Using Your Niche to Define Your Role
In business, we often think of the bottom line. We have been conditioned to do so. For many, the phrase "bottom line" is a misnomer because it implies a placement of priorities that appears to inverted. In business, the bottom line, is the top priority.
How we view and approach business often determines our success. No matter how complicated or challenging the business world may seem, there is always a place for those who properly carve out a niche for themselves. This article will give you the steps on how to carve out a niche, and define your role in business.
The first step one must take in defining a business role, is to thoroughly understand the nature of the business they are in, or the purpose of the company they work for. Though this may appear to be a simple process, it is often neglected by many would-be employees.
A question - and perhaps the most important one - that can be answered by employees who have an advantage in defining their role is this: "How does the company I work for make their money?" Next, evaluate your role and its relevance.
Your role (and ultimately the security of your role) within any company can inevitably be traced back to your contribution to the bottom line, or the values of a company.
For example, if a company values customer service, they will hire, train, and retain their customer service clerks. Do the clerks contribute to the bottom line? It all depends if customer service is a part of the brand values that the company's clients associate with the company. If customer service differentiates them from their competitors, then the answer is yes, because it impacts the bottom line.
When applying for a job, applicants tend to focus on the job itself, and not the role that they will play within the company. Because most jobs are created hastily to support or free up others who actually contribute to the bottom line, many roles are not well-defined and are considered dispensable; thus the reason for layoffs.
Those who have a role that others can not easily fill have a niche. What is a niche?
A niche is an area of specialization that you may focus on that makes you uniquely qualified to solve certain problems.
Think in terms of physicians. You may have a primary care physician who you see on a regular basis. This doctor makes a general health assessment and treats minor problems. When you have a specific illness, he sends you to a specialist. That specialist has a niche.
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A niche can come in the form of specialized knowledge, skill, talent, or expertise. A niche can also create distinction for those who can carve them out.
Jane Johnson of Aspect Coaching says that understanding what you are passionate about and in what area is the first important question to resolve in carving out your niche. She believes that passion can be related to 4 areas. They are as follows:
-People (e.g. the homeless)
-Objects (e.g art)
-Causes (e.g environment)
-Roles (e.g. politician)
When choosing your niche, stay close to your heart and the topics that matter most to you. Purposeful engagement is the key - and the condition - which breeds expertise.
Because many companies merely seek to fill a position instead of finding the right person to fill a role, opportunities for those who understand niche marketing abound.
When applying for a position at a company think of, and present, yourself as a specialist who is uniquely qualified to help the company solve its problems. This can be done by doing adequate research before your interview, and matching your skills with the company's mission statement.
When the interviewer asks you what do you know about the company, you will be properly prepared and armed with a response which shows that you have educated yourself on what problems the company solves, and how you are capable of assisting them in their mission.
In addition, you will have also satisfied one of their most sensitive criteria, and your primary objective in using your niche to define your role.
Questions and Answers
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