We recently went through a recruitment process for a new Business Development Manager. The standout candidate was the one who showed he had not only read, understood and addressed all our requirements set out in the ad, but had also done his homework on our company right from his first contact with us.

With the change in economic circumstances, the prevailing ‘talk’ at the moment is that businesses will be putting their recruitment plans on hold – just one of the belt tightening measures aimed at weathering out this latest economic storm.

It may well be that the staff shortages that challenged business growth during the boom times, becomes less of a concern. This means it will be even harder for those seeking to enter the employment market for the first time.

Each week we receive at least one email enquiry about job opportunities at Hot PJ. My heart goes out to the graphic designers who are entering the job market for the first time without the commercial experience that most employers demand. I was once in their shoes. Fortunately for me, when I finished my training there weren’t as many design colleges as there are now, turning out more designers than there are jobs for.

Even though graphic designers are seeking work in a commercial environment, where every piece of work they will produce supports a marketing activity, very few of them display even the remotest understanding of this.

Typically the emails we receive from designers read something like this:

- May name is Joe Brown and I am a graphic designer.
- I am seeking work in Christchurch because:

a: I have just returned from overseas
b: I am on a working holiday
c: I have just qualified from design school
d: I want to expand my design skills

- attached is my CV, link to website, etc.

Unfortunately I have yet to see one that shows they understanding the principles of marketing, by selling the benefits of their unique attributes in such a way that makes me refrain from hitting the delete button. They are all focussed on their own needs for a job without addressing any of the employer’s. This is the same trap many companies fall into when they focus on the features of their product instead of the benefits to the customer.

Without showing that they can effectively and creatively market themselves by at least addressing some of my needs as an employer, I can’t be sure at all that these prospective designers will be able to do the same for my clients.

The moral of this story – whether you are a business with a product or service to sell, or a employee looking for a job, the opportunity exists for you to stand out from your competitors by following the basic principles of marketing

Posted on July 27th, 2008 by Wendy Riley-Biddle
Filed under: Marketing