Job hunting and arrogance go hand in hand.

Job hunting and arrogance go hand in hand.  I was recently separated from my company due to restructuring after nearly 8 years of service.  As such, I have found myself in the market for a new position.  I have been using the outplacement services provided to me by my former employer and self promotion and creating a marketing plan was one of the first things I had to do.

You see, I am a product and service wrapped up into a tidy package.  I must act much like the Sham Wow salesman on late night TV and convince the buying world of those with jobs open why I am the best candidate for their open position.  "Hire Jonathan now- and as a bonus you will get 4 more weeks of super productivity  and one hidden skill set you never knew you needed."  With self promotion comes some level of arrogance.  Why arrogance? Because to promote oneself you have to start believing the hype and if you are loping for the competitive edge you have to develop a tad of arrogance.

Why am *I* the best for this job, well I'll tell you why.  The meek shall not inherit the position is most cases - at least in this economy.

We also must develop an online presence and social media plan.  The obvious choice is of course LinkedIn.  Now, I mentioned Klout many times on this blog, and I'd like to think I have a decent internet presence.  For competitive job hunting, I need to beef up my presence and get my LinkedIn profile into the best shape possible.  Here is my shameless plug - 

http://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanlowriemba

Yes - click the link and check out my profile.  Really.  I guarantee you will find something to spark your interest. Come visit my profile- take a gander at my skills.  I am an experienced professional offering a distinctive managerial presence across the aquarium, zoological, and pharmaceutical industries.  I excel in team leadership, problem resolution, and technical know-how. I am well organized and disciplined; I possess keen interpersonal skills and a faculty to motivate in a disciplined yet symbiotic manner. I have an aptness with Federal, and local regulatory agencies, and for serving in mission-critical roles. I am recognized for leadership abilities. My diverse background and education brings unique creativity to problem solving under tight resources. I have proven success in executing strategic management goals and improving efficiency and costs.

Now that was a positioning statement.  An elevator speech so to speak.  And of course the reason for todays blog post.  

Most folks do not have a need or desire to come off as self promoting or a braggart  but to sell yourself to the job market you have to somehow get noticed and be the solution to the problem at hand.  

I do not think of myself as arrogant, although I have been called such.  I have often been labeled as arrogant, and blunt by many, especially my peers who sometimes steered away from me.  I do think I am intelligent, capable and a data and facts sort of person, so that aloof presence can radiate some arrogance.  Some people get sweaty palms when nervous, I spout answers to facts and random knowledge tidbits I have picked up over the years. O know what I know and I am not ashamed of that fact.  If I do not know something, I research it and find it out.  That is just me.

But I am more than a walking Wikipedia. I would like to think of myself as a solution rather than a product.  Of course Human Resource departments by design look at employees as human capital and your skill set, motivation, worth ethic all factor into an overall gauge for your performance at accomplishing the job at hand.  Alas I am not sure this is the best way to approach the problem.  More of a chicken and the egg kind of mental mind problem.

Steve Jobs at Apple proved consumers do not always know what they want.  If you had asked the average person in 2005 what an ideal music player should be like you would never have come up with the iPod.  Yet Steve and Apple released a product that quite literally changed the world.  They solved problems rather than filled the needs people thought they wanted.

What is the solution to the perfect marketing plan? I do not yet know. But I intend to find a balance of my own form of humble arrogance and hopefully add in some Steve Jobs like solutions for problems my next employer didn't even know it had and come up with the perfect plan.

I will continue to learn, expand my knowledge base and follow the advice of my outsourcing partners and self promote.

I also find it nearly impossible to be completely arrogant while looking for work.  I have to say I have seen and applied for many jobs I thought were 'perfect matches'. Some I got interviews for, others not even a phone call.  That will take a toll on any ego.  So a thick skin and some level of arrogance is necessary for job hunting survival.  So wish me luck, and know I am not join to pick up a career hawking goods for HSN and I am engaging in the fine art of self promotion and hopefully balancing any arrogance with my other positive traits.