What Makes You Different?

A worksheet for discovering your differentiators

(Print out this page, then write your answers by hand)

This worksheet will help you identify what makes you different so that you can take better advantage of your uniqueness..

By knowing how you are different, you can build a great career for yourself and you can do a better job of marketing yourself.

People have trouble seeing their own strengths. We are so used to using our strongest skills, abilities, and gifts that we usually don't notice them until someone else points them out to us.

When trying to determine how you are different, compare yourself to a room full of 99 randomly selected people of the same age and gender.

DO NOT compare yourself to your classmates or your colleagues at work. Why? Because workplaces and the classroom tend to attract people with similar skills and abilities and that will make it much harder for you to see how you are different. Plus you really want to compare yourself to the general population, not the very narrow segment of people you work with or go to school with.

Step 1) What Have People Said About You

Think back to people you have worked with, maybe an old boss, or a teacher. What did they say about you? Did they ever mention that you did something really well? Did they ever compliment you? What did they say? Think hard. It may have just been a comment and not a big deal at the time.

Example1:

For example, I had a boss who told me that he was impressed that I could solve complex international business and manufacturing problems so quickly. He said that he could send me into a "highly ambiguous situation," half way around the world, and within a few days I would be able to see the root cause of the problem and then describe it to everyone, complete with a solution and a plan to get there. All this popped into my head automatically. So fast, i never noticed it. I thought everyone could do this.

Example 2:

I have a friend who was once a finance guy.He built the most artistically attractive web site I'd ever seen from an amateur. All of the icons were hand drawn and unique. He picked the color scheme, the page layout etc. It was both beautiful and user friendly.

When I told him how good it looked, he looked at me and said it's nothing special. "Can't everyone do this?" he asked. I told him that no matter how hard I try, I have minimal artistic ability.

He believed that everyone can create art, they just don't put enough time into it and they don't try hard enough.

I told him that was not true. He has a gift for art but I don't. I've been trying to draw, sketch, paint, and photograph since I was a kid. People who have seen my artistic work tell me to keep my day job. That's why CareerPlanner.com relies on professional graphic artists.

So you should see the pattern here. People take their special gifts and their differentiators for granted. They think everybody can do what they can do.

So think back to when someone complimented you. What did they say?

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Step 2) Describe Your Top 5+ Big Accomplishments

By describing the things you are most proud about, and the things you have accomplished in your life, you will begin to see a pattern that will point to that which makes you different from others. You might start with graduating from school and work your way to the present.

Give each achievement a short name or title - about 1 to 4 words max

You don't have to fill out all 10 achievements, but try to identify at least 5 achievements or things you are proud about.

Achievement #1 Title: _____________________________

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Achievement #2 Title: _____________________________

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Achievement #3 Title: _____________________________

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Achievement #4 Title: _____________________________

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Achievement #5 Title: _____________________________

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Achievement #6 Title: _____________________________

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Achievement #7 Title: _____________________________

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Achievement #8 Title: _____________________________

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Achievement #9 Title: _____________________________

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Achievement #10 Title: _____________________________

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What abilities did you use in each of these situations?

Achievement 1: _________________________________________________________

Achievement 2: _________________________________________________________

Achievement 3: _________________________________________________________

Achievement 4: _________________________________________________________

Achievement 5: _________________________________________________________

Achievement 6: _________________________________________________________

Achievement 7: _________________________________________________________

Achievement 8: _________________________________________________________

Achievement 9: _________________________________________________________

Achievement 10: _________________________________________________________

Do you see any similarities between your achievements? Any patterns? Any thing in common?

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Step 3: Describe your challenges and weaknesses

Describing your achievements should have been a fun positive experience for you. Now we want you to list the problems and challenges that you repeatedly face.

These are your weaknesses. Experts agree that you should not focus or dwell on your weaknesses because that won't make you as strong or as successful as knowing and focusing on using your strengths. But, knowing your weaknesses will help keep things in perspective and realistic.

List the problems that seem to come up repeatedly in your life. List the things you have trouble with. Be honest. No one else has to see this. It's just for you to get to know yourself better and to become more self aware.

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Step 4 - Compose Your 7 Second Elevator Pitch

Imagine you are stepping into an elevator for a ride to a top floor. Standing next to you is a very important person who has the power to change the course of your life, and to make your dreams come true. It's a very fast elevator. You have 7 seconds to tell your story and why you are so different, and why this person should give you a chance to achieve your dream career. What do you tell them. You have 7 seconds.

The idea of the 7 second elevator pitch comes from the world of entrepreneurs and investors. The idea being that you are the CEO of a new start up. The start up represents your dream job, your passion in life. But you need funding and support to get your company going. You have only 7 seconds to get the attention of the investor standing next to you. What do you say?

You have to distill your story down to a 2 or 3 sentences. There is no time for a long winded rambling story.

Write your 7 second elevator pitch on the lines below. You have 3 sentences max. But if you can do it in one sentence the investor will appreciate you even more.

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Summary

By now you should know what makes you unique and what your most valuable strengths are. If not, don't give up. Instead sleep on it and look at this worksheet again tomorrow.

It's OK if you want to spend a lot more time thinking about this. Read this worksheet every night before going to sleep. Then let your unconscious work on it while you sleep.

Even if you spend the next few months working on this, just look at this worksheet every night before going to sleep.