Mike Volpe, the Chief Marketing Officer at Hubspot, wisely suggested, “Don’t be afraid to get creative and experiment with your marketing.”
I urge you to apply this idea to your own job-hunting techniques.  Get creative and experiment with the marketing of yourself.  In today’s economy there are many qualified candidates for only a few open positions.  It takes creativity and experimentation to stand out in a crowd of job-hunters.  You must convince the employer that YOU are the most qualified person for the position.  The following three steps can serve as the guide for how to market yourself.

  1. TAKE MARKETING CLASSES – Colorado Free University offers a host of classes specifically directed at marketing, such as “Easy Email Marketing” and “The Key to Smart Marketing.” Attend one of these classes.  Insert your own name when they discuss marketing strategies.  YOU are the business and you are trying to market yourself.  How can you attract people to hire you?  How can you get your name out there?  How can you make yourself more visible?  These tips and more can be learned in a marketing class.
  2. USE SOCIAL MEDIA – Just as a company uses Facebook, Twitter, blogs and other social media to generic traffic to their business, you can use the same sites to generate interest in YOU.  You are a wonderful commodity waiting to be hired–get the word out.  Design your own webpage and put your resume online.  Be your own commercial.  By getting the word out and marketing your skills to others, you make it easiest for a potential employer to find you.  You may know how to use social media to connect with your friends, but do you know how to use it in a professional way?
  3. ATTEND NETWORKING EVENTS – Where can you find networking events in Denver?  Meetup.com is an excellent source.  It lists a variety of groups that are hosting events all around the Denver Metro Area.   Places2Network.com is also a fantastic resource.  To find an event, simply type in the kind of event that you would like to attend (lunch meeting, evening meeting), the days that you are available and the location in which you are interested.  Boom!  Instantly you will have many events at your fingers.  Sign up, show up and start up your own network.  The more you network and market yourself, the sooner you will land your next job.

It is  up to you to market yourself.  However, the more effort that you put into it, the better your rewards are going to be.
See Shelly’s How to Get the Government Job You Want: Tips, Tricks and Benefits can be seen in the Career Search and Discovery Section