How to market yourself when job seeking

The marketing mix as I described in my first blog "Differences between marketing, advertising and propaganda," is a mix of the 4 P's of marketing. This mix helps decide what type of element to use and in what amount. What are the 4 P's again? They include Product, Place, Promotion and Price. This marketing mix is the most useful tool in your job search to sell yourself to the employer. You want to be the best candidate for the position and it is the job of the marketing mix to help distinguish you from the others.


The job seeker is the Product when it comes to finding a job. Quality is the first step that you want to display to the future employer. You want to tell him your strengths so that he is aware of how you will fit into the position available. In order to connect with he company, you should know a little history about it and what the position entails. This will give you a step up when competing with the other candidates. 


Place is the next selling point in the interview. Tell the boss your schedule so that he knows your availability and how much you are willing to work. Place also involves a commute to work so make sure your geographical terms are reasonable. If the company is too far from your home, will your salary/pay be able to cover that drive everyday? 


The third aspect of getting a job is Promoting yourself. You want the interviewer to know your best qualities. Make yourself presentable and dress the best you can. Always have a smile on your face and prove to him/her that you WANT this job. Make sure you always ask questions. This shows that you are very interested in the position that you are willing to learn more about it.


Lastly, be able to Price yourself. If the interviewer asks what type of wage you expect, unless it is a specialized position, give a reasonably pay rate...one you think you deserve. Price is an exchange for your service to the company so make sure both parties are being fair when coming up with that wage. If the interviewer gives a much lower price than you expect, maybe the job isn't right for you. However, if you think you can work your way up the latter, set goals for yourself and one day you will get promoted. 

Response to Kayle Crowley

"Propaganda is something that was very prevalent in the 1940's when WWII was going on. This way of marketing an idea, is told with misinformation about the truth.  Propaganda is usually political and is meant to try and lie about the other side and make them look bad. This is an example of propaganda from long ago, do we still see propaganda today?"

I agree with your view on what propaganda is. In my opinion, propaganda is also negative views about a particular idea, product or anything in society. Most of the time propaganda is aimed at certain political groups and was present a lot of times back during war time (WWI and WWII). The idea behind propaganda ads and posters is to influence the ideas and views that the rest of society has. In answer to your question, yes I do believe there is still propaganda today. These two political posters exemplify two different views of the last election we had. One view is for the Democratic side, saying that John McCain isn't fit for president and the other view is the Republican side, taking a dig at Barack Obama. I think that we will always see propaganda. Many people have very strong views about a subject matter that they hope can influence others in society.

Differences between "Marketing," "Advertising," and "Propaganda"

When comparing marketing, advertising and propaganda one may think that they mean the exact same thing. These three things all fall under the category of promotion, however still have their differences. 

Have you ever thought about how much work it takes to get a product into the stores? Marketing is a form of promotion that is involved in this process. Marketers set prices, and find the best ways and strategies to distribute their products. This image to the right, in my opinion, is a perfect example of everything that makes up the term “marketing.” This cluster is called a marketing mix and includes every decision that one would have to make as a product marketer. These “4 P’s” outline decisions such as packaging, retail price, order processing, and advertising.

Advertising is a major form of marketing because it is a primary reason in why people will buy something. An advertisement is a method of promotion that is usually in the form of a commercial, billboard or magazine. Advertisements show a product in an appealing way in hopes that people will go out and buy it. Look at this image to the left. This advertisement has been on the television recently and shows a “special” going on at Burger King. It shows two chicken sandwiches which look alluring to eat and can be purchased at a low price. Advertising for a product can also be shown through propaganda.

Advertisements and Propaganda both aim to sell a certain product. Propaganda however, uses a different approach. Take this "Mozilla" advertisement, for example. This is showing a negative connotation for Internet Explorer. Unlike an advertisement, which promotes a product directly to consumers, propaganda hopes to change people’s views in order to get them to buy something else. One major difference between advertising and propaganda is that propaganda is typically used to support different causes or used in politics.