How can you stand out?

I keep preaching the idea of "controlling the controllable". The idea is that you can't control what happens to the economy, your company or political climate, but you have some agency over how you show up in the world. 

There will be many situations, however, that you'll need to put your best foot forward in order to navigate some of the uncontrollable factors. You may find yourself having to reapply for your current job as your company goes through a restructuring. You may be forced back into the jobs market as a recession takes hold. You may be trying to woo a partner that is already attracting plenty of suitors. 

You still don't have ultimate control over how things will pan out. But you do have more of a say in how you represent yourself. 

This got me thinking earlier about how I've managed to advance over the years in my career. I would never say that I'm the most technically competent finance individual, nor the best salesman. But I've done pretty well for myself. And I realize the reason for that is I've managed to not only play to my personal strengths (flexibility, affability), I've also found ways in which to offer something that rivals haven't. 

One example of that was my first banking role. It was an admin assistant role in a corporate unit and only one rung up from having to make the teas for the team. I wasn't a fresh-faced 18-year old. I came into the position as a university graduate. It wasn't the type of role graduates were looking for back then. They would traditionally be entering via fast-track graduate schemes, or at the very least coming in at a more advanced position. Not many of the team were graduates either but they were happy to welcome a keen, smart kid who would take the crappy work off their plate. That got my foot in the door and I've not looked back.

Over the years I've found ways to stick out in my role search (the only Brit competing for a position in Asia that ultimately suited someone with a European background; one of the few people of an ethnic minority background applying for a role aligned with that ethnicity's part of the world). Sometimes I've been conscious about it, sometimes I've stuck out without realizing it. And thanks to the power of compounding these experiences, it's got me to where I am now.  

I don't think there's a magic formula here. I was extremely lucky in many situations (though I embraced the luck as well). But if you find yourself having to compete with others for roles, it makes a lot of sense to find ways in which to stick out to make you the more obvious choice. Or find situations where there's little to no competition in the first place.