3 reasons why you should never put career marketing on the back burner

Let’s start this out with a confession. Recently, I put my career marketing on a back burner. My career is helping job seekers find solutions to their future. For my career to be successful, I need to continuously market my skills to those who would hire me.

Admittedly, like job seekers, sometimes my career marketing is delayed or almost non-existent. But in the long run, this will hurt my career. As a career professional who writes resumes, coaches job seekers on LinkedIn strategies, writes LinkedIn profile content, and overall helps job seekers to optimize their job search strategies, I need to be continually present.

My strategies for marketing my career services are very similar to those a job seeker needs to use. My goal is to keep an active network, put out content to attract people who need me, and position myself as an expert in my field.

Doesn’t that sound like just what a job seeker should be doing? That’s because it is!

Why I would put my career marketing on hold

What it comes down to is that like job seekers, I let other priorities and issues consume my time.

• Busy doing my job

Sometimes, the reason is simply that a person gets busy doing their job. Ideally, I need to keep writing new content and reaching out to my network. When I am busy delivering client services, I let that drop. My business tends to ebb and flow, I often call it the feast or famine syndrome.

For example, though the month of May started slowly, mid month I was blessed with 6 new clients who needed my help. I slowed down in writing new content and did little else to make myself visible to people who need my services. Social media took a back burner too even though I know it is a great way to keep me top of mind.

• Major project underway

For those of you who don’t know, my kitchen remodel started in the middle of March. Though I am not a contractor, I kept busy helping as I can. I also had to adjust to the inconveniences of not having a kitchen.

I learned to grill things creatively, like making pizza, stir fry, and even lasagna on the grill. Dish washing is an adventure and more time-consuming because we disconnected the kitchen sink and the dishwasher. To wash dishes, we have to go in the basement. The challenge of carrying dishes up and down, making time to wash them, and finding places to put them back has been fun.

We should be back to normal in about a week when we install countertops and the plumber connects the kitchen plumbing.

This major project definitely bit into my time and provided interesting moments when deliveries came in through my office. Last week the appliances arrived during a client meeting. The client was in Pennsylvania but he still could see via the web cam since we speak using Zoom. He saw the stove and then the refrigerator, and finally the dishwasher, walk through my office.

• Personal illnesses or family issues

My son, Dan, who is the general contractor on this job, and my husband, Bill, both came down with a cold during the project. Dan was installing drywall when he was the sickest and he probably should have stayed home. Bill, of course, lives here. So they tossed the cold around the house until I finally got sick.

As it turned out, my clients have all been national so I didn’t have to worry about sharing germs with people who came to my office. However, my turn at the illness happened right after I signed the six new clients. I ended up napping between appointments and not much else.

Why career marketing matters

As a job seeker, you are bound to have the same issues as I do. You will be busy at work, have major projects like my kitchen (yours might be a child getting married, a death in the family, or a big vacation) but something will interrupt your career marketing.

However, for you to be successful in today’s volatile economy, you will need to remember to not assume you will have your job forever.

3 reasons not to put your career marketing on the back burner

1. No job lasts forever. You must continually keep yourself visible if you need or want to make a change.
2. It is difficult to market someone who has not kept their career content current. Many clients tell me that they can’t remember their career contributions. It is much easier if you keep your resume (and LinkedIn) current.
3. Your network should be nurtured to stay viable.

As I confessed, things happen. I get it. But just as I need to recognize the consequences of my lack of career marketing, you do too. A wise professional will stay on top of their career for a lifetime not just when they think they need to make a job change. If you are ready to get going, learn more here.