YOUR CAREER MARKETING PLAN

This debut guide suggests applying a marketing plan model to career development.

Alharbi, a former manager at Saudi Aramco and co-founder of two paper industry companies, believes a corporate marketing plan can also be important for a person seeking a career. If an individual does not follow the same strategy, writes the author, “you will end up in a recurring cycle of trying to find a job, then finding a job in which you try your best to align with the employer’s plans, then leaving the job or staying without achieving the growth you desire.” The idea has merit; Alharbi follows through by first using an example of a company owner who wants to market a product, showing how a business plan should be devised. The plan covers situation analysis, marketing goals and strategies, tactics, implementation, and control/feedback. For those unfamiliar with developing a marketing-focused plan, this is a brief but solid primer. The author then proposes a “Career Marketing Plan Template” that essentially adapts the strategy for personal use. The remainder of the book cleverly illustrates how that plan can be developed and implemented. For some, making the leap from promoting a product to packaging themselves as a marketable commodity may be challenging, but Alharbi guides readers through a carefully structured process. Using a real example of a young man who set a goal of becoming the president of a company, the author shows how one can develop a vision at a very early age by using “strategic thrusts” to support that idea, leading to concrete goals and tactical objectives. Next, the author moves on to analyzing the employment pool, assessing the “competition” (other candidates for a position), creating a personal value proposition, and marketing one’s skills and experience. Alharbi spends considerable time discussing the implementation of a career marketing plan and offers helpful suggestions, including how to assess feedback from others. Most chapters include questions to answer and exercises. The result is a clearly written, intelligently packaged, systematic approach to career development.

Smart and methodical advice; especially applicable to those just starting their careers.