Self-Marketing

Not everyone shares in the common experience of working in retail, but everyone works in sales. It's not a day job, it's not a career, and it's not a choice. It's a lifestyle, or at least part of one, and everyone adapts it to fit their personality and identity. Whether the rent is paid from engineering work, from a marketing firm, or from a customer service position is almost entirely irrelevant. This whole pitch might be starting to come across as somewhat of a stretch or even down right illogical, but it's not. I'm talking about the entire concept of pushing ourselves as a hot-ticket item. It's bordering on a human instinct, but we can't help but try to sell our selves every day. Some may think of it as a drive, or carving their own slice of the pie, and it is, in a sense, but that's what sales is too. We have to convince others to give us what we think we deserve. Why, however, would they give it to us instead of anyone else? That's why we spend so much of our time and effort marketing ourselves. We try to sell ourselves as a brand, a desirable commodity that they would be a fool to pass up.

That's where social networking media comes into play. Whether your search is for a job, a career, or something else more conceptual, these have come into play as a veritable chess piece. Together, they are a tool which, if used correctly, can find their way into the ranks of being classified as an asset. So, how can this be helpful for financial and personal gain?

As the internet proves itself as more and more of a battlefield, an attempt at a leveled playing field, which gathers information about everything and everyone, employers have started to take a look. I'm not just talking about a search for entertainment. I'm talking about employers using this cyberspace as a marketplace of talent. When it comes to employment opportunity, some play a more pivotal role than others, but, as they allow the viewer the convenience of both time and location, almost all of them show their face. Basically, since they don't require an interview, these systems give those on the hiring end of things the chance to compare different prospective employees at their leisure. So, when used correctly, these tools can be used to promote ourselves and increase our chances. That's where the whole branding and self-promotion come in. It may sound egotistical and conceited, but it can effectively yield profit. Just like any product being sold, reputation is pivotal. Goods of similar quality and performance can be separated instantly by the power of image. In this case, we are a good, a commodity, and being the popular kid, and especially the respected and knowledgeable kid, can throw us to the top of the roster. Making ourselves into a powerful brand can make us the metaphorical cream of the crop, and everyone wants to get the best of the best.

When you think of it as such, you might start to give credit to the stigma placed on social networking sites as source of proliferation for the debauchery of youth, but I think that's wrong. It may seem like an absolute waste of space where people show off their shenanigans, but I think that, in its own way, is a means of projecting our humanity. I'm not saying it will help land any legitimate form of employment, but work only makes up a third of our waking hours. The rest is up for grabs. Mediums such as Facebook and blogs (like this) speak to our personality, and they helps sell us as a person, an individual, and it just might lead to something more. I'm not saying that every blog, or even mine, is a push towards anything, but it has the power to be, but what? Well, as solitude just doesn't taste quite right, people choose to surround themselves with others, but it's a selective process. We can't have just anyone as a friend, much less as a partner in an intimate relationship. So, we go about life like a football coach, meeting people, sometimes getting close, but making cuts to weed out those whose friendship we would rather forgo. We might settle, but we would all prefer the sparkling Ferrari to the beat-up Oldsmobile (no offense to Oldsmobile). So, we meet people, and we learn about them, sometimes through social networking media, and the good brands stick out. Then, if things might work out, we do what we can to make it our own. We try to convince people, just like employers, to give us a chance, try us out, and we attempt to prove that they will be satisfied with the choice.

In the end, whether it be for economic or immaterial person gain, we sell ourselves everyday. We may not have a shop, but we push ourselves as a brand. We want others to see us as the marshmallow in the breakfast cereal and get excited when we meet. So, we make a name for ourselves, staking a claim to what we wish to possess, and that's what we call self-marketing.