Most software developers don’t know what makes them unique. When you can find what makes you unique and know how to communicate it well, you’ll see your interactions with employers, colleagues and friends drastically change.
You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want – Zig Ziglar
The one thing you can do to get yourself hired: Know YOUR value.
Let me explain and give you a short exercise you can do to TODAY NOW to understand your own value and start getting it across to others.
… I like to do things immediately.
So what’s the problem?
Many people do not know how much power and influence they have to change their environment and their world.
In order to be employable you need to know your worth.
Why has that become a problem?
We are usually accustom to someone telling us how to do something or telling us where to go next – we’re waiting for the world to come and push us in the right direction.
This is a HORRIBLE idea and a great way to lose control of your life and feel helpless.
So how do I fix it?
One simple exercise: Write a 1 minute pitch
This will act as your guiding light and is better than any other goal setting strategy.
It allows you to say YES to opportunities aligned with you, and NO to those that don’t.
Okay … so how do I write this pitch?
The first step is not to write it from your perspective – but from the perspective of the world, the perspective of those feeling the impact of you and your work.
Don’t answer it as “I’m a software developer”.
Instead write it as “I help companies to create products and I work with their teams to incrementally deliver features that delight their customers and make their lives happier and more efficient”
Writing the pitch isn’t enough to create the results you want – the true magic lies in repeating it, rehearsing it and refining it.
Get it word perfect – I mean this, do not waste a single word in your pitch, cut out all of the fat.
How do I best use this pitch?
Then when you’ve got the first draft tell your mum, your neighbour, tell your best friend.
Tell everyone you ever meet in future who asks you the question “What do you do?”
See how they react, are they bored? Rewrite it and change it – INSPECT and ADAPT frequently.
Then, here’s the magic – now you’ll instinctively use it all the time and guess what?
You can pitch it in that job interview, with confidence and with power.
Try it out and let me know how you get on!
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