, along with guidelines for including specific USPs, but I would love to see how others personalise it to fit their own style and preferences. If we are using this to present USPs, it makes sense that each would look unique!
So without further ado, here is the USP brochure format I used:
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| External side of brochure |
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| Internal side of brochure |
Want to read more about USPs and job searching? Click on the links below:
- Social Hire - What Can Lady Gaga Teach You About Your Career? - This is more of an interest article, but with your new knowledge of USPs, can you guess what hers is?
- BL Copywriting - The Only Way to Answer, "Why Should I Buy from You?" - Read this for some great information and a free download to figure out your own USPs.
- Harrison Barnes - The Kick-Ass Marketing Secret of the Most Successful Job Applicants and Employees - I couldn't help but laugh at this article. It is an amusing an informative read on USPs and their value when job searching.
What is your USP? Was it easy or hard to define? How do you present it to potential employers?
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