The Sales and Marketing Mindset to Job Hunting

In my article on The Robert Kiyosaki, “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” Sales and Marketing Mindset for Success, I summarized a section of Kiyosaki’s book, “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” where he was interviewed by a reporter who believed she was above the notion of having to do any sort of “sales” to become a bestselling author. You can read my full analysis of this interview at the link above, but in summary, the reporter became very upset upon realizing a major lesson in life: there is a tremendous difference between being a “best selling” author and a “best writing” author. As can be gathered by the title, and if you know a bit about Robert Kiyosaki and/or his book “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” you can probably surmise that a best selling author is usually one who earns more financial success when compared to a best writing author. When you really stop to think about it, a best selling author’s success is quantitative, and can be measured in dollars, while the success of a best writing author is much more subjective, and doesn’t always result in financial achievement.

To address the last statement in the previous paragraph, Kiyosaki acknowledges the fact there are potentially great talent differences between a best selling author and a best writing author, with the latter probably having more talent in the actual field of authorship. Kiyosaki also acknowledges there are many highly educated, talented, and gifted people in the world; however, that many of these people often struggle financially. The reason for their financial hardship is that, “They are one skill away from great wealth.” That skill, or skills, being referred to is sales/marketing! The principles of sales and marketing don’t just have to be applied to the writing industry. As a matter of fact, the same logic can be applied to all facets of life, especially when it comes to job hunting, which we are going to take a closer look at in the next few paragraphs. Let’s start by looking at an example analogy of how you can apply a sales and marketing mindset to all facets of your job hunting endeavors.

Along with advertisements, a company that sells products usually has a detailed, single page or double page document of information that highlights the key features of each of their products. Let’s use a laptop computer as an example. To entice you to buy a laptop, most laptop manufacturers detail and advertise their laptop’s specifications: hard drive, RAM, processor, wireless capabilities, camera specs, basic dimensions, display quality, amongst other notable laptop features desired by most consumers. Rarely does a company just market a picture of their laptop, without any of the previously mentioned information, and expect to make many sales. Nor does the manufacturer initially provide the consumer with an overabundance of information, like what kind of screws were used to hold the device together. The goal of the company is to attract you to their products and eventually sell you their products in the most efficient and captivating way possible. They accomplish this through marketing. The company markets to you through the advertisements of their products, and then you, as the consumer, either buy or don’t buy their products.

Let’s correlate the above paragraph to resume building and job seeking by relating all key aspects. You are the laptop manufacturer, and the products you are selling are you, your skills, your expertise, your communication abilities, your connections, etc.! How are you going to sell your products? You are going to create a very detailed and aesthetically pleasing, single or multi page page advertisement, aka your resume, detailing many important aspects (specs) about you, as to why the consumer (hiring manager/recruiter) should buy your products (hire you). In today’s digitally connected, it would be wise to include an updated LinkedIn profile with a professional photo as part of your overall advertisement package. You sell the computer (yourself, your skills, expertise, etc.) through marketing (applying to jobs, reaching out to employers, recruiters, your network, etc.). The actual computer sale is equivalent to you getting a negotiated offer and becoming gainfully employed. 

Of course, there is more than just advertising and marketing that goes into making an actual sale (negotiating a salary and getting hired). The computer has to fulfill a need of the population. A need, or demand, can be driven by the population and/or created by industry. In our analogy, this means that you actually need to fulfill a demand of the company. The company has to either have a seat that needs to be filled by a person with certain qualifications, skills, or expertise, or you have to convince the company to create a seat for you to fill due to your qualifications, skills, expertise, etc.

Until companies become well established amongst the general population, they not only have to be very aggressive in their marketing and advertising in order to make their sales, but they also have to consistently sell good products over time. This directly translates to you gaining experience and becoming more well known in your field/industry. In both analogies, this is known as establishing a reputation. Generally, the greater a company’s reputation, the easier it is for the company to successfully sell their products. This philosophy applies similarly to job hunting. As you go through your career, you will naturally gain meaningful experiences and expand your expertise. The most important part of establishing a reputation is being able to consistently apply your experiences and expertise. Consistently proving your reputation establishes credibility, also making it easier to market and sell your products successfully. 

In the beginning, especially if you have little to no industry experience, and until you establish a reputation and credibility, you will likely not only have to rely on heavy marketing to a wide audience to get a job (have a well tailored resume and send it out to multiple recruiters/hiring managers of many different industries), but also have flexibility in terms of sales price (salary), time in market (how long you will continue to apply for jobs), type of products (what industries/jobs you will focus on), and target location (where do you want to work). However, over time, as you establish a reputation and credibility, and as your interests become more defined, you will likely be able to do much more of the last topic I’d like to discuss: targeted marketing.

With respect to applying for jobs, target marketing is the process of applying to jobs in a very specific field within an industry. For example, if you were just graduating with your EE degree from college, you would likely market your resume to any engineering company that hires EEs; however, if you are a more experienced EE with a background in Radar, you would likely focus your job applications to a Radar specific job in the defense industry. You probably wouldn’t send your resume to the local energy company or computer manufacturer. To relate to our laptop company analogy, you may think that companies selling laptops rarely limit who they are selling their products to, but the complete opposite is true. Take Apple for example. Apple sells a variety of not only laptops, but desktop and rack mounted computers as well. Why do we see advertisements for Mac laptops but not for the rack mounted Mac Pros? The target audiences between these products are dramatically different. It would be a waste of time and money for Apple to target the general consumer to buy a Mac Pro. The people using Apple laptops to surf the web and do some word processing are very different from the people using Apple’s Mac Pros to do intense graphics rendering and video editing. Let’s not forget about the price difference. A top of the line Macbook Pro in 2020 is about $7,000, while a fully decked out Mac Pro is about $60,000.

Through target marketing, you will be able to go after the exact jobs you want, with the exact responsibilities you are looking for, in the perfect location, and for the salary you desire. Your target audience will likely naturally become more defined for you as you gain expertise in a particular field or industry. Focusing on a specific target market will increase the probability of getting the results you desire, in the least amount of time, and with the least amount of effort.

When it comes to job hunting, which are you going to be, the best selling author, or best writing author? Of course, one should strive to be both, but when it comes to getting a job, you cannot always simply rely on your credentials, numbers, timing, and luck. In order to be successful, or profitable, you have to focus on marketing and selling the products you have to offer. Remember, most people are just one skill away from great wealth, and in this case, one skill away from a good job. Even the IRS distinguishes the difference between a business and a hobby as an entity that is profitable versus one that is operating for pleasure, sport, or recreation. This is not to say that if you don’t see the fruits of your labor, then you are simply operating as a hobbyist. Instead, it means that something in your business strategy must change in order to be profitable. If you operate as a business, you will strive to be as profitable as possible, which ultimately, is the goal of this exercise. Separate yourself from the rest of the crowd, or competition, and develop the mindset and strategies that will help you achieve what you desire. For extra motivation, check out the YouTube video below.