Defining Your Assets and Competitive Edge for Your Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Defining Your Assets and Competitive Edge for Your Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career I’ve written before on how to discover your personal brand, but in this post I’ll take it a step further by discussing defining your assets and competitive edge â€" particularly during a job search. Another way to think about assets and competitive edge is your unique selling point(s). What makes you better than your competition? Why would a hiring manager choose you over the hundreds of other candidates that may be interested in this job? The competitive edge When defining your assets, ask yourself the following questions: What qualities do I possess that can set me apart from others? What are my specific skills? What knowledge do I have that can be valuable to an employer? Which attributes that I possess are most valuable to potential employers? Once you’ve contemplated your best assets and how they will benefit future employers, it’s time to focus on your competitive edge. Your brand and your job search In today’s job market, having a competitive edge is important. Along with that competitive edge, you need to possess confidence in your skills and experience and be able to communicate your value to a potential employer. To define your competitive edge, take into account all of the information you brainstormed for your assets. Now, consider other professionals in your field and how your assets differ from theirs. What do you possess that others don’t? What unique mix of skills, experience and knowledge do you have? Focusing on the specific job opening or organization, what do they need that you can help them with? Once you’ve determined your unique selling points and the benefits those have for future employers, you can incorporate it into your cover letter, resume, elevator pitch and online presence. Author: Heather R. Huhman is a career expert and founder president of Come Recommended, a career and workplace education and consulting firm specializing in young professionals. She is also the author of #ENTRYLEVELtweet: Taking Your Career from Classroom to Cubicle (2010), national entry-level careers columnist for Examiner.com and blogs about career advice at HeatherHuhman.com. Follow her on Twitter at @heatherhuhman.