The purpose of this exercise is to help you apply the concepts from this course to marketing yourself. In order to develop a successful marketing plan for yourself you need to consider many of the same elements that firms face when marketing themselves and their products to potential and existing customers. Take this opportunity to “strut your stuff” by showing me what you’ve learned from this course in a very practical way. Remember the essential elements of strategic marketing begin with performing a situation analysis, followed by segmentation of the market, in this case into potential employers, then target market selection and the development of a positioning statement. With your positioning statement in place you need to consider how to best present yourself to your target employers using the 4 Ps.
A useful resource for this assignment can be found at: http://www.harcourtcollege.com/marketing/students/careers.htm. Begin with advice on career fields in marketing, and internship opportunities, help with writing a cover letter and resume. In addition the site offers links to job sites, and company information sources that should be very useful.
Spend quality time thinking about where you want to go (long-term career goals) and how you plan to get there (a strategic plan for achieving them). Your marketing plan should include: (1) a self-assessment of your goals, unique resources and talents that will make you attractive to employers; (2) a description of your target market that includes and explanation of how these employers needs match your talents and objectives (who are the employers you are most interested in working for and why?); (3) your positioning statement; and (4) a sample cover letter and resume!
[last updated March 23, 2003]