Many individuals that I have the pleasure of working with are quick to assume that the title of a
position aptly describes what is expected of them in the job role. One of the first responses
that I will hear when a client sees a classified ad, an Internet posting or even hears about an
opening through networking contacts is "that's not the type of position that I am looking for".
They do this without ever investigating the opportunity further and going in to meet with
company representatives to see exactly what the job is about. Adopting this attitude can be a
great mistake in today's dynamic job market.
First, there is an extremely good job market out there where opportunities abound. Secondly,
technological advancements have provided for creation of hundreds of new opportunities and
even unique spins or complete redesigns on what would have, in the past, been considered
traditional jobs. Take, for example, the client that I have been working with who was going
after a position entitled: "Marketing Coordinator". That's a fairly generic job title. Normally, an
organization is looking for a person who wants to enter a company and learn the ABC's of
marketing when they post such an opening in a classified ad, on their internal posting system
or on an Internet career center. It may be a mistake for you to do what my client did and
assume that's exactly what the job entails. Today's market is full of surprises and he
discovered that the job role was a lot richer than the title itself implied.
My client answered an Internet posting with a cover letter and resume and then decided to be
proactive and pursue an interview. We had prepared for the traditional marketing interview to
make sure that he was up to speed on any Marketing 101 questions that he might encounter.
Instead, he came back on his next appointment with me extremely motivated to pursue the
position. Why? Well, he got into the interview and found that the job was far broader and
exciting than what he had read about in the ad. What he discovered was consistent with market
trends. Technology has forced organizations to take a good hard look at the way they market.
Marketing is no longer the textbook channels of advertising, public relations, product
management, pricing, market research. The Internet has opened up a whole new horizon for
companies to reach out to their potential customers with their products and services.
During the course of his interviews, each interviewer explained that their company had made a
strategic decision to combine the former Internet Administrator's role with the Marketing
Coordinator's job to capitalize on what a Marketing person could bring to the technology.
In other words, the Marketing Coordinator was given carte blanche to make this medium as
exciting to both his internal and external customers as possible.
The person placed in this position would investigate the best strategies for putting the
company's marketing message on the Web. Rather than being a very information-laden
site, this particular company wanted a creative, interactive method to attract and communicate with customers. Others thought that the website could be a great idea generation place for
idea exchange between the employee force, and they were looking for an individual who could
bring creativity to bear and make employees want to utilize this site for precisely that purpose.
The Director of the organization wanted the site to properly represent the brand in the eyes
of the customer. She wanted their customers to know that they were dealing with a quality
organization at first glance. The Market Research Manager wanted to establish ways to track
inquiries on the site and blend that information into his monthly reports. The best part was that
each person had a different idea about how this new employee could contribute, yet each
person solicited the candidate's ideas about how things could or should be done. One thing
was clear...every individual wanted my client to do everything he could to use this technology
to displace the traditional channels of marketing that they now had in place. That was exciting
to him. After several interviews and a brief round of negotiations, he decided this was the
right fit and joined this organization.
What once was a traditional marketing role is now one that affords this potential job seeker
with enormous opportunity for growth, not only from a marketing perspective but from a
technical one. Today's job seeker needs to be mindful of these changes that are occurring
in the marketplace. With the pace of business today, many employers fail to take the time to
describe in detail the opportunities that may abound within a particularly job role. It is then
incumbent on the job seeker to be proactive about getting in front of the employer, asking
the right questions and determining if the career growth opportunities they are seeking are
present in the position.
I guess I would add that when you encounter a sheep along your path, occasionally make a
point of lifting the hood to see if there really is a wolf underneath. Not all wolves are bad news.
-Al Stewart
