“Why would a potential employer want to choose me over all the other job applicants?”

“What do I have to offer that makes me unique?”

Answering these question is one of the most common challenges I see in clients starting a job search, as well as those who have been slogging along, responding to job postings and becoming increasingly more demoralized.

It can lead to feeling desperate and be willing to take any job that’s offered, even those you know in your heart  aren’t a good fit.

You’re Not Alone and Here’s How To Overcome This Problem

It’s hard for most of us to really get a clear picture of what we bring to the proverbial table for several reasons that need to be overcome.

IF YOU ARE IN A DISEMPOWERED STATE, YOU CAN’T SEE YOUR STRENGTHS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

When people feel anxious or afraid, their nervous system is literally tuned to notice negative and not positive.

Thus, if you’re feeling anxious or scared, you’re not able to see the full scope of your strengths and accomplishments.

Furthermore, our emotional state colors our perception of the things we do see.

Thus, if you’re feeling shame about being laid off, that emotional state makes it likely you’ll see your strengths and accomplishments in a muted or even jaundiced way (e.g. “It really wasn’t that big of a deal that I did ____, I had a lot of help.”)

Remedy – Get good at shifting your state in the moment (here’s a link to a recent post I wrote on this) and…do whatever emotional healing work you need to do to feel more empowered and optimistic.

BECAUSE YOU “CAN’T READ THE LABEL FROM INSIDE THE BOTTLE” YOU CAN’T SEE WHAT OTHERS CAN

We live our lives from within our skin, not as an objective observer, so we can’t see ourselves as others do.

Furthermore, our unconscious patterns and “unconscious competence” are exactly that…unconscious.

So there are a lot of traits and abilities that we don’t even notice that others can and do.

We need to become aware of them so we can, in the words of Dolly Parton “Find out who you are and do it on purpose.”

Remedy – Use assessment tools like the Clifton Strengths Assessment (the full 34 item version) and work with a coach. Also, do the Best Self Feedback exercise which will give you both incredibly useful information and boost your confidence.

YOU ASSUME BECAUSE SOMETHING IS EASY FOR YOU, IT’S EASY FOR EVERYONE AND THEREFORE NOT A DIFFERENTIATOR

The opposite is actually most likely true.

Those are the things that reflect your strengths and innate talents.

Those are most likely your Super Powers.

Remedy –  Do the Best Self Exercise I mentioned earlier. Work with a coach to explore and analyze your accomplishments and what you do well, and notice the common themes. Do the Seven Stories exercise in What Color Is Your Parachute.

YOU HAVEN’T DONE YOUR RESUME CORRECTLY 

If you have done your resume like many do, you’ve made a list of tasks and responsibilities under each position you’ve held.

Please remember this:

Recruiters and hiring managers aren’t interested in your previous job descriptions.  They want to know what results you’ve delivered, because they hire people for the results they want them to deliver.

That’s what they pay for…results.

By asking “What was the result of me doing X?” where X is each task or responsibility you put in your resume, you both create a MUCH stronger resume, you also get clearer on all the value you’ve provided in the past, and…

…will provide a future employer.

This will boost your confidence (and therefore shift you to a more empowered state) and…provide you with information you can use to make that confidence legitimate so its sustainable, and…

Remedy – Upgrade your resume by asking “What was the result of me doing X?”

For help in any of these areas, feel free to email me, text or call 207-286-4367.