Wednesday, January 26, 2011

The Four P's and Job Hunting

If you're trying to find a job and put yourself out there it might be helpful to consider the 4 P's when doing so. The 4 p's or Price, Promotion, Place, Product, can really help you figure out how to market yourself to a company so you can be successful within that company. I can say that I haven't done this in the past and often find myself in positions where I'm getting paid but I'm not happy with either what I'm doing or where I am.

By using the 4 P's you can put yourself in a better position. So before applying to you're next job consider these.

Product: You are the product, you have to figure out a way to market yourself to a company as effectively as possible. For example say you were applying to a management job at a small production company you wouldn't want to say that you've never done anything with business or management. Instead, before you go in for the interview find out what the company is about and what kind of people they hire and then market yourself that way.

Place: Think about the place you're trying to apply to. A vegetarian might not do so well as an executive of a slaughter house. In my opinion this is the most important factor, if you put yourself in a bad position from the start there's not much hope for you at any company. Apply and put yourself in a spot where you can perform well and show your skills.

Price: Pricing yourself can be hard at times because you want to price yourself competitively but also fairly. You can't walk into an employer and demand 100,000 plus for your services. before applying do some research and find out what starting employees in similar fields of work make.

Promotion: This is pretty important, how do you want to promote yourself to a future employer. Do you want to walk in dressed appropriately and aware of what you need to say to this employer to make them want you? Probably, you have to consider the fact that the interview is an opportunity for the employer to see what you're all about. Are they dressed right, do they seem professional, do they seem like they want to be a hardworking member of my team? By thinking about how you want to promote yourself before walking in you up you're chances of getting the attention of the employer.

Monday, January 24, 2011

What is the difference between marketing, advertising, and propaganda

What is the difference between marketing, advertising, and propaganda?
I think the difference between advertising and marketing is that marketing can be a lot of things. Marketing is a strategy, that a company could come up with to achieve a certain goal. In other words if I was the CEO of a company I could try to come up with a marketing plan that would raise profits by 25% and help make the company more known. Advertising however is a bit different. Advertising is a tool you could use to get to that goal. For example a company may take out a billboard or maybe a magazine page to help get customers to come in. Propaganda is like advertising except I think that in most cases the information involved in the ad's is biased. An example I can think of is the Nazi propaganda during WWII which depicted jews, gypsies, and soviets as lesser people that were ruining germany which in turn gained support for the Nazi's. All in all I think all three are methods of delivering information whether it be a scheme a picture or information about a subject.