Personal Marketing: Price

The next 'P' in the marketing mix I'll be addressing is Price. This one is a bit more difficult to apply to personal marketing than others. It is extremely important, nonetheless. How can we use price as a way to market ourselves as the best candidate for a job?

The first thing you can do is stay informed. Know the industry standards for salaries of jobs you are interested
in. There are lots of resources on the web you can use to research different salaries. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has a good list of median salaries for most industries in the U.S. Another important consideration when determining a good price to set for yourself is cost of living differences, depending on where you plan to apply.

Another way to help ensure you are pricing yourself accurately is by spending a lot of time on your resume. Be sure it communicates how much experience you have in the field you hope to enter. Include relevant courses, volunteer activities, and club participation. In addition, seek out ways in which you can improve on your experience level - certifications, professional licenses, etc.

What's more, you must ensure that the price you're willing to accept is reasonable and competitive. How can this be done? An article on Forbes provides some very helpful tips in how one might accomplish a high starting salary. This could help to communicate a perception of your high value to the firm. Another way to go about this is to be very open to non-monetary forms of compensation. Be creative; think of something that wouldn't cost as much to employers than would a permanent pay raise but would have significant value to you.

Price is something that could distinguish you in the job market, so don't ignore it! Think of ways in which you could utilize this to market yourself as the best possible person for that dream job.