Inevitably, at some point in your life, you’re going to need to know the answer to this question: What can you bring to the table? Sometimes it is in a job interview or a meeting about a promotion or a project or even a significant other who is asking.
Understanding what this is – personally – is not only important for your career, but also for your life.
If you know what your Unique Value Proposition is – your UVP – then you’re set. You have a clear vision of what you can bring and through that, you probably have a clear understanding of where you want to go and where you would like to grow as a professional and as a person.
But if you’re unsure of your UVP, or even what it is, now is the time to read up.
The technical definition of the UVP is simple. The Confident Copywriter quotes Jeff Smith at Info Marketers Zone, “Your unique value proposition is a clear statement, in line with your market’s challenges and desires, communicating the unique contribution your company, product and services provide to your market different than your competitors.”
That is a bit of mumbo-jumbo if you ask me, but it is important to take something from that definition. Your Unique Value Proposition is a clear statement, but it does not have to be tied to any organization. It should be tied to you, and your strengths and what they can do for any company.
Of course, if Company X asks you, you should make the statement itself unique to them, but you should also know, in general terms, what your UVP says.
But it is not just about your career. It is about what you want in life. There have been many stories of young people who had the corporate job and everything they had dreamed of with a corporate gig but then suddenly, while looking out of the corner office, they saw that their personal UVP, what they wanted to offer the world, was not being met by their corporate position.
You see, a Unique Value Proposition is not just what you bring, but what you want. It is what you want in your career and in your life.
The Harvard Business School has a great Elevator Pitch Builder tool that is worth looking at, because at it’s core, that is what the UVP boils down to.
Here is how I believe you should form your UVP or your Elevator Pitch:
- Who you are
- What you bring (top 2-3 skills)
- Your personal motto
- And what makes you unique
Sure, that is what a traditional elevator pitch looks like, but yours will be different if you also look at what you want in life and the legacy you want to leave.
For instance, here is mine as of September 2011:
I am a young entrepreneur with a unique blend of political experience, public speaking, training development and social media. I absolutely believe that anything is possible with the right attitude. Aside from the professional skills I bring, I am passionate about life and living each and every experience I can.
For someone in their 20’s, in this marketplace and in the changing environment we find ourselves in, you can’t manage your career, or build one, without knowing who you are, what makes you excited and what gets your energy pumping.
