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6 Tips to Help You Stand Out Amongst the Masses

This evening Value Drugs (an independent pharmacy and housewares store) in my community was filled with holiday shoppers. Reminiscent of the old Woolworths, Value Drugs is nestled off the main road in a community cluttered with 3 CVS’s, 1 Walgreens, 2 True Value Hardware Stores, and a large Stop n’ Shop. While the parking lots of the aforementioned sat vacant, Value Drugs was bustling with activity. The reason for the increased activity was a unique promotion that invited “family and friends” to their holiday party.

With 533,000 jobs cut in November, the unemployment rate rose to 6.7%.  According to Nigel Gaust, chief domestic economist for IHS Global Insight “we are caught in a downward spiral in which employment, incomes and spending are collapsing together.”  The current situation is unnerving regardless of whether or not you have been downsized. The question is What Will You Do About It?

While you cannot turn around the entire economy, you can take control of your situation.  My bet is the people who will survive and thrive the current recession are people  like the owners of Value Drugs who use their creative talents to devise strategies that help them stand out amongst the masses. Below are some ideas to help you do this:

  1. Treat your job search, career change, or performance improvement like a major project. Have clear, measurable and achievable objectives; project schedules and deliverables; establish a budget; define who your stakeholders and resource pool are; plan for unexpected changes.
  2. Define your professional brand and include it in your resume, cover letter, elevator speech…
  3. Start a blog or contribute to one that builds on your professional brand and your unique expertise..
  4. Have lunch or coffee with someone you who you admire. These people might be  colleagues, vendors, speakers, supervisors, former bosses, etc…
  5. Call someone you have been meaning to call. Follow up with a face to face meeting, whenever possible.
  6. Put together a portfolio that highlights your greatest accomplishments. Show it to someone who can help you achieve your goal.

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