Your Value Proposition is the Key to Reaching the Next Level

Your value proposition is the unique combination of skills and experience you bring to your employer, coworkers and customers. To craft your value proposition, you need to determine a few key points. What is your vision and what are you doing to get there?

Define your vision

It is hard to follow a path with no destination. Take time to consider your vision. What is your goal? Do you want greater responsibility at work, to earn a promotion, or even to make a total career change? Keep this main goal in mind as you build your value proposition. Following the steps below will help you further define the skills and experience that will prepare you to achieve your vision.

Define your quantifiable accomplishments

Whether printed on a resume or shared in an interview, you need to be able to quantify what you have accomplished in each position you’ve filled. Many resumes read like a bland job description. Employers don’t care what you were supposed to be doing. They care about what you’ve gotten done, and what you can do. When you show the proof of your success in irrefutable numbers, the results are your quantifiable accomplishments. For example: If you work in sales, how much improvement in sales or margins have you made? Did you increase sales in your region by X percent? Maybe you’ve cut costs, improved a process, or increased customer engagement.

Here are some examples to get you started:

  • Increased sales from $2.5 million to $4.5 million in 2 years by landing 5 new customers.
  • Increased Google search visibility on industry keywords from 8% to 32%.
  • Improved used inventory turns from 2 to 3.5 in 2 years
  • Improved daily revenue per employee by 28% from $2,320 per employee to $2,970

Make it your mission to get to know your numbers. One of the very first questions that will be asked in an interview is how much you’ve done and having clear, quantifiable accomplishments laid out is a great way to show success.

Show how you are adding value

Some of the steps and actions you’ve taken to make your vision a reality won’t be defined by numbers. You likely don’t have the skills today that you will need when you have fully achieved your vision. Have you improved your skills since starting your current position? By investing in a skill that is needed but currently lacking in your company, you increase your worth in the organization. Choose a skill that isn’t far outside your job description but adds value. Ideally, this will be a skill no one else in the organization has, or at least that is in high demand. You can leverage this new skill to reach your goals.

Express the actions you’ve taken to reach your goal

Employers like to see that you’ve taken action to earn a promotion and reach that next level. What are you doing to make your vision a reality? Learning a new skill isn’t the only way to add value to your organization. It’s easy to get caught up in the routine and repetitive tasks you must complete each day but take some time to think of the big picture. Really show actual actions you’ve taken to make yourself more valuable to the organization. As recruiters, we have unique insight into what hiring decision makers want. Here’s a short list of who they are looking for.

  • Proven team players
  • Problem solvers that are part of the solution, not part of the problem
  • Performers with a demonstrated history of success with quantifiable accomplishments in a similar role
  • Leaders with proven success if they are filling a leadership position

A team player may take the lead on a team project or volunteer to complete an unpleasant task that still needs to be completed. A problem solver may find a way to make a process more efficient. But what if you are aiming for a leadership role and aren’t currently in a leadership position? You’ll still need to show some proven leadership skills. For example, if you’ve been in a sales position for 10 years with no leadership over direct reports there may be other ways you’ve been a leader. Perhaps you helped groom an intern to join the sales team. Maybe you’ve just completed an MBA. Think of other times you’ve demonstrated traits that strong leaders you admire possess.

Your value proposition defined

Now that you are able to articulate what you’ve accomplished; you have your value proposition. Take these defined skills and actions and use them to achieve your vision. If you’re ready for that next step, but your organization doesn’t have room for promotion, we could help you find a position at that next level. The recruiters at Career 1 Source will be your advocate to find that better opportunity. Contact us or visit our network page to learn more.