Ditch the Resume: Stand Out With A Unique Selling Point

A unique selling point (or USP for short) is often not associated with career development.

Yet, it should be.

There are 8 billion humans on planet earth right now. We can guess millions of people are in the same industry, even the same role as you are today.

So, how do you stand out from the crowd?

Taking the same route as 99% of the population utilising a CV (UK) or Resume (US) for entry to new roles is not going to cut it - sorry. This is why building a unique selling point for ourselves and our skills is wise. This applies to anyone, whether you’re working for a company or self-employed freelancer.

Despite the title of this post, I'm not advocating you burn your CV/Resume.

Instead, this is about exploring the vast set of tools we can each leverage to navigate our own careerverse (what I call the career journey). I've spoken at length in other work on why a CV alone is not enough in today's digital-first career market. A USP is another tool that will amplify your capability to open the right doors to your ideal opportunities.

As some wise person somewhere once said, "You need the right tool for the right job".

They may or may not have been a weapons mixologist non-playable character in a game played one weekend afternoon. Another story for another time!

Why build a USP

1/ Clarity

A lot of stuff gets lost in the noise of a CV and Resume.

The first letter of USP stands for unique, and this is what we want to easily give clarity to - what makes you different compared to the competition? We do this with simple and short phrasing, not pages upon pages of text.

2/ Negotiate better pay and benefits

When you have a clear understanding of your USP, you're better equipped to negotiate a higher salary or additional perks because you can clearly demonstrate your worth to the company.

3/ Distinct personal brand

I loathe the word, yet can never think of something better when it comes to 'personal branding' (suggestions are welcome).

One of the unrealised benefits of a USP is cultivating a brand you can become symbiotic with (hence why it's important to create the one you want). Leverage this wisely, and it can help you to attract new job opportunities and build a network of both internal and external supporters.

How to create your USP: Checklist ?

Work through these questions to prime your thinking. You don't need the answer to every single one and they don't need to be deep either. Note down what comes to mind and you can organise these later.

?? What is it that you specifically bring to the table? Skills, experience, POV

?? Think about your work and its impact and value for companies and clients. When you deliver your best what does it look like and how do others benefit?

??Outside of the industry standard toolkit, what else do you bring?

? What are the unique attributes, points of view and abilities that only you can bring to a shared subject matter?

USP's are useful tools for competing in the careerverse. I talk about this a lot more in my book "How to Win In The Careeverse: Tools for thriving and surviving the 9-5 career game". Join me here if you're curious to delve deeper down the rabbit hole.

TL;DR

1. Don't rely on a CV alone, create a toolkit.
2. Stand out, don't blend to unlock the best opportunities.
3. Leverage a USP for betters careers, pay and future prospects.